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In Too Deep #1
Closer...
A stalker has ruined Christie Pratchett's life. He's stolen her job, her friends and her freedom. The police can't help, nor can the FBI. Now with a single call for help, it's all up to ex-Delta Force Boone Ferguson. Boone lives under the radar... with a secret that could cost him big. But he's going to train Christie to become a warrior princess -- and his lover. Together they're going to risk it all, on the street -- and in the bedroom.
Do you have a forbidden fantasy? Look inside for hot tips from Sue Johanson that might help make those dreams a reality.
Sue Johanson is a registered nurse, sex educator, author and host of The Oxygen Network's "Talk Sex with Sue Johanson."
Do you have a forbidden fantasy? Look inside for hot tips from Sue Johanson that might help make those dreams a reality.
Sue Johanson is a registered nurse, sex educator, author and host of The Oxygen Network's "Talk Sex with Sue Johanson."
251 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 2006
2 people are currently reading
202 people want to read
About the author
Jo Leigh
273 books93 followersaka Samantha Beckett
Jolie Kramer began her career in 1975 as a reader in the Comedy Development department for 20th-Century Fox. She left Fox in 1977 to go on location with THE DEER HUNTER. She then worked as an auditor, associate producer and producer on such projects as WHEN SHE SAYS NO for CBS, BEULAH LAND for NBC, GREAT AMERICAN TRAFFIC JAM for NBC and CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR for Jozak Productions. In 1987 she became head of development for the McCarran Film Corp., overseeing a roster of twelve feature films. As a screen writer, she’s had a series idea purchased by Cinemax, and has worked as a script consultant on more than 50 screenplays. Currently, her screenplay APACHE TEARS was optioned by Northern Lights Productions in Canada.
Jo Leigh's first Silhouette novel, SUSPECT, was awarded BEST FIRST SERIES BOOK by Romantic Times Magazine, garnered the 1994 ROMANCE WRITER OF THE YEAR award from Pike’s Peak RWA, and was a finalist for BEST ROMANTIC SUSPENSE NOVEL OF 1994 by Romance Writers of America. Her first Temptation novel, ONE WICKED NIGHT was a finalist for BEST SHORT CONTEMPORARY NOVEL OF 1998 by Romance Writers of America. She was invited to write one of the launch books for the Harlequin imprint, Blaze, with her book GOING FOR IT! Her 2006 Blaze RELENTLESS was a RITA finalist for BEST ROMANTIC SUSPENSE.
She also ghost-wrote GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL DOLL – THE ANNA NICOLE SMITH STORY for Barricade Books.
Jo teaches writing at workshops across the country and on-line, and is a frequent guest speaker at writing conferences. Her tape on Advanced Plotting from the Dallas Romance Writers of America conference is the best selling tape in RWA’s history.
Jo lives in an incredibly rural area of Utah where her many rescue dogs have room to run and play and her rescue cats are determined to win the International Shedding Award. She spends an inordinate amount of time reading about how the brain works, listening to music and trying not to kill the basil.
Jo's husband died of cancer on 13 June 2008, three years after they married, and whose medical bills are astronomical. Authors, editors, and bloggers have all donated a mess of items, from books to critiques to mentoring sessions to offer an item for the auction to benefit author Jo Leigh.
Jolie Kramer began her career in 1975 as a reader in the Comedy Development department for 20th-Century Fox. She left Fox in 1977 to go on location with THE DEER HUNTER. She then worked as an auditor, associate producer and producer on such projects as WHEN SHE SAYS NO for CBS, BEULAH LAND for NBC, GREAT AMERICAN TRAFFIC JAM for NBC and CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR for Jozak Productions. In 1987 she became head of development for the McCarran Film Corp., overseeing a roster of twelve feature films. As a screen writer, she’s had a series idea purchased by Cinemax, and has worked as a script consultant on more than 50 screenplays. Currently, her screenplay APACHE TEARS was optioned by Northern Lights Productions in Canada.
