cover image A Time to Die

A Time to Die

Beverly Barton, . . HQN, $6.99 (377pp) ISBN 978-0-373-77249-0

Barton gives her fans what they want in her latest romantic suspense (following The Dying Game ), featuring Lexie Murrough, who had a promising career in broadcast journalism until she was caught in the crossfire during the assassination of a newly inaugurated African dictator. If it hadn’t been for the quick reaction of the gunman, Deke Brosnan, part of a special binational assassination team, her spinal wound would have been fatal; though she never knew who rescued her, Lexie has a memory of a man with “smoky-gray eyes.” Ten years later, she’s the high-powered cofounder and CEO of a worldwide charitable organization, and she’s in danger. Bombs and telephone threats make it clear someone has a personal vendetta against her; coincidentally, Brosnan now works for the security agency hired to protect Lexie, and the assignment offers him the chance to salve his chronically guilty conscience. The romance that develops during the ensuing scramble won’t disappoint Barton’s devotees, who will be happy to find her usual blend of passion and peril—heavy on the passion. (Dec.)