cover image Break Every Rule

Break Every Rule

Francis Ray. Pinnacle Books, $4.99 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-7860-0544-4

With Daniel Falcon and Madelyn Taggart of Heart of the Falcon happily married, Ray turns to Daniel's only sister. Dominique Falcon is beautiful and rich. And restless. At 29, she's fled from one city to another, from one job to another, and, after her marriage to a classically abusive man, she flees from men, too. Settled, for the moment, in Dallas, she embarks on a career in photography and immediately alienates her new neighbor Trent Masters, a successful, handsome and decent man who has, through will and hard work, risen above his unenviable childhood. The question is whether Trent can hold on through Dominique's seemingly inexplicable changes in attitude and Dominique can get over her justifiable fear to accept a decent, supportive man. Sex comes at the end, not as an afterthought, but as the final element in a passionate healing process. It's the kind of warm, humane portrayal we've come to expect of Ray. (Aug.)