Linda Howard's trademark darkly sensual style and intense, layered plot (Booklist) was on display in her most recent New York Times bestseller, All the Queen's Men. Now, this superb storyteller flawlessly blends passion and suspense in a thrilling new page-turner.What qualities would make the perfect man? That's what four women friends are discussing on their lunch break at a Michigan corporation, Mr. Perfect. They start with the basics -- he'd be faithful and reliable, with a great sense of humor. But as the conversation heats up, so do their requirements -- and they write down a tongue-in-cheek checklist that's both funny and racy. The List, as it comes to be called, spreads like wildfire through the company, sizzles along e-mail lines, and even gets onto the local TV news. But what began as a joke turns deadly serious when one of the four women is murdered. A handsome police detective steps in to snare a killer who is targeting the three surviving women, one by one. And now, knowing whom to trust and whom to love is a matter of survival.
I figured this one out pretty early, but the book really isn’t about the mystery, it’s about Jaine and her neighbor. My only problem with it is that the somewhat graphic crime scene and sex descriptions didn’t seem to belong in a book where “damn” is treated as a cuss word.
