cover image Everything I Left Unsaid

Everything I Left Unsaid

M. O’Keefe. Bantam, $15 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-1-101-88448-5

Contemporary romance author Molly O’Keefe (Indecent Proposal), under a new version of her name, moves skillfully into erotic romantic suspense with this excellent series launch. Annie McKay flees her family farm and abusive husband in Oklahoma and moves into a trailer in rural North Carolina. When the cell phone left behind by the previous tenant starts to ring, she answers on a whim. On the other end is authoritative yet thoughtful Dylan Daniels, and Annie is immediately drawn in by his rough voice and apparently genuine concern for her well-being. They begin regular phone conversations, including deliciously hot phone sex, that push Annie beyond the narrow boundaries of her former life as she struggles to start over in the trailer park. Each has a disastrous past that interferes with their emotional connection, until passion and fear collide in one momentous night. While occasionally employing clichéd elements, O’Keefe infuses the situation with distinctive life and absorbing detail. Captivating characters and a cliffhanger ending will keep readers coming back for more. (Sept.)