Dust Jacket

White Heat

By Charlotte on August 1, 2010 8:00 AM

White Heat, the first page-turner in Brenda Novak's new Hired-Gun Trilogy, pits private security operatives Rachel Jessop and Nate Ferrentino against a fanatical religious cult.

Perfect for beach-bound boomer babes, this thought-provoking saga sends police-officer-turned-private-investigator Rachel and her hunky boss Nate from their Los Angeles base to Paradise, Arizona, where the sun's so hot it bleaches everything white.

Rachel and Nate must work undercover in this desert ghost town, pretending to be married. It's the only way they can infiltrate the area's Church of the Covenant, whose members see themselves as God's avengers against the wicked. This dangerous, new religious sect advocates drug use and extramarital sex (ok more like orgies). Here women have two main roles: to give pleasure and bear children - who could be fathered by anyone in the flock.

Members worship at the feet and in the bed of leader Ethan Wycliff, a charismatic, Charles Manson-admirer who'll remind boomers of David Koresh or Jim Jones.  Under Wycliff's direction, the group tried to stone a woman to death. And they're suspected in a teenage girl's disappearance.

The assignment's complicated by an awkward, one-night stand in Rachel and Nate's past as well as her continuing fever for the former navy SEAL. Try as they may, these two can't seem to separate their emotions from the job. And hazardous circumstances only heighten their attraction.

While fighting her feelings for Nate, Rachel uses her strictly religious upbringing to provide insight into Ethan's actions. Like her father, the self-proclaimed prophet has his own brand of religion and uses it to manipulate others. The tension builds as Rachel feigns allegiance to Ethan to gain access to his most intimate secrets.

Along the way, Novak's almost-too-real characters stir up surprise after surprise as they struggle for control and, at times, find themselves falling prey to dark obsessions. Novak nimbly shifts the mood from much-longed-for love to impending doom, keeping passions and suspense running high.

Emotionally charged White Heat brings the risks and rewards of security work to life as Rachel and Nate put everything on the line to end a religious zealot's reign of terror. The Boomer Brief recommends it for your beach bag (not your bedside) because this not-to-missed, romantic ride will keep your eyes wide open.