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Most Wanted #3

The Case of The Missing Secretary

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Logan Deverell has infuriated Kit Morris for the last time. She's had enough of her boss's temper, his ingratitude and, most of all, his complete oblivion to her feelings for him. But she certainly manages to get his attention when she quits and joins the Lassiter Agency as their newest detective.

Once he gets over his initial anger, Logan feels lost and miserable without Kit. Realizing what he needs to do, Logan vows to get Kit back…but he'll have to offer a lot more than a job�he'll have to give her his heart.

192 pages, Kindle Edition

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About the author

Diana Palmer

1,026 books3,085 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Diana Palmer is a pseudonym for author Susan Kyle.

(1)romance author
Susan Eloise Spaeth was born on 11 December 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia, USA. She was the eldest daughter of Maggie Eloise Cliatt, a nurse and also journalist, and William Olin Spaeth, a college professor. Her mother was part of the women's liberation movement many years before it became fashionable. Her best friends are her mother and her sister, Dannis Spaeth (Cole), who now has two daughters, Amanda Belle Hofstetter and Maggie and lives in Utah. Susan grew up reading Zane Grey and fell in love with cowboys. Susan is a former newspaper reporter, with sixteen years experience on both daily and weekly newspapers. Since 1972, she has been married to James Kyle and have since settled down in Cornelia, Georgia, where she started to write romance novels. Susan and her husband have one son, Blayne Edward, born in 1980.

She began selling romances in 1979 as Diana Palmer. She also used the pseudonyms Diana Blayne and Katy Currie, and her married name: Susan Kyle. Now, she has over 40 million copies of her books in print, which have been translated and published around the world. She is listed in numerous publications, including Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Inc., Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers by St. James Press, The Writers Directory by St. James Press, the International Who's Who of Authors and Writers by Meirose Press, Ltd., and Love's Leading Ladies by Kathryn Falk. Her awards include seven Waldenbooks national sales awards, four B. Dalton national sales awards, two Bookrak national sales awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for series storytelling from Romantic Times, several Affaire de Coeur awards, and two regional RWA awards.

Inspired by her husband, who quit a blue-collar manufacturing job to return to school and get his diploma in computer programming, Susan herself went back to college as a day student at the age of 45. In 1995, she graduated summa cum laude from Piedmont College, Demorest, GA, with a major in history and a double minor in archaeology and Spanish. She was named to two honor societies (the Torch Club and Alpha Chi), and was named to the National Dean's List. In addition to her writing projects, she is currently working on her master's degree in history at California State University. She hopes to specialize in Native American studies. She is a member of the Native American Rights Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Cattlemen's Association, the Archaeological Institute of Amenca, the Planetary Society, The Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Sheriff's Association, and numerous conservation and charitable organizations. Her hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, iguanas, astronomy and music.

In 1998, her husband retired from his own computer business and now pursues skeet shooting medals in local, state, national and international competition. They love riding around and looking at the countryside, watching sci-fi on TV and at the movies, just talking and eating out.

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5 stars
564 (37%)
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431 (28%)
3 stars
379 (25%)
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102 (6%)
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40 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
Profile Image for StMargarets.
3,135 reviews627 followers
April 20, 2019
Rant ahead!

Secretary is not missing. She quit after her boss hero didn’t stand up for her when his gold-digging fiancée spilled coffee on her. Heroine has had a mysterious crush on her chain-smoking, womanizing, rude boss for three years.

The heroine is now working as a “detective” in the office featured in The Case of the Mesmerizing Boss. The hero often uses this agency to find his mother who goes on adventures when she gets bored. Hero needs his secretary back because it’s taken three women to replace her.

Heroine is done with the hero treating her like crap and she gets in several digs at the OW as well.

So far so good. This heroine seems to have a backbone.

Until the hero’s mother escapes to San Antonio and the hero’s cousin, Emmett. Yes, it’s the same EmmettLong, Tall Texans: Emmett, Regan Burke: Emmett\Regan\Burke from that book.

I hated him then and I hate him now.

He’s a horrible father and human being. And in this story he and his trio of delinquent children are used as comedy and as a foil to the hero.

Since both Emmett and this hero are tools, I didn’t see a lot of contrast, to be honest. And I hated seeing the heroine of Emmett’s book being a sniveling doormat *again.* These are horrible, horrible characters.

But back to our H/h.

Heroine had a backbone until the hero saw her topless and did some breast magic while she was trying to get coffee stains out her blouse. Hero barges in on her in the bathroom. (Romantic – yes?) And let me make this clear: he’s sucking on her nipples while he’s engaged to the OW.


