Christiane Heggan: Moment of Truth

Mira Books (Paperback), ISBN: 1551-66-870-X

You know about hooks, right? The kind of opening that grabs you and pull you into a novel — well, Moment of Truth is majorly guilty on that score. The prologue sets the pace, and you can consider yourself lucky if you catch a moment to breathe during the rest of the book.

Romantic suspense? Maybe, if you emphasize suspense rather than romance. It could be a romance, if your definition of romance encompasses heavy family involvement and murder. But since it offers a defense lawyer, Kate Logan, worth cheering for maybe you should call Moment of Truth a mystery with romantic elements. Whatever genre it belongs to, this book ranks really near the top of my “great reads” score card.

Two years prior to the book’s opening, the wife of the son of a Supreme Court justice died under unusual circumstances. (She fell prey to the notorious blunt instrument — in this case, a bottle of expensive champagne.) To complicate matters further, an array of sex toys surrounds the woman’s scantily clad corpse, and her husband fled before he could be arrested.

You want more complications? The murdered woman is the sister of Kate’s significant other. The fugitive’s pregnant fiancé approaches Kate and asks her to defend him. Kate takes the case, but someone does not approve. And that someone makes their disapproval known in violent terms, arranging attacks on Kate’s daughter as well as Kate herself.

Kate’s love simmers, because he believes his former brother-in-law did the deed. Kate’s ex kicks up a stink and seems about to file for custody of their daughter. So what does Kate do? I wouldn’t deprive you of that plot twist in this mesmerizing read. But I will warn you, start reading Moment of Truth early in the evening, because if you don’t it will keep you turning pages long after your bedtime.

Patricia Lucas White

Patricia Lucas White’s latest historical novel, To Last a Lifetime, was an Eppie finalist for 2003. To Last a Lifetime and two of her fantasy romances, the Sapphire Award-winning A Wizard Scorned and The Godmother Sanction, can be ordered through Hard Shell Word Factory. Her recent contemporary, PS, I’ve Taken a Lover, is available from Lionhearted Books.