Jenn's Review: Beguiled

Summary: In the shadows of Charleston, someone is watching her... Rylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston's wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her. Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything. As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?

Review: This is a nice simple read that takes me back to my first contemporary adult mystery read, Mary Higgins Clark. Gist and Bertrand seem to work well together, and though perhaps not as funny as the Mayer/Crusie pairing, it is just as seamless.

The tale is well woven, though not without some thin patches. While it wasn't terribly taxing to figure out the "whodunit" of it all, there were only so many characters, it was still an enjoyable journey to the end. The characters are amiable and you root for them the whole way through.

A great read for the airport, the waiting room, or the beach. (I started this while waiting for my H1N1 vaccine in a cafeteria full of overtired parents, over exuberant kids, and a myriad of disgruntled adults and it managed to distract me quite nicely.) I look forward to more from this pair a well as Mr. Bertrand's first solo work.

3.5/5