A standard thriller. Contains the usual mix: an attractive woman who fears intimacy because of something in her past, a rough he-man, and a villain with no redeemable qualities.

Avery Delaney is an analyst for the FBI when her beloved aunt invites her to join her at a ritzy spa in Aspen, Colorado for a week. Carrie, her aunt, received the week for free from an anonymous person. Avery doesn't really like the idea of spending a week pampering herself but she does love her aunt. After some unexpected delays at work she manages to get out of town, only to discover that her aunt has been kidnapped. By whom?

Coincidentally, when she arrives at the spa she is met by tough guy John Paul Renard, who is on the track of a hit man who goes by the name of "Monk". When Avery mentions that her aunt went in a car with a man named Monk, thinking he worked for the spa, he takes an interest. And, predictably, the two of them head out together to rescue Carrie and her two companions. And meet danger at every turn. Not just from Monk, however. From a woman who seems to know both Carrie and Avery.

Good bedtime or airplane reading. ( )

Plain good Mystery (no blood guts + gore — or sketchy sex)

Avery Delaney has always tried to put the past far behind her. Abandoned by her rapacious, conniving mother when she was only three days old, Avery was raised by her grandmother and beloved aunt Carolyn. Then, when she was eleven, she witnessed her grandmother's violent death, before Avery herself was shot and left for dead. Miraculously she survived. The man responsible is serving time in a Florida prison. This traumatic experience propels Avery into a life of law and order.

Avery was raised by her aunt and grandmother and now works for the FBI as an analyst. The man who killed her grandmother is in jail, her mother is long gone and she's looking forward to a holiday with her aunt in a spa. However things don't go as planned and she is caught in a maelstrom of chases and complicated interwoven problems.

I enjoyed it. ( )

My first foray into the romance genre was a Julie Garwood novel back in high school. I LOVED her books and I owned them all at one time. Since reading Killjoy, I feel like I've grown up and moved beyond Julie Garwood and that made me sad. I didn't like Killjoy at all. Reading it was like watching a Lifetime network movie and I HATE all of them. They insult women's intelligence imo. Killjoy will probably be the last Garwood that I pick up. ( )

This had a great plot. I wish there had been a bit more info in the wrap up. Amazing leads both male and female. Many of the women in this novel were strong. The middle of the story got a bit muddled and redundant but if you can get past that then it picks up towards the end. ( )

Julie Garwood has once again written a story that will capture the interest of the reader until the last page. Avery Delaney works for the FBI and enjoys her life. She gets thrown into a kidnapping at spa in Colorado and that starts a interesting chain of events with lots of secondary characters and stories. I was caught up in this story from the first page to the last. ( )

Julie Garwood has created a group of characters that keep the reader in suspense until the last page is turned.Abandoned by her conniving mother, Jilly when only 3 days old, Avery was raised by her beloved grandmother and aunt Carolyn. Avery escaped death when her grandmother was killed and the criminal behind it all is in a Florida prison. Add to these in the plot a husband intent on killing his wife, Carrie, for her ishare of the family business and madness begins. If you have read Garwood's previous novels, you have met and loved the characters and this novel just continues the adventures. Kidnapping is the main plot but the side detours of the plot makes for a fine evening of reading. Once more, I found a novel that kept my interest from page one until the surprise ending. ( )

First edition fine

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