Dangerous Deception

The Protectors #27

by Beverly Barton

For Lausanne Raney, romance meant nothing but trouble. Once it cost her her freedom and her baby girl. Now she's got a respectable life…but desperately needs money to find her child. When she accepts an unusual offer from her wealthy employer's daughter, she finds herself under deadly suspicion—and the unwanted protection of security agent Domingo Shea. Bad enough the courageously honest ex-Navy SEAL doesn't completely trust Lausanne any more than she does him. But worse still, the instant electric attraction between them is impossible to resist. And the deeper their investigation goes, the more Lausanne struggles to convince Dom to leave her—for both their sakes. But with a ruthless killer lying in wait, there will soon be no safe place for her or Dom to hide…

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Fiction, Contemporary, Adult, Mystery

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 24, 2006

About the author

Beverly Marie Inman was born on 23 December 1946 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, USA. Daughter of Doris Marie and Walter D. Inman Jr. A born romantic, she fell in love with The Beauty and the Beast epic at an early age, when her grandfather bought her an illustrated copy of the famous fairy tale. Even before she learned to read and write, her vivid imagination created magical words and fabulous characters inside her mind. Movies fascinated her, and by the time she was seven she was rewriting the movies she saw on television and at the local theater to give them all happy endings. By the age of nine she'd penned her first novel. She wrote short stories, TV scripts, poetry, and novels throughout high school and into college.

After her marriage to Billy Ray Beaver, the "love of her life", and the births of her two children, Beverly continued to be a voracious reader and a devoted moviegoer, but she put her writing aspirations on hold until her children were teenagers. At every age of their lives, from infancy to adulthood, the children had been a true joy to her. She devoted herself to her husband and children and considered herself one of the many selfless "supermoms" who put their family's needs first. She believed she had had it all, just not all at the same time.

In her mid-30s, Beverly returned to her former passion — writing — as a hobby, but before 40, she decided that she wanted to make writing a full-time career. And when she rediscovered an old dream — of becoming a published writer — no one was more supportive of her aspirations than her family. Her children were her greatest cheerleaders and her husband was her biggest supporter. After writing over 40 books and receiving numerous awards and nominations, as well as having books on the USA Today list and consistently on the Waldenbooks bestseller list, her career was indeed a dream come true. Having a fantastic family and fabulous friends, as well as making a living doing the one thing she had loved doing since childhood, she considered herself truly blessed. Beverly died suddenly of heart failure on 21 April 2011.

Reviews

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I liked this book and found it quick and easy to read although at times it was a bit predictable. The story was good though.

[May Mostly Romance · Rating 1 out of 5]

เล่มนี้เพิ่งอ่านจบเมื่อวานเองค่ะ ยังสดร้อนใหม่ควันฉุยอยู่เลย ตอบสั้น ๆ ว่าไม่ชอบนางเอกค่ะ น่ารำคาญ ก่อเรื่องให้ชาวบ้าน แล้วก็ช่วยเหลือตัวเองไมได้เลย ลอซานคล้ายคลึงกับโจแอนน่าในเรื่อง Blackwood's Woman อย่างมาก ที่แม้จะพยายามบรรยายว่าเข้มแข็ง คนอ่านก็ยังมองเห็นกระดูกสันหลังที่อ่อนปวกเปียกของเธอ แม็กซ์ชอบพระเอกค่ะโดยเฉพาะต้องมาคู่กะผู้หญิงอย่างนี้ อีกอย่างอ่านแล้วไม่ค่อยเชื่อเลยว่าความรักมันจะงอกเงยได้เร็วอะไรขนาดนี้ อาจเพราะแม็กซ์ไม่ชอบนางเอก ก็เลยจินตนาการไม่ออกว่าจะมีใครมารักผู้หญิงอย่างนี้ได้ เรื่องแปลกคืออะไรรู้ไหมคะ แม็กซ์อ่านเล่มนี้จบเร็วมาก แค่นั่งแท็กซี่จากที่ทำงานกลับบ้าน ก็จบแล้ว ไม่น่าเชื่อตัวเองอยู่เหมือนกัน (ประมาณ สี่สิบห้านาที หนังสือหนาสามร้อยกว่าหน้า) ไม่รู้ว่าเพราะอะไรเหมือนกัน จะว่าน่าติดตามจนอ่านเร็วก็ไม่ใช่ ยังงงตัวเองอยู่ค่ะ พล็อตเรื่องย่อ ๆ ก็มีว่า ดอม เชย์ถูกจ้างให้ไปตามหาลูกสาวเศรษฐีที่หายตัวไปจากบ้าน และเมื่อเขาตามรอยการใช้บัตรเครดิตจนพบผู้หญิงคนนั้นและพาตัวเธอกลับ เขากลับพบว่าผู้หญิงทีเขาพามานั้นไม่ใช่คนที่เขาตามหา หากแต่เป็นผู้หญิงอีกคนที่ถูกจ้างให้ปลอมตัวเป็นเธอ และเมื่อเห็นเด่นชัดว่าลูกสาวเศรษฐีคงจะไม่มีชีวิตอยู่แล้ว ลอซานจึงตกเป็นผู้ตกสงสัยอันดับหนึ่ง และกลายเป็นภาระของดอมในการพิสูจน์ความบริสุทธิ์ของเธอ

