Under A Desert Sky

by Loren Lockner

The young housekeeper for the Desert Sky Resort in Palm Springs didn’t stand a chance and now lies in a widening pool of her own blood. It’s up to the jaded and brilliant Chief Detective Nicole Lewis to solve the case and soon she uncovers a lurid tale involving possessive boyfriends, provocative photographs, missing funds, and an attempted assassination of the resort’s director, Justin Zachary. Things take a deadly turn when Nicole ends up on the run with the wounded chief suspect in the case, whose mesmerizing presence will either get her fired, killed, or worse yet, break her heart!

Genres: Romantic Suspense

291 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Loren Lockner has been writing romantic intrigues and mysteries for years, becoming addicted to the genre at an early age after receiving The Complete Sherlock Holmes as a birthday present. Born and raised in Southern California and educated at the University of California, her frequent travels across the United States and Canada inspired fascinating settings frequented by intelligent and determined heroines. Loren also writes children's books, mysteries, political thrillers, and fantasies under the name Tyan Wyss. Loren enjoys traveling, playing tennis, cooking, maintaining fresh and salt-water aquariums, and watching BBC versions of classic novels. She is married with two adult children.

Reviews

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (8/1/2021)! 🎁

[Scott Spotson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A maid is found dead lying in a pool of blood in a deserted (and locked) swanky hotel washroom in the middle of the night. Sounds simple, right? Anything but!

This story has plenty of twists and turns, leaving you guessing as to who the culprit is and his or her motives. This story has the right balance between exposition and action, and between descriptive scenes and action-packed frenzy. The main character, a detective, is very likeable as she strives to crack the case.

The only thing I couldn't imagine (and this is a personal preference) is living in a town where it hits 95 Fahrenheit even before breakfast starts, or anytime during the day when it hits 115 degrees in the shade. No thanks!

[Anne - Books of My Heart · Rating 3 out of 5]

    

 The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point).
Kindle freebie on October 4, 2014  (currently $3.39 as of writing this post)

Overall rating 4.50 with 18 ratings and 11 reviews



This is a more brave pick than I thought with so few ratings and reviews. I actually liked Under a Desert Sky with both romance and mystery. The descriptions of the area and development of the characters was well done. There were quite a number of characters, too! This is a murder being investigated by the police and it happened at a resort. So the cast is large with police department staff and resort managers and staff.

Both the mystery and romance are fairly good. The dialogue is quite natural and aids the story. The relationships in the police department are handled well. I really appreciate the female lead being a homicide detective; I am all about strong women. There are variations in ethnic groups as expected in this area.

I also enjoyed the bits of humor. Jesse is outstanding - I just loved him. This is an HEA after the usual stupid / frustrating conflict. Overall, it's a good little read.

Read this review in its entirety at The Book Nympho

[Helen Brower · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m one of those mystery readers with the annoying habit of figuring out who the villain is half-way through the first chapter. If you’re like me, and you’re hankering for an honest-to-God surprise, then you’ll love “Under a Desert Sky.” This clever romantic suspense thriller takes you through myriad twists and turns until the gripping ending when you finally discover whodunit. The book is set against the vibrant scenery of the glorious southwest, and features a host of vivid characters, headed by a smart and beautiful police detective who’s trying her best to juggle clues while keeping her distance from the handsome hotel executive who’s one of the lead suspects in the murder of an employee. Loren Lockner’s exciting page-turner may be your first book by the author but I guarantee it won’t be your last.

[Hillary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!
Loren Lockner weaves a story full of suspense and drama that is rich in color and imagery. The sizzling heat of the sun in the desert is only rivaled by the hot simmering heat between Nicole Lewis, a detective for the Palm Springs Police Department, and the main suspect in a brutal murder that has occurred at a near by resort hotel.
The author takes the reader on a roller coaster ride that has Nicole fighting to stay alive as more and more people turn up dead.

[Lindsay]

Amazon Freebie 01/25/2013

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A...

[T R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good romantic story. And I equally love a suspense story. This is a combination of both and I thoroughly enjoyed it on both counts. There’s a murder and the detective, Nicole, who is in charge. She’s well cast right down to the car with the broken air conditioner in Palm Springs. It’s details like this that add to the story, enhance it as a fun read because you feel for the poor character and that’s good writing. Things with our protagonist get complicated when a love interest enters the story. Lockner does a good job of bringing just the right amount of conflict and tension into the scenes which kept me interested in the story. But where she shines is in her scene description, with prose like “the finely boned, petite girl plunged breathlessly down the expensive carpet…a recent photo of her brother’s happy family smiled up at her, bright and cheerful in its Navajo print frame…thrived in the oak and avocado tree laden valleys…etc.” I’ve read several of this authors books and enjoyed them all, including this one. Can’t wait for more from her.

