Harrison's story. One of the Quint 5 (Wren, Matthias, Harris, Damon, & Trevor) he's cleaned up his act and works for Wren. On an island estate to "retrieve" a piece of artwork, Harris stumbles into a murder. Fleeing the island he realizes he needs to go back to clear the name of Gabrielle, who is charged with her sister's murder. Harris & Damon descend onto the island estate under the guise as appraisers for the estate. Gabby is still haunted by her sister's murder and Uncle Stephen will stop at nothing to have her thrown in jail. Harris works to uncover the real murderer and along the way there's an attempt on Gabby, an arson, a missing diary, & a mystery from the past that threatens to expose a long held secret. Harris is falling for Gabby while protecting her but the half truths and secrets he keeps hidden may have an impact on everything. ( )

Most of the romantic suspense books I have come across are just fluff&smut masquerading as serious books. That's always been an issue for me. Anyway, this book had a plot that kept me at the edge of my seat and didn't spend too much time on the romance- don't get me wrong, I don't wanna read pure suspense either, but then there's a balance right? And most books in this genre end up overdoing the romance (in my humble opinion). So overall, I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars
I always make it a point to not read two consecutive books by the same author, switching in between if I have decided to read another book by the author. I have NEVER broken this rule of mine. So I guess it's an ode to the author that I read two of her books one after the other and loved both. ( )

Most of the romantic suspense books I have come across are just fluff&smut masquerading as serious books. That's always been an issue for me. Anyway, this book had a plot that kept me at the edge of my seat and didn't spend too much time on the romance- don't get me wrong, I don't wanna read pure suspense either, but then there's a balance right? And most books in this genre end up overdoing the romance (in my humble opinion). So overall, I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars
I always make it a point to not read two consecutive books by the same author, switching in between if I have decided to read another book by the author. I have NEVER broken this rule of mine. So I guess it's an ode to the author that I read two of her books one after the other and loved both. ( )

Gabrielle Wright has spent the last 14 months trying to cope, not only with the death of her younger sister Tabitha, but also trying to find a way to prove that she didn't kill her. Now Gabby has been called back to the house where her sister was murdered because the items located there are finally going to be appraised and sold. Gabby's Uncle Stephen is also there and takes every opportunity to blame Gabby for Tabitha's death. Harrison "Harris" Tate barely escaped seeing who murdered Tabitha, but his reason for being at the house that night was to steal a painting that he was trying to reappropriate for the family of the original owners after it was taken by the Nazis in World War II. He has spent the last 14 months keeping an eye on Gabby, planning to step in if she is arrested, but now he and his friend Damon will go undercover and may be able to prove what really happened the night that Tabitha died.

The Pretender does a good job developing the main characters by showing the torment that they have experienced in their lives and the effect that their backgrounds have had on recent behaviors. The addition of Damon as Harris's best friend adds humor to the story and softens Harris's character. The story is narrowed a bit by the limited setting of the island where Tabitha's house is located, but overall, a decent mystery with a well developed romance. ( )

Most of the romantic suspense books I have come across are just fluff&smut masquerading as serious books. That's always been an issue for me. Anyway, this book had a plot that kept me at the edge of my seat and didn't spend too much time on the romance- don't get me wrong, I don't wanna read pure suspense either, but then there's a balance right? And most books in this genre end up overdoing the romance (in my humble opinion). So overall, I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars
I always make it a point to not read two consecutive books by the same author, switching in between if I have decided to read another book by the author. I have NEVER broken this rule of mine. So I guess it's an ode to the author that I read two of her books one after the other and loved both. ( )

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Harris has changed his ways to become a Robin Hood thief but his latest mission has him embroiled in a murder.
Gabby is the rich girl no one wants to feel sorry for and when her sister is murdered, even her uncle thinks she could be to blame.
Harris knows Gabby isn't guilty but he can't reveal himself, however, with help from his friends he's going to work to clear her name.
Old secrets and new attractions will be exposed.

"You ever make a mistake and feel like you'll probably spend a lifetime trying to fix it?"

Third in the series, Games People Play, we have Harris the art thief as the star. I haven't read the others in the series yet but I didn't have a problem following along. There are obviously past characters, Harris' "boss" and future stars, Harris' friend Damon but each relationship was fleshed out enough to provide a good understanding of the group's world.

As with most of Dimon's books, the story is full of danger, mystery, and sex. I thought this started off intense and grabbed my attention right away with a murder that leads to a tightly controlled whodunit. The story takes place on an island with only a handful of characters. Our hero and heroine's characters start off a bit in the shadows as Harris' background takes a while to be revealed and Gabby's past and motivations are kept hidden in favor of extending the mystery. I felt Gabby's story was dragged out for too long and her past reveals had me, as the reader, feeling a bit lost in terms of her character. While getting to know the characters felt stagnant and hidden, their attraction for one another felt too swift. It was hard for me to get into their first sexual encounter because of how leery they still seemed to be with one another and how I didn't really feel like I knew them yet.

As I mentioned, this is a tight intimate story with only a handful of secondary characters that are mostly red-herrings to keep you guessing until the end. Gabby's uncle plays the out in front villain but as the story goes on, he feels pushed to the side and starts to feel more like a villainous outline rather than a fully filled out character. There are three other characters that shadow the sidelines until the end where the mystery suddenly speeds up and our villain's reasons and motivations are thrust forward. Harris' friend Damon plays a good sized role and he has next hero written all over him.

Having this set on an island provided a sense of danger and the small cast kept the mystery intimate. Gabby and Harris' attraction feels a bit sudden and their sex scenes start to take over in place of depth and moving along the mystery side; the middle drags. However, if you're looking for some sex and mystery, Dimon never fails to deliver. ( )

The Pretender had a great start--Harris, who is someplace for slightly less-than legal reasons comes upon an almost-murder scene that quickly becomes a homicide; partly because of his actions there an innocent woman comes under scrutiny but he can't come out and clear her without implicating himself--really, I'm not sure what Ms. Dimon could have done there to make me less likely to be able to put this book down in the first few chapters! Harris and Gabby and both highly likeable, and the isolated island setting and the mysterious things that kept happening kept the tension high.

But...

A little further in--around 50%? 66%?--the story started dragging a bit, and I had a hard time exactly pinpointing why as it was more of a general feeling. Too much backstory exposition dragged out over too long of a time, drawing focus away from the more present danger? An intimate relationship that went too fast considering the lack of trust the characters had at the time and the danger at least one of them seemed to be in at the time? I'm not sure, all I know is that at some point putting the book down and doing something else became easier than I would have liked. Still, I did enjoy how the mystery ended and their HEA was sweet--overall this was a good read, even if I wasn't riveted to the page every single minute.

This one worked well as a standalone--only two of the other series characters really play a part; the focus is heavily on Harris and his island mystery--and it definitely has me interested in picking up both earlier and future series books. I'm generally a big fan of Ms. Dimon's writing--even if this one won't make my favorites list, I do enjoy the characters she's peopled this series with.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. ( )

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