Full Circle

Bunn mixes romance and light suspense in a proficient but somewhat lackluster read. Protagonist Adam Wright is a formerly self-absorbed actor turned crack investment analyst who is bitter about his father's abandonment. When he's hired by investment house Oxford Ventures, he falls hard for the boss's daughter, Kayla Austin. She has her own woes: her fiance has embezzled the money from the African relief project she was spearheading, leaving her brokenhearted and her venture virtually bankrupt. Together, Kayla and Adam seek to heal past wounds and discover who's sabotaging Kayla's father's company. Bunn (Heirs of Acadia series; The Lazarus Trap) successfully uses the rich backdrop of Oxford, England, as his setting, but the suspense never moves past a gentle simmer. The pacing slows in places; the romance between Kayla and Adam lacks much tension; and occasionally, Bunn resorts to stale prose such as ""The air was spiced with Kayla's fragrance, and the heady scent of a better tomorrow."" One bright spot is the story's sensitive handling of faith: Much of the plot hinges on what various characters intuit about God's leading, but in Bunn's capable hands, this is less forced than one might think. Bunn is a proficient writer, and despite its flaws, his fans should find this a mostly smooth read with a redemptive conclusion.