Key West

Stellar Stella The course of love never ran smooth, but for the heroine of Stella Cameron's newest romantic thriller, it runs deep, down twisting corridors of memory. Key West, her latest, is sure to be one of the bestsellers of autumn -- and a perfect escape into suspense for all of us. Author Stella Cameron got her start writing historical romances set in Regency England, and with her wonderfully drawn characters and highly evocative sense of place, she quickly built up a loyal following. With last year's release of French Quarter, Cameron made the leap from historical to contemporary and from romance to romantic suspense. Not surprisingly, her fan following made the leap right along with her and has been steadily increasing ever since. It's likely to make another geometric leap when readers get their hands on Key West. As the title implies, the story takes place in Key West, and Cameron's trademark ability for bringing a place alive is well at work here -- if you've never been to Key West, you'll think you have by the time you finish the book. The story follows the plight of Sonnie Keith Giacano, who starts out as a five-months-pregnant tennis widow who hasn't heard from her philandering, on-the-circuit husband, Frank, in two months. When he does call, it triggers a series of tragic events that will change Frank and Sonnie's lives forever. Eight months later, Sonnie's memory of the exact events is muddled at best, and she keeps having disturbing flashbacks. She begins to suspect that she is either losing her mind or the events that occurred that fateful night were not as accidental as they seemed. Determined to find some answers, she hooks up with a former police detective named Chris Talon. Chris has his own memories from which to escape, and he's reluctant at first to help Sonnie unearth her past. But soon, both their lives will change in ways they had not imagined -- and the thrills are just beginning. With Key West, Cameron utilizes all the best elements from her previous works and spices things up a notch. The end result is stellar Stella -- the best of her best and a perfect mix of passion, suspense, and action-packed story. Ready for your vacation to Key West? —Beth Amos