Jo Leigh's first Silhouette novel, SUSPECT, was awarded BEST FIRST SERIES BOOK by Romantic Times Magazine, garnered the 1994 ROMANCE WRITER OF THE YEAR award from Pike’s Peak RWA, and was a finalist for BEST ROMANTIC SUSPENSE NOVEL OF 1994 by Romance Writers of America. Her first Temptation novel, ONE WICKED NIGHT was a finalist for BEST SHORT CONTEMPORARY NOVEL OF 1998 by Romance Writers of America. She was invited to write one of the launch books for the Harlequin imprint, Blaze, with her book GOING FOR IT! Her 2006 Blaze RELENTLESS was a RITA finalist for BEST ROMANTIC SUSPENSE.
She also ghost-wrote GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL DOLL – THE ANNA NICOLE SMITH STORY for Barricade Books.
Jo teaches writing at workshops across the country and on-line, and is a frequent guest speaker at writing conferences. Her tape on Advanced Plotting from the Dallas Romance Writers of America conference is the best selling tape in RWA’s history.
Jo lives in an incredibly rural area of Utah where her many rescue dogs have room to run and play and her rescue cats are determined to win the International Shedding Award. She spends an inordinate amount of time reading about how the brain works, listening to music and trying not to kill the basil.
Jo's husband died of cancer on 13 June 2008, three years after they married, and whose medical bills are astronomical. Authors, editors, and bloggers have all donated a mess of items, from books to critiques to mentoring sessions to offer an item for the auction to benefit author Jo Leigh.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 2, 2008
Although not labeled as such, this is actually the first story in Jo Leigh's 4-book mini-series, In Too Deep... Jo Leigh has authored 42 books over the past 16 years, writing almost exclusively for Harlequin/Silhouette. I never hesitate to pick up one of her books. She has perfected the tight pacing required by a 256-page limit, yet her characters and plots have depth and intensity.
Closer... is a page-turner. Leigh really makes you feel the anxiety, the terror, the desperation that comes from being stalked. Christie Pratchett isn't just scared. She's very much alone. Her employer and friends are threatened, so they're no longer in her life. She has no family to turn to. She's gone months without any human contact. After months of being terrorized, she decides to run as far away as she can. Packing a few belongings, she comes across a phone number her deceased brother gave her in case of an emergency. Knowing it's hopeless, but desperate to reach out to anyone connected to her brother, she calls the number...
Boone Ferguson is living in the shadows. But he cannot ignore a plea for help from his former comrade's sister. He also knows that the best thing he can do for her is to reveal her own strengths and teach her self-reliance. Boone won't allow Christie to be a helpless female. He makes catching the stalker a team effort rather than a rescue.
Closer... is just the beginning. Boone and Christie are united at the end of the story, but now they are both living in the shadows. And once you've read Closer..., you'll want to read Relentless, Release, and Reckoning.
Leigh also wrote several stories in the Harlequin Blaze Men To Do multi-author series. Among them, Truth or Dare is a story I highly recommend.
Closer... is a page-turner. Leigh really makes you feel the anxiety, the terror, the desperation that comes from being stalked. Christie Pratchett isn't just scared. She's very much alone. Her employer and friends are threatened, so they're no longer in her life. She has no family to turn to. She's gone months without any human contact. After months of being terrorized, she decides to run as far away as she can. Packing a few belongings, she comes across a phone number her deceased brother gave her in case of an emergency. Knowing it's hopeless, but desperate to reach out to anyone connected to her brother, she calls the number...
Boone Ferguson is living in the shadows. But he cannot ignore a plea for help from his former comrade's sister. He also knows that the best thing he can do for her is to reveal her own strengths and teach her self-reliance. Boone won't allow Christie to be a helpless female. He makes catching the stalker a team effort rather than a rescue.
Closer... is just the beginning. Boone and Christie are united at the end of the story, but now they are both living in the shadows. And once you've read Closer..., you'll want to read Relentless, Release, and Reckoning.
