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Primary Suspect
Trapped...
Cloudspin Resort held too many ghosts for Kylie McKee, so it was only the death of her father that brought her back to a place she once called home. Getting in and out was key...until a murder and the appearance of her childhood crush thwarted her plans.
With a Killer?
Michael Emerson may have been blessed with fame and fortune, but when several of the women he once dated turned up dead, and Michael became the prime suspect, the good life seemed a thing of the past. Now, as a blizzard trapped him and Kylie in a seemingly haunted resort, Michael knew someone - or something - would stop at nothing to make him pay for his sins of the past....
250 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Susan Peterson
99 books4 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 14, 2025
Once upon a time, in a world decades removed, Harlequin actually published some fairly hard-nosed pulp, romantic thrillers with some bite. Though they no longer do, the Intrigue line seems to be the last vestige of that, albeit a very softened and more romantic take, the edginess watered down. Still, if you can wade through the dross, you can occasionally come up with a gemstone, and Susan Peterson’s Primary Suspect fits that bill.
The only way to fairly judge these is to realize they are akin to pulp fiction from days gone by. Pulp fiction was meant to be lean and enjoyable, fun to read, with enough description and atmosphere to add meat to the bones of the story, while managing to keep it lean and focused; and most importantly, alive with movement. Susan Peterson, with a few caveats, does this with Primary Suspect, making this Mills & Boon romantic Intrigue in their Eclipse line a pretty enjoyable read.
This one actually begins rather grittily, with wealthy and handsome playboy Michael Emerson the main — and only — real suspect in a grisly series of murders. The reason he is the main suspect is each woman had a very close connection to him; it seems that he is either the killer, or someone certainly wants the police to believe he is. Michael Emerson in fact isn’t quite sure he isn’t the killer. He has been having headaches and blackouts since a climbing fall that resulted in the death of an old friend.
The first murder scene the reader is privy too harkens back to the edgier elements in the Harlequin stories of ancient days. Soon enough the narrative will move into romantic suspense and mystery, but it’s a nice nod to the past that the reader gets a gritty scene right up front, to give the story weight.
What is a tad disappointing is how the detective in the case, Denner is written. His over-the-top hostility, and blind belief bordering on obsession that Emerson is the killer makes him come off like a cartoon villain, there only to hiss at. It doesn’t mar the narrative too much, but it does detract a bit from any real danger and tension because he isn’t written the least bit credible for a seasoned detective.
Without any solid evidence with which to charge Michael Emerson, the dashing playboy with substance returns to Cloudspin Resort. It just so happens that Kylie McKee’s father was associated with the place when he passed, and she is headed there too. Kylie and her friend were younger — and Kylie was poorer — than Michael and the group from Cloudspin growing up. Kylie and Gracie used to follow the older kids around and wish they could be like them. Needless to say, sparks fly between the now adult Kylie and Michael. As usual, the attraction is teased but resisted — maddeningly so, at the worst possible moments.
Who is the little girl Kylie keeps seeing and dreaming about? Is it the girl who died tragically back in the days on the cliffs? Why can only she see the girl? Once a murder occurs at the resort, Denner arrives and this morphs into a murder mystery, vying for time with the reluctant romance. Michael may, after all, be the actual killer.
Frankly, by page fifty I was ninety-percent certain who the killer was, and it turned out exactly as I thought. But I could have been wrong. Regardless, it was enjoyable finding out. There’s a bit of excitement and suspense near the end, and a really great epilog tying everything up nicely; so nicely, I could almost overlook the cartoonish Detective Denner — almost.
A cold and snowy atmosphere, folks trapped at a resort, an exciting rescue on the cliffs, a murder, a little mystery, a little romance, and a satisfying ending make Primary Suspect one of the better and more readable books of romantic suspense in the Intrigue line. It’s probably four solid stars, but because so many in this line fall far short of how good this one was, I’m bumping it up. Highly recommended when you’re in the mood for something like this. Great fun.
The only way to fairly judge these is to realize they are akin to pulp fiction from days gone by. Pulp fiction was meant to be lean and enjoyable, fun to read, with enough description and atmosphere to add meat to the bones of the story, while managing to keep it lean and focused; and most importantly, alive with movement. Susan Peterson, with a few caveats, does this with Primary Suspect, making this Mills & Boon romantic Intrigue in their Eclipse line a pretty enjoyable read.
This one actually begins rather grittily, with wealthy and handsome playboy Michael Emerson the main — and only — real suspect in a grisly series of murders. The reason he is the main suspect is each woman had a very close connection to him; it seems that he is either the killer, or someone certainly wants the police to believe he is. Michael Emerson in fact isn’t quite sure he isn’t the killer. He has been having headaches and blackouts since a climbing fall that resulted in the death of an old friend.
The first murder scene the reader is privy too harkens back to the edgier elements in the Harlequin stories of ancient days. Soon enough the narrative will move into romantic suspense and mystery, but it’s a nice nod to the past that the reader gets a gritty scene right up front, to give the story weight.
What is a tad disappointing is how the detective in the case, Denner is written. His over-the-top hostility, and blind belief bordering on obsession that Emerson is the killer makes him come off like a cartoon villain, there only to hiss at. It doesn’t mar the narrative too much, but it does detract a bit from any real danger and tension because he isn’t written the least bit credible for a seasoned detective.
Without any solid evidence with which to charge Michael Emerson, the dashing playboy with substance returns to Cloudspin Resort. It just so happens that Kylie McKee’s father was associated with the place when he passed, and she is headed there too. Kylie and her friend were younger — and Kylie was poorer — than Michael and the group from Cloudspin growing up. Kylie and Gracie used to follow the older kids around and wish they could be like them. Needless to say, sparks fly between the now adult Kylie and Michael. As usual, the attraction is teased but resisted — maddeningly so, at the worst possible moments.
Who is the little girl Kylie keeps seeing and dreaming about? Is it the girl who died tragically back in the days on the cliffs? Why can only she see the girl? Once a murder occurs at the resort, Denner arrives and this morphs into a murder mystery, vying for time with the reluctant romance. Michael may, after all, be the actual killer.
Frankly, by page fifty I was ninety-percent certain who the killer was, and it turned out exactly as I thought. But I could have been wrong. Regardless, it was enjoyable finding out. There’s a bit of excitement and suspense near the end, and a really great epilog tying everything up nicely; so nicely, I could almost overlook the cartoonish Detective Denner — almost.
A cold and snowy atmosphere, folks trapped at a resort, an exciting rescue on the cliffs, a murder, a little mystery, a little romance, and a satisfying ending make Primary Suspect one of the better and more readable books of romantic suspense in the Intrigue line. It’s probably four solid stars, but because so many in this line fall far short of how good this one was, I’m bumping it up. Highly recommended when you’re in the mood for something like this. Great fun.
June 12, 2022
A quick read- first time I've read a harlequin book. A little lusty but that's all
May 30, 2016
Enjoyed it.
October 14, 2015
not bad, but not great either.. not sure I would read it again though
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews