Romantic Suspense

Romantic suspense is a sub-genre of romance that I feel is quite popular but it's difficult to find a satisfying read. There are a plethora of frail females being protected by hunky ex-military types. It's all rather ho hum. There is lots of heat but the stories aren't very enjoyable. I make a serious effort to find decent romantic suspense for my collection with mixed results.

This month, I had the chance to read an enjoyable one, Desperate Girls by Laura Griffin. While I found the title perplexing the story was solid with a strong capable lawyer in peril by a dangerous killer who has escaped from prison and wants to punish those that put him there. Introduce a hunky ex-military body guard -- well we can't get rid of all the popular tropes -- and you've got an entertaining suspense with just enough heat to make it fun.

It's unusual that I'm not reading books 3 months ahead of publication but I stumbled upon this one just before it was actually released. So here is my review of Desperate Girls by Laura Griffin. If you're a fan of the genre, you might want to give this one a try.

Desperate Girls by Laura Griffin

Brynn Halloran is a defense attorney who is well known for her competence and confidence in and out of the courtroom. Professionally she is on the top of her game but her personal life is much less successful. She’s married to her job and that doesn’t leave much time or energy for relationships.

When a brutal murder occurs, it appears the culprit may be someone she helped put behind bars. He has a vendetta and may be seeking revenge on everyone connected to his case. Including Brynn. When she is saddled with a body guard from a top-notch security firm, sparks fly.

Erik Morgan, former marine and former secret service agent, is the consummate professional. He is determined to keep Brynn safe even if she fights him on every aspect of her security. But as the danger grows, so does their attraction and he will do just about anything to help Brynn win her case, solve her mystery and keep her safe.

Desperate Girls was a very engaging romantic suspense. Brynn was a strong, smart and likable character. Erik was intelligent, capable and loyal. They made a great, if slightly cool, couple and watching them fight their attraction in the midst of a trial and increasing danger made for an entertaining read. There was just enough peril to make the story hard to put down and the twist at the end was unexpected.

I like that the relationship was intense and sexy but the bedroom scenes weren’t over the top. They added to the story without distracting from it.

While I'm still puzzled by the title, this was a very enjoyable read that I would recommend to fans of romantic suspense. 4 stars.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.