February 2007

COUNT TO TEN
Grand Central Publishing
February 2007
ISBN-13: 978-0-446-61690-4 | ISBN-10: 0-446-61690-7

CLOSE YOUR EYES.

In all his years in the Chicago Fire Department, Lieutenant Reed Solliday ahs never experienced anything like this recent outbreak of house fires – devastating, vicious and in one case, homicidal.  He has another problem – his new partner, Detective Mia Mitchell.  She’s brash, bossy, and taking the case in a direction he never imagined.

HOLD YOUR BREATH.

Mia’s instincts tell her the arsonist is making this personal.  And as the infernos become more deadly, one look at the victims’ tortured faces convinces her and Reed that they must work closer to catch the killer.  With each new blaze, the villain ups the ante, setting firetraps for the people Reed and Mia love.  The truth is almost too hot to handle:  This monster’s desire for death and destruction is unquenchable … and for Mia he’s started the countdown to an early grave.

COUNT TO TEN

Count to Ten
Karen Rose. Warner, $6.99 (576p) ISBN -0-446-61690-7

Rose cranks up the heat in more ways than one for recurring heroine Det. Mia Mitchell, last seen in You Can't Hide, to deliver another winning
romantic mystery thriller. When a series of arsons turns out to hide a homicide, Mia teams up with Chicago Fire Department Lt. Reed Solliday to track down the firebug killer. Still reeling from her father's death and her last case, which landed her partner, Abe, in the hospital, Mia's not pleased to be teaming up with someone new-especially with Abe's assailant still on the loose. Reed has his doubts as well, suspecting that Mia isn't ready to be back on assignment. As the investigation proceeds and the two divulge their troubled pasts, they find themselves warming to each other-just in time for Mia to become the next target for the flame-happy madman. Rose's characters aren't exactly fresh-she's the tough-but-vulnerable cop's daughter, he's the gruff-but-lovable heavy-but Rose gives them plenty of room to develop as the tense procedural escalates. Emotional subplots, engaging secondary characters and a string of red herrings will keep readers hooked. (Feb.) — Publishers Weekly

 

Guilt, retribution and revenge are the terrifying ingredients that drive Rose's remarkable new thriller. Many of the characters suffered childhood abuse, but it's how they deal with it that makes this such fascinating reading. Rose does an outstanding job of making detective Mia Mitchell's dogged determination to regain her investigative edge—which has been hampered by her own emotional trauma—complex and riveting. She is a force to be reckoned with!— Jill M. Smith, Romantic Times