Leigh also wrote several stories in the Harlequin Blaze Men To Do multi-author series. Among them, Truth or Dare is a story I highly recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2017
Christie Pratchett is terrified! Someone is stalking her. She's lost her job. She's lost her friends. Her bank accounts are frozen. All she has is her dog, Milo and her home which she'll now lose since she can't pay her bills. She's going to run, anywhere. Packing her things, Christie picks up the photo of her brother Nate, killed in the service of his country and sees the phone number he wrote on the back for her to call in case she's in trouble. It's a pizza parlor! Next thing she knows, Nate's best buddy from the Delta Force, Boone Ferguson is at her door in response to that phone call and says that he's going to help her catch the stalker! Every bit as rugged and handsome as Nate, Christie soon is training to take down the stalker who seems to know everything she's doing. Along the way, the two of them become lovers in spite of the danger. All is not what it seems; Boone has some seriously secretive helpers to keep her safe and all of them have a big secret. As the stalker moves in for the kill, and the truth comes out, will it be too late for Christie and Boone?
I read this book when it first came out and it hasn't lost any of its on-the-edge-of-your-seat tension with a second reading. Even with the military overtones and suspense, it maintains the characteristics of a Blaze romance and is one of my favorite books in this genre.
I read this book when it first came out and it hasn't lost any of its on-the-edge-of-your-seat tension with a second reading. Even with the military overtones and suspense, it maintains the characteristics of a Blaze romance and is one of my favorite books in this genre.
March 12, 2023
La mia 10. Lettura di quest'anno ☺️
Non il solito Harmony ma un thriller erotico che mi ha preso molto. Una storia abbastanza sorprendente in cui cerchi pagina dopo pagina di scoprire chi è colui che sta facendo di tutto per distruggere la vita di Christie.
Non il solito Harmony ma un thriller erotico che mi ha preso molto. Una storia abbastanza sorprendente in cui cerchi pagina dopo pagina di scoprire chi è colui che sta facendo di tutto per distruggere la vita di Christie.
August 16, 2020
HBZ #265
December 28, 2010
I think this story was amazing! It was a far cry from the ones I usually read, which were mostly full of romance, but this one, although under the genre of romance, was jam-packed with suspense and thrilling scenes. I wasn’t really into suspense-thrillers but I was made a fan by this one, I guess. It was truly a page-turner!
Closer is actually a prequel to the “In Too Deep” series also by Jo Leigh. This book actually introduced characters that you may be intimated with should any readers proceed in reading the series.
This is the story of Christie Prachett, a professional interior designer whose life was suddenly turned upside down by a deadly stalker. Suddenly, the life she built for herself, her work and her savings were snatched away from her by an unknown man who made it his mission to relentlessly torment her everyday. And she hadn’t had a clue why. She thought that this was the perfect time that she could have used the help of his brother Nate who used to be in Delta Force except her brother was already two years dead! Then she remembered the number he gave her that should she be needing help, she just had to call that number and HELP would arrive.
Help did arrive in the person of ex-Delta Force way-good looking-with-a-great-butt Boone Ferguson. He introduced himself as Nate’s friend and he’s there to help Christie in catching the stalker any way he can. He’d seen Christie Pratchett in pictures shown to him by Nate when they were still in the Force together and he’s known that she’s pretty but nothing had prepared him seeing her in the flesh. She was a very beautiful woman and he couldn’t help wanting her. She was a distraction he couldn’t afford with what lies ahead in his mission.
I liked the characters of Christie and Boone. I think they were perfect for each other. The sexual tension was very palpable between them; the room practically sizzles with sexual heat when they were in it together.
The storyline was really good. It has twists and turns that you wouldn’t expect which made it all the more exciting and thrilling. Jo Leigh at her best.
Closer is actually a prequel to the “In Too Deep” series also by Jo Leigh. This book actually introduced characters that you may be intimated with should any readers proceed in reading the series.
This is the story of Christie Prachett, a professional interior designer whose life was suddenly turned upside down by a deadly stalker. Suddenly, the life she built for herself, her work and her savings were snatched away from her by an unknown man who made it his mission to relentlessly torment her everyday. And she hadn’t had a clue why. She thought that this was the perfect time that she could have used the help of his brother Nate who used to be in Delta Force except her brother was already two years dead! Then she remembered the number he gave her that should she be needing help, she just had to call that number and HELP would arrive.