Because some dim part of his mind knows that he’s cheating, he makes himself feel better by being cruel:

He tells the heroine the OW is better looking then her.
That he knows she has a crush on him.
That he could take her virginity anytime.

He continues to put the moves on the heroine while he’s engaged. He won’t break the engagement because he can’t admit he’s wrong.

Once the OW gives him back his ring, then he seduces the heroine (no condom) and offers marriage since she might be pregnant.

His mother goes missing again and heroine finds her in the hospital having tests for cancer. Heroine promises not to tell hero until the results are known. Hero finds out and breaks their engagement because heroine was loyal to his mother and not to him. Heroine mopes around for awhile until hero finally realizes he loves the heroine and takes her back.

Gross.

He was a cheater and hypocrite and his family was full of psychos. The bathroom seduction was tacky. Telling heroine she was not pretty was cruel. There wasn’t one redeeming thing about this hero. Run away heroine. Run away.

Diana Palmer checklist:

Hairy chest check
Breast Description up tilted nipples (!?)
Cigarettes hero has gone from cigarettes to cigarillos
Alcohol no
Town Descriptions Takes place in Houston. There are other characters who will get their own stories (Emmett – gag)
Gardenia Scent No. Who could smell anything over all that smoke?
LOL detail Heroine advises the new secretary to find the “smokeless ashtrays”
Cutesy detail So many, cringey attempts at humor. (a) the three horrible children of Emmett’s (b) Emmett’s many marriage proposals (c) three secretaries to replace the heroine (d) the hero’s runaway mother who has been arrested as well as placed in a mental institution during her adventures. Hilarious!
DP hobbyhorse Society has no values because art and culture are disappearing. Kids play with plastic toys, have VHS tapes and video games. (Diana Palmer, let me introduce you to the internet)




Profile Image for Jenny.
3,158 reviews556 followers
June 20, 2014
Another plain secretary who falls hard for her blind ruthless and engaged to a gold-digger boss. I'm a sucker for unrequited love stories and this one was super romantic and passionate!
Profile Image for Chantal ❤️.
1,361 reviews906 followers
February 29, 2016
This was the last of the series and by far the worst of it. I can't even say it was good cause only the sex was ok. First time I ever read about them using a condom was in this book. It can't really get on board with his attitude towards her. He calls her ugly and treats her like a doormat and she takes it all in like some kind of virgin sacrifice. His only concern was for himself and that's not what love is about. He is arrogant and vain and I did not believe him when after he keeps blaming her for everything that he loved her. Not really buddy!! You just want her worshiping you unconditionally. Sorry but I did not feel it. Just the sex was ok.
Profile Image for Laura Calderone.
333 reviews6 followers
June 8, 2020
Lettura amatoriale, carina la storia, collegata sempre alla ben nota LTT, perché qui si conoscono e hanno un ampio spazio i protagonisti di "Una fidanzata per papà". Emmett e i suoi bambini, sono uno spasso, e si ride, si ride davvero e fanno un bel contorno ai protagonisti!
La mia perplessità rimane sempre la stessa, perché pubblicare alcuni libri e non altri di questa autrice che pur avendo bene o male uno stereotipo di uomo, riesce a creare delle storie sempre emozionanti, ma in questo caso ha saputo creare dei personaggi come questi bambini... davvero esuberanti ed esplosivi!!!
Profile Image for Indah Threez Lestari.
13.4k reviews269 followers
March 30, 2010
Meski jalan ceritanya biasa standar, untunglah bukan love at first sight, sex at first week, then wedding at first month (or less) yang jadi ciri khas novel harlequin. Dari beberapa novelnya yang kubaca belakangan ini, Diana Palmer tampaknya lebih suka versi "cinta yang sudah lama terpendam dan akhirnya tergapai jua".

Overall, aku kurang suka tokoh cowoknya, kurang suka "petunjuk buku berikutnya" yang maksa nyelip sebelum cerita tamat, dan jelas kurang suka pasangannya. Ow, plis deh... bos cowok dan sekretaris cewek gitu... bosan ah! Kalau saja ada mau iseng survei berapa persen cerita roman yang diawali hubungan bos-sekretaris begini. Lebih seru kalau perannya dibalik kayak "The Proposal"-nya Sandra Bullock!
Profile Image for Yessyamarilis.
120 reviews9 followers
August 3, 2013
terjemahannya jayus, banyak kata2 yg aneh gt. Bacanya capek, hero sama heroinenya dr awal sering saling teriak. Apalagi heronya si logan itu, pengen q jedotin ke tembok berkali-kali
348 reviews2 followers
June 19, 2017
I have a love/hate relationship with Diana Palmer. This one falls under the "meh" category.

