White Lies

Success! A quick trip to Target resulted in my very own copy of White Lies, by Jayne Ann Krentz (as well as a cute Valentine's outfit for my niece). Last evening I curled up on the sofa, blanket and chocolate in hand, and reflected briefly on a Running With the Quills post yesterday discussing promotions and readers requests for bookmarks (JAK is part of the RWQ blog). Bookmarks? Please. I planned quiet time for devouring the book and would easily finish it without the need for any stinking bookmarks (smile).

White Lies is part of the Arcane Society series JAK is using throughout several of her works. The first book, Second Sight, is an Amanda Quick novel where readers were introduced to the Arcane Society along with the members of the illustrious Jones family. Members of the society have unique paranormal abilities and most of the Jones family are considered "throwbacks" due to their particular hunting traits. Fast forward to the present and meet Clare Lancaster, a "human lie detector" and Jake Salter (Jones), a paranormal hunter and one of "those Joneses." Jake is investigating the latest uprising of an infamous Cabel, first begun in Second Sight, for Jones & Jones. Clare has recently been introduced to her biological father's family and become enmeshed in the mystery/investigation surrounding the death of her sister's husband.

For me, the ensuing mystery is secondary to JAK's characters and the romantic suspense prevalent throughout the book. I was not disappointed. Jake and Clare are another classic Krentz pair smart, strong, funny, and chock full of personality and imperfections. It is laugh out loud funny when Clare continues to refer to Fallon Jones, head of the West Coast branch of J&J and cousin to Jake, "dumb ass" because of his continued disregard for her job applications. Jake and Clare's relationship (can you say sizzle?) and interaction with other characters make for a quick and delightful read. I read it once last evening and will be treating myself to a second read, savoring instead of rushing to the end, soon.

There is no need to be familiar with Second Sight before reading White Lies, both are strong stand alone reads. While it was fun to see how they inter-twined, I was confused a bit by the references to Caleb Jones when it was Gabriel and Venetia Jones, along with the Arcane Society, who were the focus in Second Sight. As an avid reader and fan of Krentz's work, I tend to remember characters from previous books. It was a bit disconcerting to have the dead guy in White Lies be named Brad McAllister. I finally remembered a character in the Eclipse Bay series Brad McAllister and that was why the name was so familiar to me in White Lies. Obviously it didn't detract from the story at hand, but it was a bit quirky. That will teach me to read so much great romantic suspense. Regardless, I can not wait to see where the Arcane Society appears next.

Tags: Jayne Ann Krentz, White Lies, Romantic suspense, Second Sight