New Suz: Hot Pursuit

Another fun read! Oddly, Amazon hasn't pestered me about Hot Pursuit yet. Ever since I got my Barnes and Noble gift certs that kept me from my occasional Amazon purchase, they've been emailing me suggested novels with greater frequency. Probably they don't get that she's my favorite author because I tend to buy my books at booksignings. Yes, I'm a superfangrrl, but that's because I like Suzanne Brockmann's ability to tell a story.

Hot Pursuit is a little different and a little bit the same. It's a continuation of the Troubleshooter's series with the intertwined subplots told from different characters' points of view (POV). The subplots usually start off vastly removed from the main plot only to tangle in at the end of the book, but in this case, they all support he suspense plot pretty closely from the beginning.

I really enjoyed it. There was a lot of sex. Lots. Some romances, even some of Suz's are pretty stingy with it. Not this one. Clearly the author believes healthy adult relationships include sex. And we're getting to see characters demonstrate healthy adult relationships. (If Sam and Alyssa are too pukey-cute-perfect for you, skim the first two pages of Chapter 3.) Dan Gillman puts the moves on and makes it work in a manner that I thought rather accurately represented your average hot guy rather than your average romance hero, and good for him. While there are an overabundance of overbeautiful women, one of the main POV characters is just a normal woman, which can be a relief.

I read this book really fast - I tried to slow down to "savor" it and failed. The story kept going, I kept wanting to know what was going to happen and when and how. And right now! I did guess the baddy bad right off. Didn't matter. It was fun to catch up with Sam, Alyssa, Ash, Izzy!, Dan, Lopez, Vlachik, Savannah, Jules, and Robin and meet Maria and Jenn.

Minuses:

• It was less fun to meet cop Mick - I found his encounter with Sam and Alyssa to be eerily close to the "Gate's-gate" altercation. (But is Mick Snape or Voldemort?) There is good reason to have characters who are not always good in all aspects of their being - they are more human.
• Suz uses the word "absolutely" a lot. Always has done, but it really stood out for me in this book.
• Creepy serial killer who likes teeth. A different integration made it not as creepy as serial killer from ITS, but I could do with fewer serial killers in my reading. Makes me reconsider my comfort with the little box of babyteeth I still own with contributions from me, my brother, and the cat.

Still and all, fun book with characters who lead by example how to try and live a balanced life and respect your friends and colleagues. Some will read that as "political" but I would prefer to live in a world with that respect and enjoy it. I hope you will too. Go buy it.