Her Other Secret

Murder runs rampant on Whitaker Island, and the list of possible suspects is almost as big as the population in Dimon’s intense romantic thriller. After fleeing scandal in D.C., Hanson Rye refuses to let his attraction to the smart, beautiful Tessa Jenkins interfere with his new, calmer life. Tessa knows there’s more to Hanson than his grouchy personality; she’s as tough as he is, but she has her own secrets to keep buried, so she will just admire his good looks from afar. Then she sees an unknown man who disappears as quickly as he arrived, and finds his behavior suspicious. When the only cop on the island accuses her of overreacting to the stranger, she launches her own investigation, and Hanson, not wanting the insufferable woman to get hurt, signs on as her protector. When they discover the body of the man (who turns out to be Hanson’s arch-nemesis), Hanson becomes the prime suspect, and Tessa is the only one who’s close enough to him to help prove him innocent. Dimon perfectly balances the romance with the suspense in this thrilling, action-filled whodunit. Agent: Laura Bradford, Laura Bradford Literary. (July)