Tell Me No Lies by Annie Solomon

This one is the prequel to Blind Curve, which I read last month. Unfortunately it was not as good. I think if it had been marketed as a thriller rather than a romance novel, I could have gone into it with a different perspective but that was not the case.

Hank Bonner is just a week away from leaving his job as a NYPD detective. After a family tragedy were his sister is killed by his brother in law, Hank feels he needs to leave the department to take a more active role in the family business, Apple House. His niece and nephew need him and he feels guilt over the events that lead to the death of his sister and brother in law. His life is a mess when, as his last case, he has to work on the murder of a convenience store owner.

Alexandra Jane Baker is a rich socialite that has brought to the town a deal that has Renaissance Oil taking over an old GM plant. The deal promises to bring back the small town from the edge of bankruptcy. But the truth is, she is making the deal to further her agenda of revenge against Miki Petrov, a ex-KGB Russian who murdered her father. She has created a false life and buried her past to make sure that her plans run to fruition but the death of Luka Kole brings Hank Bonner to her door.

The book was a bit of a disappointment for me. Through out most of it I felt no chemistry between the hero and the heroine. Actually for most of the book there was little interaction between them other than his working the case and her avoidance of him. There was so many lies spewing out of Alex's mouth, I had a hard time accepting that Hank would feel any attraction to her.

It still says something about Solomon when in the end the relationship was believable. As with Blind Curve, the relationship appeared to be flawed but Solomon twisted things such that it gave the relationship a chance for a happy ending. Even though this twist helped the reader accept the relationship, I could not put aside that for most of the book there was nothing there. I will still give her new book Black Out a chance, since Blind Curve was so good, but this one was not the same quality as the first.

A side note: The main characters of Blind Curve were not mentioned in this story so, it really was a stand alone.

Grade: C