Malicious Intent

Malicious Intent is a “romantic suspense” novel, this was likely my first foray into that category, I had initially chosen it thinking it was a detective/mystery novel. This novel deftly weaves a suspenseful police procedure narrative (think: your fav police tv show) together intimately with a romance plot about reconnecting lovers. The suspense moves at a enjoyable pace, always keeping you going. Ivy is discovered by, partly but not entirely coincidentally, by her rejected but still cherished childhood boyfriend, who is now a federal agent - in the midst of her fending off mysterious thugs who are torturing her for information on how to break into her rising high technology start up. The novel proceeds from there, gradually revealing her past with its relevant links to the mystery, as well as her history with her former lover, which, as you can guess, is being rekindled along the way. I can't speak too much on the romance portion of the narrative, it struck me as a bit formulaic, but I did notice, and resonate with, the seeming identification of caring with good coffee and lots of cooking. The mystery was good, and well revealed, ending with a satisfying showdown – if police procedurals are your passion, then I'd certainly recommend this novel. It was a light, fun, fast read. I pick nits with several things, but they're not important. First, I reject the notion that there exists crab cakes better than Maryland crab cakes. I also was right on the borderline of suspension of disbelief in the relation between Ivy and Gil, I can't imagine any competent organization would allow the protection (and over-protection) of a federal agent directly with an intimate relationship, with the entire department recruited in some kind of gun toting family protection circle-the-wagons fashion. Gil's constant touching Ivy was creepy and his stifling constant protection of her felt a bit like stalking – this was not the author's intention (and indeed since we know Ivy's mind, it was not perceived as such) and here I defer to possible conventions of romance narratives that I'm not conversant with, perhaps. It did raise an eyebrow along the way, though. Not to overstate that, I was, in fact, delighted with the weaving of the romance with the suspense, and it was aa quick, fun read.

4.5 stars

Overall, a really well plotted story that kept me guessing about which of the suspects was actually responsible for the kidnapping and why they were going after Ivy. It was very intense to dive right into a torture scenario... I would have liked to have some sort of preparation for what I was going to start reading about, but at the same time I appreciated that details were kept matter-of-fact and not graphically described.

Gil was a great leading man and an enjoyable character to spend time with. I liked how he interacted both with Ivy and with his circle of friends, because it’s really nice to see healthy relationships between adults in books. He’s clearly a strong man, especially in character.

I’m looking forward to the next book in the series!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.