[Fanny Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a truly great book. I think what I loved the most was Nicole, the heroine of this book, was no damsel in distress. It was a nice change to read a book where the female MC is not only independent and doesn’t need a male to validate her, but she’s competent and even the mistakes she makes through the book are realistic and more from circumstance.
From the first sentence, the reader is absorbed into the story and thrust right into the middle of murder, mystery and intrigue with a large cast of suspects, all set in the beautiful desert. In the beginning, it felt a bit like a movie, where we are introduced to each suspect, the murder scene and all the players involved. Not that it was bad; I loved it. This is a classic, high suspense and gripping murder mystery with a great underlying love story.
This is the second book I’ve read from this author, and I’ll grab more. I love how she stays true to the culture of the area and shows not only the landscape with great details, but gives us a sample of the culture with great respect to the people.
Oh and Justin? Long black hair, Native American heritage and penetrating eyes? Yes please!

[India Daram · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novel plunges into action right at the beginning with a murder. The heroine, who is the investigation officer, is feisty with lots of spunk. As new twists and turns emerge, the author keeps the reader guessing on the identity of the killer and actually introduces several potentials which kept me gripped to the story. With few hints on the identity of the potential murderer splashed in the story, the story line is a mixture of Agatha Raisin's crime mysteries and Penny Jordan's romance. The romance is weaved in beautifully with the hunt for the murderer. I loved the way in which suspense was maintained nearly till the end of the story. This novel could easily become a Hollywood movie as it has all the elements of a successful story - series of murders, man hunt, several suspects, tall-dark-and handsome hero, an attractive heroine and romance. Definitely recommend

[Merry Freer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who doesn’t love a good “whodunit?” Loren Lockner delivers in grand style in “Under a Desert Sky,” a sophisticated murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the final pages. Set in the posh resort town of Palm Springs, California, the thriller begins when housekeeper Elena Gonzales is found in the executive washroom of the Desert Sky Hotel with her throat slit. A host of colorful suspects are immediately identified by Detective Nicole Lewis and her partner, Bud – most of them employees of the ritzy hotel. Each has a relationship with the dead Elena, and putting the puzzle pieces together proves to be a daunting task, especially after Nicole develops feelings for one of her suspects. Superior character development, a fascinating and complex plot and a dash of hot romance work together in this page-turner. I highly recommended it.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance/Adventure/Murder Mystery

The story begins with a young woman's murder, but the real focus of the story is the relationship between the heroine/detective Nicole, and the mysterious tall, dark, and handsome Justin Zachary, who might be Nicole's true love or might be a murderer and embezzler. The book is a thoroughly enjoyable read that includes true love, murders, car chases, desert scenery, doubts, false leads, and a handsome blonde-haired villain.

Lockner's signature blend of romance and crime began with this novel. While it's somewhat adjective-heavy, especially in the beginning, the story is engaging from start to finish, the dialog is well-crafted, and the surprise ending is great fun. Recommended.

[Agnieszka · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was very interesting but not exceptional and it still needs urgently some proof reading (if even I see the mistakes regarding incorrect words, word order or tenses and those are my weaknesses in English). I still learned some new words (love it all the time) and had the feeling the language was above the average street level English.
I loved both main characters and appreciated it very much the clues were enough to figure out who the perp was if I really wanted about half way through the book but because I concentrated more on language and general story line I found it out much later and had the fun of guessing much longer :-)
I still rated it 4 stars just becuse it was such and light and entertaing book regardless of all the short-commings.

[M.G. Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Under a Desert Sky is a romance-mystery, heavy on the who-done-it. Detective Nicole Lewis becomes mired in an ever deepening murder investigation after a young maid at a swanky resort is murdered. With plenty of suspects, Lewis and her co-workers have to weed through the candidates to find the real killer. This novel has plenty of twists and turns which keeps the reader turning the page up to the very (happy) ending. Highly recommend this delightful good read!

[Kay (Brigidsmomma) Compton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Not my usual Cozy mystery, but not too much sex and violence. Well written and well developed plot and storyline. This one actually had me in tears by the end. Very moving and a edge of the seat page turner. I would recommend this to those who like a lot of romance with their mystery...