Review of Infamous

Infamous
Suzanne Brockmann
Ballentine Books
433 pages

Infamous is an amazingly intense, superbly written example of romantic suspense by the queen of suspense herself Suzanne Brockmann.

History Professor Allison Carter hired to consult on the filming of a movie about the life of an American West legend Silas Quinn isn’t prepared to have that legend’s name tarnished. A J Gallagher is going to do just that, you see his great-grandfather Jamie Gallagher was the villain to Silas’s hero, except according to AJ the story is backwards. Allison and A J have some major sparks flying, but she’s not going to let that get in the way of the truth, and the truth is hard to take especially when sexy AJ claims to see Jaimie’s ghost. But specters are the least of this couple’s worries when bodies start showing up, the question is will they become one of them.
Suzanne Brockman takes a rest from her Troubleshooter’s series to give us a whopper of a stand-a-lone. Her story line is quite unique giving a ghost a starring role in her novel, a novel that’s not a paranormal tale, but rather a wonderful contemporary romantic suspense that just so happens to have a ghost on board as one of the main characters. Her dialogue is all you’d expect on the set of a motion picture from the tough talking troublesome male hero to the all demanding Diva. Speaking of divas and heroes, her characters are a combination film professionals, film stars, film extras, set employees and those all important bad guys and they all are a necessary part of the telling of the story, from the villains who are some of the most notorious you’ll ever see to the one liners we only see for an instant. Her hero and heroine are exceptional studies in humanity, both with skeletons in their closets and both afraid of them falling out, both tortured by their own personal demons, both afraid to step out of their comfort zone, that is until one or both of them is put in danger which brings the tiger out in them to defend their mate. They are sensational examples of love is blind and yet the readers will see in them something that must bring them together when so many things conspire to keep them apart. This duo really earns their happy ever after. The romance will have you scratching your head one minute, laughing the next and sitting on the edge of your seat one minute after that. The love scenes are emotionally charged and very physical and yet the author gives her audience that sense of rightness about it too.
So if you like your romance served up with a healthy dose of suspense, a roller coaster emotional thriller set in a contemporary scene, let this be the one you choose. Suzanne Brockmann is a quintessential genius in the genre of romantic suspense and she will not disappoint any reader with this exceptional example of her skills. It’s the perfect end of summer read, the perfect novel to sink your teeth in as you see the kids off to the bus for the first day of school. So treat yourself to a novel you won’t soon forget and give Infamous a try.