[Mollie *scoutrmom* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well-written mystery/suspense novel that would have worked just as well with the romance elements left out. The mystery was so well crafted that I never suspected the villain until the heroine found a gun pointed at her.

Our heroine makes the perfect fall guy...sordid history, low self esteem, all alone in the world. It is amazing that the police are ever brought around to listening to her side of the story.

I have only three complaints about this book. First the romance side of the plot does not mesh very well with the murder and suspense elements. It is almost as if the author had taken two separate stories and attempted to graft them together.

Second, the hero is a bit of a cardboard cutout. He experiences no personal growth, we are not given much about his history, his angst is limited to a single conversation about his brother. I found him, or the description of him, quite shallow. He professes love, but we are not given to his inner reflections on the process of falling in love. He seems more concerned about possible professional conflict of interest.

Last, the first few paragraphs of the first chapter are not relevant to the rest of the book, and seem to have been inserted so as to have us link this book to the rest of the series.

In spite of those quibbles, this book is definitely one of the better mysteries I've read. Look for it.

[Andrea Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

You’d think an experienced investigator could safely return a missing daughter instead he is influenced by lust into missing key things and finds he has an imposter and now has to face he fact that the missing daughter is probably dead. The police are convinced that Lausanne who swears she was hired to impersonate the missing daughter, Audrey, is the guilty party but lustful Domingo is not sure so with neither one trusting each other. The list of suspects in the disappearance grows and the danger to Lausanne becomes his priority. Would be just as effective without the love scenes.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling mystery

This book captured me from page one and the twist and turns lead to a surprise ending. The love story was predictable but it was enjoyable but the “who did it” was the best part.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love this book!!!

Well I must say this book was very intense..lots of twists and turns.. Keeps you on the edge of your seat non stop reading.. what a happy Ending!!!! I highly recommend this book

[Stephanie Weinberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Domingo Shea has been hired to locate missing heiress Audrey Bedell, but instead he finds Lausanne Raney. She's been hired to impersonate the other woman while the heiress runs off with a man other than her husband. In this twisty tale, things are usually not what's expected. An entertaining read.

[Crystal Karre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it kept my attention every second.

[Rhonda Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

At times a little slow but a great story with a wonderful ending . Beverly Barton delivers a great story time and again

[p beddis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just brilliant

Absolutely loved this book. Folks make mistakes but you can still have a happy ending. Just a great read thanks

[ElaineY · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dangerous Deceptions should have been a good story. Not that I was expecting anything different from the usual romantic suspense being churned out these days but I found Barton's new book surprisngly bad. The writing is so reminiscent of something out of the early category titles that I wondered if this is another one of those publishing cheats - those old titles dressed up to look new (like they do with Elizabeth Lowell) and nothing to warn you you're buying an old, old book. Well, Dangerous Deceptions reads like one of those dated books and my surprise is because Barton's previous books were quite different from DD. The writing in her previous romantic suspense were far more sophisticated, her characters less cheesy so I was actually thrilled when I read Dom Shea is an ex-SEAL, being a sucker for these alpha heroes.

Unfortunately, Dangerous Deception turned out to be a deception, indeed.

[Jerome · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the worst book I've finished in quite some time. I picked it up on a whim. I thought it was a suspense/thriller-type novel, but it was hijacked by a romance novel. It had some moments, but they were few and very far between.

[Carolyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

The synopsis made it sound like a gritty thriller, but once I started reading the book I realised I had stumbled into some kind of weird Mills and Boon mystery. Struggled through it by skipping copious pages. I have learned my lesson with Beverly Barton!

[Erotic Horizon]

Dangerous Deception by Beverly Barton (2006)

[Pamela Mellema · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love it

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it

[Sheena Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read.