One Texas Night

by Sylvie Kurtz

Everything's more intense in the heat of a Texas night.
Lieutenant Grady Slone wants answers about a murder. Melinda Amery has none, except that nothing good will come from remembering.
But Grady is the kind of cop who won't let go. Then Melinda's memories begin to return, revealing more than either of them wanted to know.

A Romantic Times nominee
OTHER ROMANTIC SUSPENSE by Sylvie Kurtz
Hidden Legacy
One Texas Night
Personal Enemy
OTHER TITLES by Sylvie Kurtz
Broken Wings
Silver Shadows
A Little Christmas Magic

Genres: Romance, Ebooks, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Suspense

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1999

About the author

Sylvie Kurtz writes stories that explore the complexity of the human mind and the thrill of suspense. She likes dark chocolate, soft wool, and movies that require a box of tissues. www.sylviekurtz.com

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars ~ Murder just didn't happen in Fargate and to complicate things, Grady's only witness was a neighbour who totally blocked out what had happened.  Grady's job is on the line to catch the killer in a hurry, or the promotion to Chief won't be his.  With no clues, all he's got is Melinda, who at first he thought was faking PTSD.  It soon became obvious that Melinda associated Angela's murder with a traumatic event she'd blocked out from her childhood.  When Melinda purposely misleads the press into printing she was a witness, the murderer starts to stalk her and send her threats to keep her mouth shut. Melinda's determined to finally push through those repressed memories, memories that she's sure are about her mother's death when she was eight.  As her mind slowly reveals more glimpses of the past, the more someone wants her silenced.  Fighting his growing feelings for Melinda, Grady has to keep his mind on the case; her life and his career are at risk.

This is Ms. Kurtz debut with Harlequin.  Although the reading flow seemed awkward in places, especially on POV switches between hero and heroine, Ms. Kurtz's first book was thoroughly enjoyable.  The story is suspenseful; the characters are likeable and have great chemistry; and there were a few surprises on the whodunit.  This is a good read.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who reads a fair amount of Romantic Suspense this story was nothing new but at the same time had a few nice touches that kept me involved with the characters and the different intersecting plots.

I found Grady to be as he was described a bit stiff and Melinda was the usual damsel-in-distress that he of course wanted to save as well as wanted to bed.

Nice read for the day that also served up another Texas location, which is what intrigued me in the first place.

[Samm Serrinnitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read written by Sylvie Kurtz. Absolutely love it! Must read more of her books!

[Penny Griffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great Writing, Not so great Story
September 20, 1999

Sylvie Kurtz is a fine writer who joins the Intrigue line with "One Texas Night." Telling the story of a woman who might have witnessed her neighbor's murder, Kurtz proves that she has a great voice that deserves to be discovered. If the story ultimately disappoints, it's not because of her writing style. She has a definite way with descriptions, painting pictures with words, and some of her sentences deserve to be reread and savored on their own.

The problem is, the story never goes anywhere. It boils down to little more than 200 pages of "Grady wants Melinda to remember, Melinda doesn't want to remember, sparks fly, he goes away....He returns, he wants her to remember, she doesn't want to remember, sparks fly, he goes away...Grady returns, he wants Melinda to remember..." See a pattern? Some actual plot movement begins in the last fifty pages, though it hardly matters, since those who read enough mysteries have probably figured out the identity of the villain long before. In a better book, the revelation of her neighbor's killer would have been the false ending before the more surprising, satisfying one. Alas, it doesn't happen, and it's hard to find any satisfaction with how the finale plays out. I have no doubt I'll pick up her next book, if only to enjoy some fine writing. Hopefully something will happen in that one.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good suspenseful story.

[Lanelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although it's well written, it's a clean read.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read. Worth the read but nothing out of the ordinary for the read.