by Lisa Smith
Windgate Publishing
Published 2001
From Goodreads:
The trial had everything an ambitious prosecuting attorney could want: a solid case against a known crimelord and a seductively beautiful witness with a steamy past - ingredients guaranteed to pack a courtroom." From its first line, Dangerous Lies entices. Alternately raw, romantic, funny, and terrifying, this racy new thriller has two unforgettable protagonists. Tina Davis is the former mob mistress who inexplicably risks her life. Jake Stern, is the prosecuting attorney who hides a crippling fear behind a handsome stoic mask. Repelled by her past and obsessed with her presence, it's Jake's job to keep Tina alive.
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed the heroine of this novel immensely. She had a fascinating story. I've always love reading about the mob world (because organized crime fascinates me?) and her story was so involved. I also loved seeing her find a way to fight back against the people who hurt her by testifying.
The novel is broken up into many small chapters and, after an initial courtroom scene featuring Tina Davis as the primary witness, we begin when Bettina Berenson was a child. Alternating between scenes from Tina's chilhood we get a glimpse of the world that Jake Stern (prosecuting attorney) grew up in. When the novel catches up with itself we get to know Jake a little better. He is a passionate attorney working for the State of New York and his big case of the moement features Tina as the star witness.
I never grew to love Jake. He was an unlikely hero and even in the moments when I thought he was going to win me over he stopped just short of doing what I felt he should do. He was judgmental too. I didn't like that at all. But that is me not liking the character, not disliking the book!
I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone, but I wasn't crazy about it. Not that it wasn't a fine ending, and probably the one that made the most sense, it just wasn't what I wanted to see.
The book was well written and I have to say I was completely caught up in it. There were a handful of distracting typos in the book that should have been caught in the editing process, but it was a very enjoyable read.
Lisa Smith is about to come out with a new book Exceeding Expectations. I hope to be able to check that one out as well!
I was provided a free copy of this novel from the author for review. This in no way affected my review. All opinions and views above are my own.
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