I would file this book in the genre of romance/suspense with plenty of drama. It was a page turner and fast paced. But, I almost waited too long to write a review. After two weeks, it was hard to remember details of the plot. Then I discovered that I had read it in 2000; and, for the life of me, I can't remember ever reading it. That said, I still really enjoyed the book. From chapter one you know the stalker is a young kid, but why is he stalking? The ending is a total surprise, and it's a relief that the secret our heroine has revealed turns out OK when all along you figured it would turn out real disturbing and creepy.
Single mom, Judge Grace Hart, goes in to check on her 15 year old daughter and discovers that Jessica has snuck out. Grace is a Franklin County (Ohio) Juvenile and Domestic Court Judge and has trouble acknowledging that her daughter seems to be heading down the same path as the kids she sees in court everyday. This isn't the first time she has snuck out. Grace sees someone out on the lawn, and thinking it is Jessica, runs after her. Grace trips on something soft and squishy - it turns out to be Jessica's teddy bear. She looks at the fleeing figure and realizes it's not Jessica but a man. She calls the police and Jessica is brought home, unconscious, by two scruffy looking undercover cops named Tony and Dominick Marino. It turns out Jessica is diabetic and has been experimenting with alcohol and running around with the "cool" crowd who do drugs. She also hates being diabetic and thinks her mother's rules are silly. They rush her to the hospital.
Tony and his brother Dominick have been staking out Jessica's school to break up a drug ring that is targeting the kids. They want Jessica to help them capture the dealers, but Grace says absolutely NO. She demands around-the-clock protection for her daughter. After Jessica recovers and is grounded, strange things begin happening. First the teddy bear, then Jessica feels unseen eyes watching her, a cryptic message is left on the bathroom mirror, a decorated cake with a message is left on the kitchen table, Godzilla, the hamster, goes missing, gum is left on the screen door, a missing picture, etc. Grace thinks the drug dealers are out to scare Jessica, but the police think these are pranks by a kid. They don't consider these happenings serious enough to worry about. Tony has the same feeling, but decides to take it seriously anyway when he is assigned to the case. Besides, Grace is distraught and he is falling for her. He begins staying overnight to watch and keep them safe.
Grace and Tony start out as antagonists who dislike each other. When Grace first meets Tony the word she uses to describe him is obnoxious. After awhile, they figure out their first impressions are wrong. The romance begins to heat up until they fall in love. Tony begins to call them his "girls". There is also a very brief paranormal aspect to the story in the form of a small white moth who flutters around Tony once-in-a-while and seems to be concerned about him. We are led to believe that it is a ghost of his own daughter who died of cystic fibrosis. I know it was a tough of whimsey, but was it necessary? Grace also has a secret which is critical to the climax. The ending is unexpected once the stalker is apprehended. There is also a red herring in the form of a lawyer named Walter Dowd whom Grace once dated.
I'm not sure I found Grace a very likeable character. She was very reactive, had a brittle personality, irritable, quick tempered, over-protective, and uses her judge's voice when she expects to be obeyed. Not sure why Tony found her so attractive. He is ruggedly handsome and a "hottie". The sex scenes were steamy and passionate. There were also some discrepancies that needed a little more research as in the diabetic issue. Just think, I can read this book again in a few years and it will be like the very first time!!!