Kit was Logan's secretary for 3 years and has loved him just as long. Logan never noticed her "that way" and got engaged to a gold digger because he wanted to get into the gold digger's pants. Kit quits. Logan's beside himself. Kit has a bit of backbone in her new career as girl-detective. She goes after bail jumpers (shades of Stephanie Plum minus the car trouble) and stands up for herself to Logan.

Things happen to be include safe pre-marital sex. It'd be something if one day a Diana Palmer heroine gets schooled in ways to have mutual fun that don't involve penetration or suckling breasts (holy cow, did I just write that?). At least this one acknowledges that people can and do have sex without getting pregnant or catching a social disease.

There's the most minor of misunderstandings which happens and is resolved in a matter of about 3 pages.

At some point when I'm in the mood for more patented DP shenanigans I'll read Emmett's story. Which shouldn't be confused with Ethan's story. Or Evan's story.



Profile Image for Mattie.
1,974 reviews8 followers
December 24, 2022
Logan and Kit

I didn't like it. Logan was a jerk and I don't understand what Kit saw in him if he was always yelling at her and never showed her kindness in the 3 years they worked together. He never noticed her at all and thought she was ugly (in anger he said she was just jealous of his fiancee because she was pretty and Kit was not). He slept with tons of other woman over the years they worked together.

Logan was engaged to an awful woman for over half the book and Kit even walked in on them kissing passionately in his office. He still wanted the other woman after kissing Kit and was still planning to marry her.
They only broke up because the other woman was waiting in his apartment about to seduce him for first time and Kit and Logan came in together.
He never actually chose Kit over the other woman.
I fully believe had Kit not been with him he would have succumbed and fallen into her pregnancy trap plan.

It didn't feel like Logan actually loved Kit, it felt like he loved that she loved him. Np.
Profile Image for Lisa Gibbs.
802 reviews2 followers
August 5, 2018
Logan Deverall has been blind to the fact that his secretary Kit has had a huge crush on him for three years. He is bad tempered, successful, relentless, but loves his mother who drives him crazy with her antics.

Logan fires Kit due to a woman. Kit is hired by the Lassiter detective agency and well thinks go wonky from there. She is sent out to find Logan's mom who has disappeared again. Kit finds her on Logan's cousin's ranch. Emmett has three very undisciplined children who provide comic relief. They are obnoxious and have no discipline, they even call their father Emmett. He tries to marry Kit but Kit only has eyes for Logan.

Will Logan wake up in time before he loses her?

This is a quick fast read and follows Ms. Palmer's typical format. I will say that I didn't find Logan to be as much of a jerk as her other heroes. Kit has spunk but she is very green. She can handle Logan in a temper and doesn't back down from him.
Profile Image for Bea Tea.
1,154 reviews
September 22, 2023
Oh my GOD those fucking kids again! We had to endure so much of Emmett and his rancid, disgusting, pervert kids AGAIN. I could barely suffer through that lot when I read Emmett in the Long Tall Texans series. Imagine by HORROR when they show up here, and seriously take up a good 50% of the entire damn book.

The H in this one as well was a gross pig, skeezy, skuzzy, slimy, generally a complete bell-end. The h was a wet mop, a completely pathetic, lame, spineless, sorry excuse for a woman.

Overall I really didn't enjoy. 2 stars because DP can still write some hot spice.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
2,315 reviews26 followers
May 20, 2018
Kit & Logan

I am a big fan of Diana Palmer but I must say this book is not one of her best work. This is another story about unrequired love but the H was quite brutal towards the h and treats her super bad and she just takes it. This could have been more accepted years ago ( this is a old book) but it doesn't fly well this days. We need and demand stronger women that won't take that kind of thing any more.
Profile Image for Nurul Badia.
205 reviews2 followers
March 23, 2017
Prediksi saya sebelum baca ini adalah akan menemukan cerita yang langka, selangka bukunya tapi ternyata biasa aja.
Karakter Logan disini sangat arogan sekali dan saya baru menemukan tipe tokoh utama yang luar biasa menyebalkan sepanjang pengalaman saya membaca buku selama ini plus buku ini terbit sekitar tahun 2000 dimana dimasa itu penerjemahan buku banyak didominasi bahasa jayus aka alay kalau kata anak zaman sekarang. Mungkin saat itu, penggunaan kata-kata tersebut biasa saja tapi bila dibaca pada masa kini, maka akan sangat mengganggu karena sudah tidak relevan.
Cukup mengecewakan saat membacanya karena ternyata buku ini tidak seperti yang saya bayangkan.
Profile Image for CANDEN333.
353 reviews
August 26, 2024
This should be called Kit’s story because 75% of it is all about her life. Logan is too busy with his fiancée to be part of this book until the end chapter.
It’s a strange book with hellion kids taking up a lot of it!
Romance? Not really.
1,146 reviews5 followers
January 5, 2018
A type A alpha male and the woman who secretly loves him (and works for him). Both seemed one dimensional characters.
Profile Image for Kimberly.
1 review
February 28, 2019
Delightful!

