Forbidden Promises

The fourth in Robert’s O’Malleys contemporary series (after An Indecent Proposal) takes readers on a sexy, suspenseful ride with a satisfying payoff. Sloan O’Malley leaves her Boston crime family behind and heads for the West Coast, hoping to build a “normal” life for herself in the small beach town of Callaway Rock, where she rents a house from Sorcha O’Connor. Jude MacNamara is an assassin on Sorcha’s trail, and he’s been casing the residence for months, posing as an ordinary next-door neighbor. When Sloan appears on the scene, Jude falls head over heels for her, but the crime families begin to circle, putting them both in danger. It can be hard to make a ruthless assassin into a sympathetic character, but Robert handles the task with ease. She also deftly shows Sloan’s transformation from a pampered and protected naïf to a strong woman with a backbone of pure steel. A tension-filled plot full of deceit, betrayal, and sizzling love scenes will make it impossible for readers to set the book down. This installment stands alone, but new readers will certainly want to look up the earlier books. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary. (May)