Annie Sutherland's determined to prove that her father's death was no accident. Although she had always believed that he was an ordinary government bureaucrat, suspicious signs after his death point to his involvement with a dangerous, covert agency.

Annie tracks down her father's long-time protégé, James McKinley, at an island retreat where he is hiding out from agents who have targeted him for death as the last survivor of Annie's father's CIA team of executioners. Annie demands James' help in tracking down her father's killer, and after they survive the first of many attempts to kill them, James concludes that he must either assist Annie or silence her forever.

Annie has grown up believing James to be a conservative, dull government worker close to her father's age. Suddenly, she realizes that this dark and dangerous man might be a deadly assassin. And now she runs a real risk of exchanging her father's subtle controlling tactics for James' dangerous, sexy but perhaps lethal, arms.

A successful reading of Moonrise will hinge on whether you can follow this involved, torturous, confusing roller-coaster ride without suffering any queasiness. You also need to find some redeeming qualities in this tortured, bitter professional assassin.

Personally, I had a hard time believing that a man who has been a professional executioner for over 20 years without showing the slightest remorse would be a good candidate for a relationship. Not even in your darkest fantasy would James qualify as the man of your dreams. (Perhaps the man of your nightmares.)

Why would a woman be interested in a man who has knocked her unconscious, drugged her and who she believes is ready to kill her at any moment? (And with good reason!) James is certainly the man to have around if someone's trying to murder you, but while he's saving Annie's life, he's still deciding whether to kill her himself.

This was a difficult book to review. It was very well written, fast-paced, yet the story line and the characters left a lot to be desired. And if you prefer your love scenes sweet and poignant, this is not for you. The sex is sweaty, gritty and sometimes, even rough. Moonrise will consume you while you're reading it, but when it's finished you won't want another helping.

--Dede Anderson