HER OWN BEST ENEMY
Cynthia Justlin
ASIN: B004RVN1AO (Kindle)
March 2011 (Kindle)
Kindle Direct Publishing
Romantic Suspense

Grace Stevens is desperate to track down her ex-husband Mark who absconded with their son. In delving into her ex’s background Grace discovered she never really knew the man who apparently led a dual life as a high-ranking special forces agent.  One thing Grace discovered was that Mark had worked closely with a man she hoped never to see again – Keith King.  Keith was a childhood tormentor who had ruined her family’s life. Grace was going to have to swallow her hatred for the man and plead for Keith’s assistance in helping to find her son.

*** Author Cynthia Justlin has debuted with a fast-paced action suspense thriller that will have readers on the edge of their seat from beginning to end.  In my review process I always think on a book a day or two after reading before writing and thought I’d found a major flaw in the plotting. I re-read the beginning and found to my delight that I was wrong – Ms. Justlin’s plotting was flawless!

The author created the male protagonist, Keith King to be almost as desperate as Grace in helping to find her ex-husband – yes, he would promise to help her rescue her son but selfishly he also needed to clear himself of a frame-up to save his own career.  Ms Justlin also left Keith vulnerable and unaware of who Grace really was and of their long ago connection.  Keith and Grace chased down every nibble of a lead and clues to find her son.  Always keeping each other at arms length, even as they became more and more physically attracted to one another, Grace had to constantly remind herself of why she could never trust this man, that a leopard could never change his spots.

Justlin wrote with an exquisite amount of emotion a mother endured, as well as keeping the suspense at a fever pitch level throughout the story.  The fear and emotion a mother has in finding her child, not to mention that said child was asthmatic without medication, created a heart stopping emotional pull as each clue in locating him would bring them so close only to be too late.

Justlin defined a complex man like Keith extremely well as the un-loved bad-boy teenager whose entrance into the military had been a defining moment in his life, giving him back his honor and self-respect.  She also gave great depth to Grace in allowing her to let go of the past and the guilt she’d carried around most of her life with regard to her sister Becca’s frailties.

The romance was sensual, the suspense thrilling, and HER OWN BEST ENEMY is a book I can highly recommend for those who like to indulge in roller coaster, romantic suspense thrillers.

Marilyn Rondeau for www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com

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!

Email Reviewer | Other posts by Marilyn