Review of AN AFFAIR WITH DANGER: Robin Storey

Romantic Suspense

Date Published: January 8, 2016

Two minutes.

That’s all it takes for corporate lawyer Will McPherson to be held up in an armed robbery and for his life to change in ways he’d never dreamed of.

When Will goes to court to give evidence, he meets the perpetrator’s girlfriend Frankie Slater and is instantly smitten.  But feisty, straight-talking Frankie has her own problems, not least of which is her violent boyfriend Eddie.

When Eddie finds out about their liaison, it puts both their lives in danger, and their love becomes a matter of life or death.

~*~

EXCERPT

June 2005

I CRANKED the car heater up and turned on the windscreen wipers against the steady drizzle. The suburban roads shone damp in the streetlights. At 10.15 on a Tuesday night, there wasn’t a lot of traffic. I hated working late in winter and couldn’t wait to get home to my warm, cosy apartment and collapse in front of the TV with a beer. I’d stayed back in the office to get my head around the financial reports of my newest client, a national chain of fitness centres, who’d been served with a bankruptcy notice by a creditor.

As I approached the lights of my local 7-Eleven store, I realised how hungry I was. I’d only had a sandwich at my desk for dinner. The empty parking space right in front vindicated my decision to stop. Mike was sitting behind the counter reading a newspaper.

‘Hi Mike! Busy night?

Mike grinned. ‘Flat out as usual. How about you?’

‘Same as always. Any sausage rolls left?’ I walked over to the hot food stand on the side counter. There was one sausage roll in the pie warmer. ‘Must be my lucky night.’

I tore a paper bag from the hanger, took out the sausage roll and popped it into the bag. I heard the entrance buzzer beep behind me.

‘Get your hands in the air!’

I whirled around. A man with a stocking over his face stood in front of the counter pointing a gun at Mike. Mike was standing, his hands raised, his face frozen into a sickly shade of pale. The man motioned to me with the gun. ‘Go and stand next to him.’

I forced my legs to move. Although fear had numbed my body, my mind was in overdrive, taking in as much as it could. The man was tall and solid, and dressed in jeans, pullover and joggers. He wore a beanie and although the stocking over his face blurred his features, I could make out a broad nose and square chin.

‘Is there anyone else in here?’

Mike shook his head. The man leaned forward and jabbed him in the chest with the gun. ‘Don’t fuck with me, mate.’

‘I’m telling the truth, there’s no-one else.’

The man waved his gun in the direction of the cash register. ‘Empty it! And move it!’

Mike opened the register drawer. His hands shook as he pulled out the notes. The man peered out the front door, rocking back and forth on his feet.

‘Hurry up!’ he yelled. Mike handed him a pile of notes and the man stuffed them into his jeans pocket. He jabbed his gun into Mike’s chest again. ‘Is that all?’

Mike nodded. The man backed out the front door, the pistol still trained on us, then ran into the night. It was all over in less than a minute.

~*~

REVIEW

A DANGEROUS KIND OF LOVER’S TRIANGLE    

Lawyer by day, musician by night, Will McPherson stops in a 7-Eleven for a bite to eat. Wrong time; wrong place. The place is robbed at gunpoint, and when it’s over, Mike steps up to be star witness for the prosecution. He shows up for the trial  of Edward Robert Gisbourne, but is saved from testifying by Gisbourne’s unexpected plea. Everything should have ended …. would have ended there … if not for Will spotting a woman in court. She’s alluring and compelling him to find out what she tastes like. The only problem? She’s Francis “Frankie” Slater a.k.a. Gisbourne’s girlfriend.

I quite enjoyed AN AFFAIR WITH DANGER by Robin Storey. It was well-written and I found the author’s style easy to sink into. Of course, the entire plot really hinged on the attraction between Mike and Frankie and I thought it worked. Two strangers … different sides of the tracks … find themselves drawn to each other. Yes, I was pulled into this relationship and was interested in how it developed. The author did a spectacular job in bringing these characters to life. They were exceedingly well-defined and had a lot of aspects to explore. It made the spelunking and delving into what made them tick pleasurable. It also ensured that the dynamic between them was ever-changing and not a given landscape. However, I am starting to sense a pattern with males in these stories. It seems the hotter the love interest, the more their frontal cortex shuts down.

As for negatives, I didn’t like the first couple of chapters. For me, it was a case of TMI … I felt a lot could have been edited out. Because of this, the novel started  out slowly instead of putting the hook in my mouth and towing me like an old carp. The other thing I didn’t like was the ending. Endings to me are really important, so the fact I wasn’t jazzed about this one will be reflected in the final rating. I should add that this isn’t a case of an author going off on a tangent and tacking on a ridiculous finish just because they could. No, this one was in keeping with previous events … and thoughtful … it just didn’t resonate with me.

The positives? AN AFFAIR WITH DANGER is an interesting, well-developed story that contains some surprises. The pacing is excellent as is the dialogue, but all roads lead to Will and Frankie. They were the standouts. The author captured the flavor of these individuals and conveyed it beautifully.

If you’re looking for intrigue that holds your interest, try AN AFFAIR WITH DANGER. It packs enough punch to keep you reading and enough emotion to make you care. I’m rating this one 3.8 stars.    

AUTHOR BIO

Robin Storey is an indie author who lives on the picturesque Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Her three previous books are How Not To Commit Murder, Perfect Sex and Comedy Shorts. An Affair With Danger, a romantic suspense novella, is a departure from her usual comedy writing style, but the characters were creating a commotion in her head and refused to go away until she’d put them in a book.

Robin is a certified book nerd and also enjoys chilling out at the beach and hiking. She is preparing to undertake the Camino Frances pilgrimage in September this year – plenty of time for mulling over new plots. She is working on her next novel, a romantic comedy.

Contact Information

Website: http://storey-lines.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/RobinStoreywriter

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/RobinStorey1

Blog:  http://storey-lines.com/blog/

Pininterest: http://pinterest.com/robinstorey

Purchase Links

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Affair-Danger-romantic-suspense-novella-ebook/dp/B01ACZECU6/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-affair-with-danger-robin-storey/1123314543?ean=9780987536655&quickview=true
Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/610399