My Deadly Valentine

by Valerie Hansen, Lynette Eason

"Dangerous Admirer" by Valerie HansenSomeone's stalking Rachel Hollister. With suspects at every turn, it's deputy Jase Morgan's job to halt the menace shadowing her steps. As the most romantic holiday of the year approaches, can she trust this charming officer with her life...and her heart?

"Dark Obsession" by Lynette Eason

Hang-up calls, graffiti, break-ins at her shop right before Valentine's Day... Someone wants to scare Holly Maddox--and it's working. Her high school sweetheart, Eli Brody, comes to the rescue, but surely the handsome detective doesn't "really" plan to stay. There's nowhere for Holly to turn as danger--and heartbreak--start closing in.

Genres: Love Inspired Suspense, Christian, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Love Inspired, Suspense, Romance

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Valerie Hansen is the pen name of Valerie Whisenand.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Although I have been a published author since the mid 1980s, I have been writing women's Christian fiction almost exclusively since 1999.

There is a longer, more detailed bio on my website so there's no need for me to repeat all that here. Right now, I write for all three Love Inspired lines, Romance, Suspense and Historical. I'm delighted to have been included that broadly and besides, it keeps me so busy that I stay out of trouble. Well, mostly.

You'll find me on the LI Historical blog as well as other LI features. If I try to do much more I won't have time to write my books!

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the most stellar pair of novellas, but they were both really fun stories about stalkers at Valentine’s day. Hansen’s is a Serenity, AR novella; Eason’s is a Rose Mountain, NC story. Both are a short diversion and fairly light reading.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this cover was adorable and just had to read it based on that. Not going to lie. Ha! The first story, Dangerous Admirer by Valerie Hansen, was just ok for me. Still good. The second story, Dark Obsession by Lynette Eason, was amazing! Totally loved it. Kept me guessing. I adored the main characters. Nothing about them annoyed me. There was times I held my breath with it being a suspense. I could see how both stories could be a trigger for people that have gone through trauma in their live.

[Wendy Sparkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Hollister is part owner of Serenity Cards & Gifts, & Holly Maddox is the proud owner of Candy Capers. With Valentine's Day approaching, it's one of the busiest times of their businesses. Both are being threatened & sabotaged, & both have a handsome hero to come to the rescue.

In Dangerous Admirer, Rachel Hollister is being stalked so newcomer Deputy Jace Morgan steps in to protect her. It's just too bad he's sworn off love because Rachel is the type of girl he would be interested in knowing. Rachel doesn't date cops, even handsome ones like Jace - at least she didn't. Not until Jace stays put, determined to protect her as her stalker's threats escalate.
I really enjoyed this story.

In Dark Obsession, Holly Maddox is getting break-ins at her shop & getting pressures which escalate to threats to sell her home & property. High school sweetheart Eli Brody, who is home visiting his family for a while, steps in to help. Only, he walked away before & Holly isn't sure he's back to stay so doesn't want to turn to him for help. But danger is closing in,, & Eli is determined to be there for her this time.
A bit obvious in whom the villain was, but I did enjoy Holly & Eli's romance story.


Following "Dark Obsession", Lynette Eason has 3 more books set in Rose Mountain:

[Allison Mierop · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the second story way more than the first. The first story felt a bit unrealistic at times and wasn’t that suspenseful in my opinion. They basically saved the best story for last in this book. I wouldn’t mind reading more from Lynette Eason.

[Maggie | TheeReadingRedhead · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Deadly Valentine is an anthology featuring two novellas: Dangerous Admirer by Valerie Hansen and Dark Obsession by Lynette Eason.

Dangerous Admirer is about a woman named Rachel who works for a card/gift shop. There are a few break-ins at her shop along with some menacing notes left behind. Jase is a new deputy in town that comes to her rescue. They work together to figure out who is stalking Rachel.

Dark Obsession is about a woman named Holly who is attacked at her candy store and begins to receive various threats about selling her property. Eli is an ex-boyfriend who is back in town to care for his dad. He is also a detective so he helps to keep Holly safe while figuring out who is targeting her.

