Like Alaskan bush pilot Cort McClain's Cessna heading down the runway, this thrilling entry into romantic suspense from romance author Rowe (Must Love Dragons
) starts slowly but soon picks up speed. A mysterious caller tells Kaylie Fletcher that her mother survived the mountain-climbing accident that supposedly killed her entire family. Adventure-phobic Kaylie packs her jewelry, silk blouses and outdoor gear and heads north. Cort, hired to fly Kaylie to her friend Sara's cabin, wants nothing to do with another city-slicker woman like his ex-wife, and Kaylie thinks Cort's “an adrenaline junkie bound for an ugly death,” but they can't resist each other. When they find their two best friends brutally murdered, Cort realizes only he can keep Kaylie safe from a psychotic killer. The opening chapters and later sex scenes suffer from turgid, overly florid prose, but Rowe comes through with crackling tension as the killer closes in. (July)
