Synopsis: Cruz Rowan walked away from the FBI when he was wrongly accused of murder. He found a place to work and people who appreciate his skills in Risk Ltd, a free-lance group that goes around the world finding things, rescuing people and performing other jobs people will hire them to do. He meets Laurel Swann when he is hired to find a Faberge Egg that has gone missing and is rumored to contain a ruby. The question they both have to answer is is this egg 'real' and how deeply involved is Laurel in the theft.
Review: This is the first book in the Risk Ltd. series. The continuing characters are introduced as is the setting. The premise is interesting as is the telling of the story. ( )

Laurel Swann is a jewelry designer who has a father who drifts in and out of her life. She loves him, but she isn't sure she likes him. When her father sends her a package containing a Faberge egg, he dumps her into the middle of a twisted plot where everyone has at least one agenda and no one cares about an innocent caught in the middle.

When one of the conspirators hires Risk, Ltd. to get the egg back without alerting any government, Cruz Rowan is the one who comes to find Laurel. Shortly after his arrival he saves her from assassins and takes her home with him to Risk, Ltd. headquarters. Laurel takes one look at him and wonders why he is the one to crash the boundaries she has raised between herself and men. She knows he has an agenda and she doesn't know what it is.

Cruz has the same reaction to Laurel. She's the woman who manages to get under his guard. He'll do anything to keep her safe and is afraid that he will have to kill her father to do it.

This story was nicely twisty with all sorts of complex characters. While the villains were painted black, many of the other characters were painted in various shades of gray. Figuring out their motives and angles kept me busy through the whole book. This isn't the first book I've read by Lowell with an innocent and honest heroine who isn't at all naive or a hero who has been so long in the dark that he doesn't think he deserves or can survive in the light. However, this was a great example of a story that uses those types.

Fans of romantic suspense will enjoy this exciting romantic suspense title. ( )

3.5* ( )

Whirlpool mixes suspense, mystery, and romance with a little intrigue and deceit. Elizabeth Lowell is a great writer and this book is no exception. The plot is multi-faceted and held my interest throughout. I found some parts a little too longwinded and descriptive for my taste in suspense. At times, it was a like taking the scenic route home. But overall this is a very enjoyable read. ( )

Not bad, not great. My weakness is art, so the fact that the plot was based around a piece of art definitely held my interest.

I agree with the review that mentions there are some cliches in this story. The one I found most annoying was the shoot-out scene early in the book.

"Even though I only met you five minutes ago and there are bullets whizzing over our heads, my usually practical female brain is focused only on the scent of your man-flesh!"

Yes, yes, I'm paraphrasing... but I would imagine that if someone is trying to kill you, you can find a later time in which to fall for your protector.

Other than that, though, the plot was interesting. ( )