Both stories are similar and take place around Valentine's Day. I enjoyed Lynette Eason's story more as I felt like it was a more complete story and I could get behind Holly and Eli as a couple since they already had a prior relationship. In Valerie Hansen's story, the couple just met so I couldn't quite buy their love story after just a few days. There were also some cringy and eye roll inducing moments in that one. I did, however, really enjoy the intense ending scene. The suspense was good but the romance not so much. All in all, a good couple of novellas to read for Valentine's Day.

[SKP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe they should have called this Valentine Stalkers? Two novellas, although very good samples of Christian Fiction (lots of references to relying on God) were kind of alike in several ways: both female lead characters were being stalked, both were being assisted by law enforcement officers who also are their love interests, both take place around Valentine’s Day, both women are shop owners who sell a lot of their stock around Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, both stories were also kind of lacking in suspense and rather long-winded. The first one started off more interesting, but when you finally find out who did it, it is someone who was barely mentioned in the story before that point (or if he was, it was a little too subtly). That to me is kind of a cop-out for a suspense story, because a good suspense story usually introduces the person whodunit early, but still keeps you from figuring out who it is. The second story I guessed who was responsible for the stalking well before it was revealed, and pretty much predicted the outcome. In other words, the character whodunit was introduced early, but I was immediately suspicious of him by the way he was acting. Not really a great read, but a pretty quick one and I guess it could have been worse.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two novellas set around Valentine's Day but with a twist.
In Dangerous admirer Jase Morgan is desperately trying to help Rachel Hollister as she has an obsessive stalker but is it just that Jase is doing his duty or is he falling for Rachel? Can he stop the stalker in time and win her heart?
In Dark obsession someone is trying to scare Holly Maddox away from her work, her home and is putting her and her mother's life in danger.
Enter high school sweetheart Eli Brody who is back in town but Alex the latest guy trying to vie for Holly's affections is not amused...

[Pianosue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good light read with a lot of exciting and twists and turns. A 2-in-1 book of suspense.
Someone is stalking Rachel Hollister and deputy Jase Morgan is trying to catch who is threatening her. Will they survive and be able to figure out what is going on?
In Dark Obsession Holly Maddox is being threatened with graffiti and break-ins, etc. Who is trying to harm her? and why? Holly has to turn to her ex-boyfriend Eli for help. Will they be able to figure out who is trying to scare her and why?

[DianFlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting two novella anthology, My Deadly Valentine kept calling me back until I devoured it in just two short evenings! I enjoyed the angst-filled romance in both stories and of course, the spine-tingling suspense. Anything by Lynette Eason is guaranteed great reading and I enjoyed the other author's story as well!

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two Good Romance Tales

First, these were good stories. The second one was a little easier to figure out the who, but not the particulars about the why. I liked it better than the first one. But if you’re looking for an easy read that’s clean and inspirational, a book with a bit of mystery and a dash of action mixed in with the romance, give this one a try.

[Brianna Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

dangerous admirer: i liked this story better than dark obsession (i liked both, though). this one had me on the edge of my seat and it was hard to put down.

dark obsession: this was probably my least favorite out of the two but i still enjoyed it. i wanted to keep reading more and find out what happened. i just didn’t feel connected to the characters in this one.

[Teresa Pollock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deadly Valentine's Day for sure

These w two authors wrote amazing suspenseful books. I couldn't put this duo down. Highly recommend this Love Inspired Suspense pair.
Trying to figure the "who" was hard. He'll get this book. You won't be sorry.

[AlegnaB † · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4 rating

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was an anthology of mysteries around Valentines Day. Liked them both. Didn't guess who the bad guy was till the end. Makes for a good read and keeps those pages turning.

[Paschalis]

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[Grace Youngblood 📖 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is perfect for around Valentine’s Day!
A sweet story about how two different people come to love each other! Loved this one!

[Ethelann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Couldn't put it down.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved both stories!

[Janell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple but short stories. With two in one book, there definitely wasn't much character development. Liked the second one better than the first but they were both ok.
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[Rosabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is for the first novel in this book, Dangerous Admirer by Valerie Hansen. The mystery developed well, and the characters were likable, but the ending was lame and didn't make any sense.

[Shamshaad · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 Typical love stories with a bit of a twist with stalkers and the like...not bad...

[Susan Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

kind of a screwy reason to be the antagonist but it was a good book. I enjoyed it

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dangerous admirer: A good read, but I was bugged by the character of Rachel as she couldn't seem to follow instructions that were for her safety.

Dark Obsession: non-stop suspense!