Diana Palmer is a master. She never fails to draw in her reader with poignant characters. Kit's spark was delightful.
1,833 reviews4 followers
April 6, 2019
Different

I found this one was a little hard to get through.I really like this , but just not this story.
Profile Image for Amy.
17 reviews1 follower
November 25, 2020
It's hard to believe that a book can be so outdated that was written in 1992
356 reviews1 follower
January 18, 2021
Great Series

This book is part of another great series. Love the way she brings in characters from other stories and series. Great book.
Profile Image for Penelope.
1,007 reviews1 follower
January 24, 2021
HERO - TRASH
HEROINE - DOORMAT
OTHER CHARACTERS - DUMBASSES
RELATIONSHIP - ABUSIVE
PLOT - INEXPLICABLE
POLITICS - REPUBLICAN
BOOK - BASURA
Profile Image for Diedre.
893 reviews10 followers
July 8, 2024
Probably one of the most contrived, off beat stories I read from her. Didn't really do it for me.
1,045 reviews2 followers
June 9, 2025
2⭐️’s

“𝓘’𝓿𝓮 𝓰𝓸𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓘’𝓶 𝓴𝓮𝓮𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔂𝓸𝓾.”

Tropes:
🤍Age Gap
🤍Unrequited Love
🤍Ex-Boss X Assistant
689 reviews1 follower
February 28, 2017
Terrific

Logan and Kit hit sparks off each other as she worked as his assistant for three years. He had a terrible temper and she did too. Loving him as she did made her vulnerable as she tried to warn him about his gold digging fiancee. So he fired her and then kept kidnapping her to try to get her to work for him again. Passion and love won the day.
Profile Image for Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
275 reviews198 followers
August 20, 2008
This one is my fave book among three. Tentang Kit Morris, sang sekretaris andalan dan Logan Deverell, bosnya yg nyebelin tp Kitt cinta banget ma doi.
Masalah dimulai ketika Kit yg berniat baik dengan memberitahu Logan tentang watak asli pacar barunya malah kena semprot Logan. Tapi alasan sebenarnya lebih karena Logan memutuskan akan menikah dengan Betsy, pacarnya yg matre itu dan tentu saja Kit akan sakit hati kalo dia harus tetap bekerja di kantor itu sementara Betsy memperlakukan Kit semena2 seperti menyuruh bikin kopi.
Logan yang tergoda karena kecantikan fisik Betsy tidak menghiraukan penjelasan Kit, sampai akhirnya mereka malah bertengkar heboh n Kit memutuskan berhenti bekerja dan pindah kerja k kantor detektif Dane Lassiter.
Kit diberi tugas mencari orang hilang, yaitu Ibu Logan, Tansy, yang memang punya hobi ngilang dengan alasan "bertualang". Semua petunjuk mengarah ke peternakan milik sepupu Logan, Emmet, yang terkenal punya 3 anak dengan kelakuan horor..bayangin aja, mereka selalu ngerjain pacar2 bokapnya yg duren (duda keren hehehhe) n nyulik wanita2 yg lewat di peternakannya, ada yg diikat di pinggir jalan, ada yg tempat tidurnya dikasih ular..jail luar biasa deh..
Malah Emmet gak kalah aneh, demi nyari ibu buat anak2nya, rela get married ma sapa aja yg penting single n available, kontan aja Logan yg tau Kit berkunjung ke tempat Emmet utk mencari Tansy, menyusul Kit kesana.
Ternyata co itu kalo gak ketemu saingannya gak bakal deh nyadar ma perasaannya, karna cemburu ma Emmet, akhirnya Logan selalu bersikap protektif ma Kit and berusaha mati2an mencegah Kita supaya gak fell for Emmet yg gak habis2nya merayu Kit...Hmm...berhasil gak yahhh...???
Emmet juga punya kisah sendiri loh...di seri Long Tall Texan, moga2 gramed niat nerbitin juga yaahh..!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews

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