Help did arrive in the person of ex-Delta Force way-good looking-with-a-great-butt Boone Ferguson. He introduced himself as Nate’s friend and he’s there to help Christie in catching the stalker any way he can. He’d seen Christie Pratchett in pictures shown to him by Nate when they were still in the Force together and he’s known that she’s pretty but nothing had prepared him seeing her in the flesh. She was a very beautiful woman and he couldn’t help wanting her. She was a distraction he couldn’t afford with what lies ahead in his mission.
I liked the characters of Christie and Boone. I think they were perfect for each other. The sexual tension was very palpable between them; the room practically sizzles with sexual heat when they were in it together.
The storyline was really good. It has twists and turns that you wouldn’t expect which made it all the more exciting and thrilling. Jo Leigh at her best.
March 15, 2015
Original review 6/17/06
http://isntitromantic.blogspot.com/20...
I’ll start by saying that I loved this book. In fact, I just finished reading it a few minutes ago. It’s a July release and I urge you to go to eharlequin.com and pre-order it now.
This is the first in a series about a group of people who know something they shouldn't, who are running for their lives while trying to get those lives back. They live “just below the surface” of society, shifting from identity to identity, one step ahead of the enemy. They can only rely on each other, they can’t make friends or fall in love – it isn't an option. Closer … is the story of Christie Pratchett whose brother Nate had been one of those people and had died because of it. Christie has a stalker who has effectively shut down her life; taken away her job, her friends, and isolating her from everything that she knew. Out of desperation she dialed a number on the back of a picture, a number that her brother had told her to call if she ever needed help. That help turned out to be ex-Delta Force member Boone Ferguson, a friend of her brother’s, who sets out to get Christie back everything that she lost. Boone can’t help but become more involved than he should, to care for Christie far beyond what is required to protect her. And as it becomes more evident that this stalker is more dangerous than imagined, falling in love can become more a liability than blessing, a distraction that could get them both killed.
If I were to put this on an Amazon scale of stars – it would get 5. I loved both Christie and Boone. The chemistry between them is palpable, the tension not only sexual but heightened by the danger surrounding them. The storyline is believable, engrossing and kept me totally absorbed in the story. Once again, I highly recommend this book.
http://isntitromantic.blogspot.com/20...
I’ll start by saying that I loved this book. In fact, I just finished reading it a few minutes ago. It’s a July release and I urge you to go to eharlequin.com and pre-order it now.
This is the first in a series about a group of people who know something they shouldn't, who are running for their lives while trying to get those lives back. They live “just below the surface” of society, shifting from identity to identity, one step ahead of the enemy. They can only rely on each other, they can’t make friends or fall in love – it isn't an option. Closer … is the story of Christie Pratchett whose brother Nate had been one of those people and had died because of it. Christie has a stalker who has effectively shut down her life; taken away her job, her friends, and isolating her from everything that she knew. Out of desperation she dialed a number on the back of a picture, a number that her brother had told her to call if she ever needed help. That help turned out to be ex-Delta Force member Boone Ferguson, a friend of her brother’s, who sets out to get Christie back everything that she lost. Boone can’t help but become more involved than he should, to care for Christie far beyond what is required to protect her. And as it becomes more evident that this stalker is more dangerous than imagined, falling in love can become more a liability than blessing, a distraction that could get them both killed.
If I were to put this on an Amazon scale of stars – it would get 5. I loved both Christie and Boone. The chemistry between them is palpable, the tension not only sexual but heightened by the danger surrounding them. The storyline is believable, engrossing and kept me totally absorbed in the story. Once again, I highly recommend this book.
October 21, 2010
I INHALED this book! I bought it early Saturday evening and stayed up until I finished around midnight on Sunday. Even though it was categorized as a Blaze title, I thought with the amount of hair-raising suspense that it could have easily been a Harlequin Intrigue. Category aside, Closer... was enthralling and literally a page-turner.
