Running Hot (2008)

Running Hot
3.5 Stars

Synopsis
Working as a librarian for the Arcane Society, Grace Renquist has secrets she is desperate to keep. Assigned to partner former police officer, Luther Malone, who shares her ability to read auras, Grace fears that her past will return to haunt her. Caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse with operatives from the renegade group known only as Nightshade, Grace and Luther must think on their feet and combine their resources if they are to survive dangerously potent powers enhanced by the founder's formula.

Review
A fun read but not as suspenseful as some of the others in the series.

Luther and Grace are a typical Krentz couple. She is intelligent, feisty and damaged in some way while he is tough, sexy and absolutely irresistible. They have intense chemistry and their paranormal abilities complement each other - Grace profiles auras while Luther manipulates them. Nevertheless, their romantic relationship materializes too rapidly with very little development.

The writing and dialogue are smooth as usual, however, the suspense plot is ultimately predictable and the threat posed by the villains is scarcely threatening. Moreover, the pacing is a little off with numerous superfluous explanations that fill in gaps rather than developing the story and characterization. The Nightshade plot is overly complex and even though some questions from previous books are answered, there is insufficient information on the origins and progression of the organization.

The secondary characters are entertaining such as the band of misfits Luther hangs out with in Hawaii and Fallon Jones who seems to have bitten off more than he can chew. His character is very intriguing and I look forward to his book.

All in all, quite entertaining for those times when you want an uncomplicated read. ( )

Luther is a former cop with a bad leg. Grace has been hiding since her previous boss died a year ago. They are both psychic and when teamed up together to profile one man, they uncover an even bigger plot. Add in a sinister opera singer and you have a great suspense story. Very enjoyable. ( )

Luther Malone used to be a cop until his psychic abilities made too many people suspicious of him, he also hates guns and walks with a cane. Grace Renquist is also psychic but her touch can kill. Grace is sent to see if a suspect is truly guilty by reading his aura and while the two of them investigate this they find themselves caught up in an even bigger set of trouble, not least of which is the two of them being strongly attracted to each other.

It's pretty predictable but it was a fun read. The two characters spark off each other well and while the issues appear to have mostly resolved themselves, I can see where the cracks might appear later. ( )

good read, tasteful sex scenes. Nice Mystery/murder/

Arcane Society toiday ( )

Book Description:
Ex-cop Luther Malone, lifelong member of the secretive paranormal organization known as the Arcane Society, is waiting to meet Grace Renquist. Hired as an aura-reading consultant in the quest for a murder suspect, she's got zero field experience. She's from tiny Eclipse Bay, Oregon. She's a librarian, for heaven's sake.

As for Grace, she's not expecting much either from Malone, who walks with a cane and isn't so good with a gun. Nice resume for a bodyguard...

But even before they reach their hotel in Maui—where they'll be posing as honeymooners—Grace and Luther feel the electric charge between them. Problem is, they need to remain vigilant day and night, because it soon becomes clear there's more going on here. Rogue sensitives—operatives from the underground group Nightshade—are pouring into the luxury resort like there's a convention. Grace recognizes those dark spikes in their auras. She saw the same pattern in someone else in another life—a life she hasn't revealed to Luther or anyone else. And she understands how dangerous these people can be...especially with those para-hunters at their sides.

While the pair's employers at Jones and Jones scramble to get them backup, Luther and Grace have to think on their feet. The criminals in their midst aren't just high-level sensitives: They've enhanced their talents with a potent—and unpredictable—drug. And as grace knows all too well, if you don't control your powers, your powers will control you.

My View:
I'll admit I'm a Jayne Ann Krentz fan from way back. Over the years I've collected just about everything that Jayne has written under this name and her pseudonyms Jayne Castle and Stephanie James. I've read a few of the Amanda Quick series, but I'm not a real fan of historical romances, so I haven't been as diligent to read those. That said, when the new book came out I had to rush out to the bookstore and pick up my copy of her newest Arcane series and I wasn't disappointed.

To be honest I was a little worried about this one because I read the last Jayne Castle book Dark Light and it took me a little to get into it. Although, once I got past the repetitive first few chapters, it turned out to be a pretty good book. I didn't have the same problem with Running Hot. It was a fast read and action packed all the way through. I loved the characters and felt they worked well together.

Although Jayne pretty much explains the whole Arcane Society theme in Running Hot, I would recommend that those who haven't read the previous books in the series try them. It would be good to become familiar with the plot of the stories and some of the characters mentioned in this book. For example, Zack Jones is talked about several times in this book. He had his own story in the previous Arcane book Sizzle and Burn.

One other note: For those who are Jayne fans and read her Eclipse Bay series you might remember not all together there character Arizona Snow. Jayne reintroduces readers to Arizona Snow in Running Hot giving readers a completely new explanation on why Arizona acts the way she does. Bringing Arizona in was just a fun side note to this book. It's all just part of the charm that can be found in Jayne's books.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good love story with sweet love scenes. The paranormal angle takes the reader away from any sort of reality, but the ideas are original and the story line is clever.

It'll be interesting to see if Fallon Jones get the next Arcane Society book. The more we see Fallon in the series the more interesting his character becomes. ( )