SHADOWS AT MIDNIGHT
Elizabeth Jennings
ISBN: 978-0425235997
August 2010
Penguin Putnam/Berkley Sensation
Romantic Suspense
Thriller
Mass Market Paperback

Claire Day was on the fast track for an outstanding government career starting with her current assignment as a Defense Analyst at the American embassy in a fictional West African country.  Claire and Marine Daniel Weston are the only two people still in the embassy on Thanksgiving day when well-armed rebels attack and bomb the building .  It is a year later when Claire who has spent three months in a coma, and another three months in therapy, still has no memories of the bombing but plenty of nightmares with only the face of a brown haired man protecting her.  When a news broadcast flashes Dan’s face on TV, Claire who hadn’t left her house other than to go to therapist appointments found the courage to fly to Washington to see if Dan could help to revive her lost memories.  Dan thought Claire had died in the attack so when she walked through the door, a shadow of her former self, he was thrilled to death – but helping Claire regain her memories just might cause both their deaths when they uncover betrayal, murder and treason.

***  “Do you think we’re going to die?” Now that’s a great first line to start of this story that literally starts off with a big “bang”.   Two people caught alone in a nearly empty embassy on Thanksgiving day got more than they bargained for and Claire was having a hard time believing that her intel analysis was so far off . A year later after miraculously surviving the bombing, Claire’s amnesia was not improving and until seeing Dan’s face on TV she had this one clue – his was the face in her nightmares – the face of the one person she knew would protect her.

Jennings had me from the very first line of Shadows at Midnight and the action was non-stop.  The covert operations with government cover-ups, blackmail, murder and assassinations was like watching a Jason Bourne adventure only with a female who couldn’t remember the past.  I confess that the emotional impact of the meeting between Claire and Dan when he discovered Claire was alive and he recognized her brought tears to my eyes where I needed to lay the book down.  Jennings really fleshed Claire, once a strong, super intelligent agent in her prime to the fragile and frail woman  that appeared in Dan’s office brilliantly and it literally took my breath away and I probably experienced as much relief as Claire did when he took her in his arms and she could finally feel safe.  So, maybe I’m a bit of a wuss – but that moment really hit me hard.

What followed was non-stop action when Claire Googled an old colleague which started a firestorm of attacks that neither Claire or Dan could at first put together.  As more and more coincidental attacks continued Claire and Dan started piecing together clues that would have them racing cross-country and across oceans to reveal the real truth behind the bombing and overthrow a murderous dictator and his cutthroat regime.

BOTTOM LINE: I loved this book and read it non-stop to the wee hours of the morning!!!  It had every element I enjoy in romantic suspense and the sensuality portion of the love story was perfect! VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED  -

Reviewed By:

I started reviewing books many years ago - but my love of reading began as soon as I could read and that’s a long time! From my very first library card, I would spend my summers at the local library rather than outside playing. My tastes ran from every horse book I could find, to dog books, then gothic romances, and now historical romances with the Regency period having a very close spot in my heart. [Many of my friends, who really know me, say I was born in the wrong era - they’re probably right.] Now that I am retired, and busier than ever, I read almost all genres with the exception of hard core erotica, horror and anything involving more than one sex partner! I am loyal to my tried and true favorite auto-buy authors but love discovering the newer authors as well. I was once a very impatient person, but now retired, and with a book, an audio, or my Kindle by my side - I am the epitome of infinite patience to sit and wait for whatever comes next be it for the light to change, a doctor’s appointment, or a commercial break on the television!

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