Christie's life is all-but destroyed, thanks to a persistent stalker. She's lost her friends, her family, her job and almost her dog thanks to this unknown psycho and she's finally reached her breaking point. While preparing to run away she comes across a phone number her deceased brother left her in case of an emergency. With nothing else to lose, Christie dials the number and ex-Delta Force and currently under-the-radar Boone comes knockin' on her door.
Boone promises Christie that he'll help catch this creep and moves in with Christie to drive the stalker crazy and, in essence, out of his weasel hole. Attempts on both Boone's and Christie's lives are made, and amidst trying to catch the bad guy the two of them begin to fall for each other. Christie and Boone are strong-willed and honest characters and the chemistry between them is hot and enviable. With a surprising twist that complicates things even more, readers will be on edge in anticipation of how things will end!
Christie's life is all-but destroyed, thanks to a persistent stalker. She's lost her friends, her family, her job and almost her dog thanks to this unknown psycho and she's finally reached her breaking point. While preparing to run away she comes across a phone number her deceased brother left her in case of an emergency. With nothing else to lose, Christie dials the number and ex-Delta Force and currently under-the-radar Boone comes knockin' on her door.
Boone promises Christie that he'll help catch this creep and moves in with Christie to drive the stalker crazy and, in essence, out of his weasel hole. Attempts on both Boone's and Christie's lives are made, and amidst trying to catch the bad guy the two of them begin to fall for each other. Christie and Boone are strong-willed and honest characters and the chemistry between them is hot and enviable. With a surprising twist that complicates things even more, readers will be on edge in anticipation of how things will end!
April 11, 2011
This is a great book. It's very suspenseful and has a ton of romance. Christie has a stalker bent on ruining her life. Just as she's about to make run for it, she makes a last ditch attempt for help by calling a number her late brother left for her in case she ever got in trouble. Suddenly Boone Ferguson appears and is determined to help the little sister of his best friend. Hiding secrets from his own past, Boone does everything in his power to get the stalker out in the open. What he doesn't expect is to fall for his dead friend's little sister. Book has a great twist at the end that will leave you never thinking you have the end of a book figured out again.
July 26, 2011
Closer... (Forbidden Fantasies)
by Jo Leigh
To start off, I would like to say WOW..Such a great book.
The name is perfect for it.There are lots of Forbidden Fantasies!
What i liked best about this book was how it started of with a Stalker a Stalker that ws hunting and hurting everything in Chrisie life.And a number from someone lost helps in every way.When knowone else can.I mean knowone.
One call brings this hot and sexy ex-Delta into her life..
I dont want to tell any more.But if you like hot,sexy and smoky this is a book for you!!
Jo Leigh knew what she was doing with this story.
I can't wait to pick up another of her books:):)
Happy Reading Everyone
by Jo Leigh
To start off, I would like to say WOW..Such a great book.
The name is perfect for it.There are lots of Forbidden Fantasies!
What i liked best about this book was how it started of with a Stalker a Stalker that ws hunting and hurting everything in Chrisie life.And a number from someone lost helps in every way.When knowone else can.I mean knowone.
One call brings this hot and sexy ex-Delta into her life..
I dont want to tell any more.But if you like hot,sexy and smoky this is a book for you!!
Jo Leigh knew what she was doing with this story.
I can't wait to pick up another of her books:):)
Happy Reading Everyone
January 22, 2014
i like the story overall, they made a conection in a powerfull way between all the bad that's going on with her, but the end seema rushed, not saying goodbye, not showing how thing really happened in the past... but is good!
August 24, 2008
from my notes after I read it: "I thought these characters were so real. I wanted to know them."
January 12, 2011
I love a good spy/conspiracy book and Jo Leigh is one of my favorite authors. Now, I need to find the rest of this series. :)
March 8, 2012
This was a pretty good mix of romance, suspense, and sexy Boone. An enjoyable read.
September 2, 2012
Really great book. Enjoyed it immensely.
January 1, 2016
Wonderful Series !!!
July 30, 2011
3.75 out of 5
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews