Street Smart

by Tara Taylor Quinn

Las Vegas is about escape.

But the teenage runaways who end up there too often find a world far worse than the one they left behind. A world of prostitution, of danger and fear. One of these runaways is Autumn Stevens, whose half sister, Francesca Witting, comes to Vegas to search for her.

Las Vegas is about illusions.

Francesca meets Luke Everson, ex-marine and head of security for the luxurious Bonaparte Hotel. But Luke doesn't know whether his relationship with her is real or as illusory as everything else in this neon city. He's not even sure it matters. He's consumed by work--investigating a scam in the hotel's casino. He's also trying to adopt a child, because he wants a family without the "claustrophobia" of marriage.

Las Vegas is about connections.

Francesca eventually tracks down her sister--and learns that there's an unexpected connection, an "unknown" connection, between Autumn and Luke.

Las Vegas is about dreaming big.

And despite everything, finding love with Luke is the biggest dream Francesca has.

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Mystery

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

Tara Taylor Quinn began her love affair with Harlequin when she was fourteen years old and picked up a free promotional copy of a Harlequin Romance in a hometown grocery store. The relationship was solidified the year she was suspended from her high school typing class for hiding a Harlequin Romance behind the keys of her electric typewriter. Unaware that her instructor loomed close by, Ms. Quinn read blissfully on with one finger resting on the automatic repeating period key. She finished the book in the principal’s office. Forced to leave her romances in her locker after that, Ms. Quinn’s typing skills improved - a fact for which she is eternally grateful.

With over 80 original novels, published in more than twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestselling author with more than seven million copies sold. She is a winner of the 2008 National Reader's Choice Award, four time finalist for the RWA Rita Award, a finalist for the Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Bookseller’s Best Award, the Holt Medallion and appears regularly on the Waldenbooks bestsellers list. Ms. Quinn writes for Harlequin and MIRA Books. Reviewer, Cindy Penn, wordweaving.com says, “Amazing character development is the hallmark of author Tara Taylor Quinn’s work. Indeed, Taylor’s profound observations of human nature and intimate understanding of values and priorities lends extraordinary psychological depth to all her work.”

Tara Taylor Quinn was born and raised in Ohio. Though she wrote her first story at the age of seven, her professional writing career began ten years later when she was hired as a stringer with the Dayton Daily News in Dayton, Ohio. She attended Wright State University and graduated from Harding College in Arkansas with a degree in English and Journalism. She published several magazine articles before turning to writing as a full-time occupation.

Ms. Quinn is a Past President of the Romance Writers of America and served for eight years on the Board of Directors of that association. She has a wide range of experience as a public speaker and workshop presenter for writers groups around the country.

When she’s not home with her owners, Jerry Lee and Taylor Marie, or fulfilling speaking engagements, Tara loves to travel with her husband, stopping wherever the spirit takes them. They’ve been spotted in casinos and quaint little small town antique shops all across the country..

Reviews

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Street Smart is the eighth stand-alone novel by American author, Tara Taylor Quinn. After fleeing Italy and the cot-death of her newborn baby, Francesca Witting returns to Sacramento to find her widowed mother distraught at the absence of her teenaged sister, Autumn. One recent phone call has been traced to a callbox in Las Vegas, so Francesca decides to stake it out in the hope of finding her sister. She makes the acquaintance of Carl, owner of a bar that becomes a safe place for young women, and Luke, a security consultant for one of the big Casinos who has issues to deal with surrounding his mother, and his desire for fatherhood.

The subplots are several and intertwined. After a long, drawn-out lead-up, the climax is somewhat rushed and all the threads are neatly tied up. While some of the issues addressed are topical, the scheme in which the teens are involved becomes obvious fairly quickly, but the execution is extremely tedious. The story progresses so slowly that at times that reading it is like wading through molasses. While Francesca and Luke are more than cardboard, many of the characters are stereotypes lacking any depth. The romance aspect seems to be secondary to the main plot and is also very slow moving. This needs some ruthless editing before it could rate more than 2 stars.

[Rayni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book jumped out at me at the library. It was actually the author's name, Tara Taylor Quinn, that caught my eye. It was a good book. It kept moving & had a few surprise twists, enough to keep my reading until the end.

I shelved it as mental health because one of the characters suffered from an anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, OCD & other disorder.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously (based on the Good Reads averaged rating) I am in the minority on this book .. but I think it had a strong plot and interesting story (though definitely gritty).
Setting: Las Vegas (mainly)

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good pre Las Vegas trip or read by the pool book. It's an easy but fun read.