The Pretender by HelenKay Dimon Pages: 368
Series: Games People Play #3
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Source: ARC, Edelweiss
Also in this series: The Enforcer
Also by this author: The Enforcer, Her Other Secret
Goodreads
“Sexy, emotional, funny . . . Dimon gives it all to her readers.” —New York Times Bestselling Author Jill Shalvis
They say it takes a thief to catch a thief, and Harrison Tate is proof. Once a professional burglar, he now makes a lawful living tracking down stolen art. No one needs to know about his secret sideline, “liberating” artifacts acquired through underhanded methods. At least until one of those jobs sees him walking in on a murder.
Gabrielle Wright has long been estranged from her wealthy family, but she didn’t kill her sister. Trouble is, the only person who can prove it is the sexy, elusive criminal who shouldn’t have been at the island estate on that terrible night. She’s not expecting honor among thieves—or for their mutual attraction to spark into an intense inferno of desire.
Under the guise of evaluating her family’s art, Harris comes back to the estate hoping to clear Gabby’s name. But returning to the scene of the crime has never been riskier, with their hearts and lives on the line.
The Pretender is a twist on the robin hood ideal. Once a common thief, now Harrison ‘reclaims’ items. In one of his ‘reclaiming’ attempts, he witnesses a murder. Gabrielle knows the thief who was stealing from her family’s home can attest to the fact that she is NOT her sister’s killer. Since he is now a ‘good guy’ he returns to the family estate where the murder happens and attempts to clear Gabby.
The Pretender is a bit of a whodunit that is filled with red herrings. The family estate is on a fairly secluded island and so the possible killer pool is limited. Honestly, it kind of gave me a ‘Clue’ vibe in that sense. And like the previous Dimon books I have read, there is some seriously steamy sex that happens while they try to suss out this mystery!
If you like the whodunit type of stories with a lot of steam, The Pretender is a good pick. There is a very interesting plot twist that I didn’t see coming and that is very unusual for me-I almost always see it coming! While the story seemed to drag a bit for me, you really are kept guessing as to who the killer is and why. Harrison and Gabby were likable enough, but I didn’t really FEEL the connection. The mystery of the story is what really kept me reading where usually I am more interested in the romance. I am very interested in Damon’s book though! It won’t be out until summer 2018 however!! I am terrible at waiting!
- POV: 3rd
- Tears: no
- Trope: whodunit, robin hood
- Triggers: none
- Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series
- Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
- HEA: View Spoiler »
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books by authors like Katie Reus, Cynthia Eden, and Pamela Clare…then you will probably like The Pretender!
The Pretender
Harrison Tate didn’t believe in luck. He believed in planning. Right now, he needed the luck.
He blinked a few times, hoping the scene in front of him would change. No body, no blood . . . nope, it was all still there.
A woman—the woman—the one who stuck to a schedule and rarely ventured outside a three-mile area. She should have been reading at the dock, as she did every nonrainy day at this time for the last three weeks. Sitting there, watching the waves lap up on the stone retaining wall that separated the Chesapeake Bay from Tabitha Island. Her private island.
He’d staked out the isolated land, this house and this woman for more than a month. Watched from a boat at one point and from the small uninhabited island a short distance away at another. He’d been able to hack into the camera on her laptop. He knew when she was working on it, which was almost always.
He’d tracked her movements, knew her schedule. But on the ride over here he’d missed seeing someone else go into her house. Someone who wanted more from her than a painting.
The longer he stood there, looming over her still body, the more he became locked in a confining shell he could not break. Less than thirty seconds had passed since he walked into the old-school library with its dark floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and massive desk positioned in front of the French doors to the small patio outside. He’d found her there, sprawled on the floor with her eyes closed and her chest not moving. Blood pooled around her and seeped into the muted gray carpet beneath her.
Just as his brain signaled to his hand to grab his cell and call for help, her eyes popped open. Stunning green. That fact registered in his mind. Next came her fear. It bounced off the walls and pummeled him. Her body shook with it.
She reached out and her fingertips brushed his pants right near his calf. She likely thought she grabbed him and pulled hard, but he barely felt the touch. Whatever energy she possessed had been spent during the furious battle that waged in the room before he got there. Glass shattered on the floor, an overturned table. Books and papers scattered everywhere.
He dropped down, balancing on the balls of his feet, and reached for her hand. He still wore his gloves but she didn’t seem to notice. She kept mouthing something. A soundless word he couldn’t make out. He leaned in with his ear right over her mouth, trying to pick up a thread or any noise but that didn’t work either.
He pulled back and looked into her eyes. They were clouded now and unfocused. “Tabitha?”
He knew her name because he made it his business to know the people from whom he planned to liberate any number of items. In her case, a specific painting that usually hung over the fireplace in this room. It balanced there now, ripped from the wall with one edge hanging over the mantel. Teetering, ready to fall. All eleven million dollars of it.
“Help me.” The words came out of her on a strangled cry. Her chest heaved as she fought for breath.
He could see her wince as she inhaled. Her hand slipped out of his as all the tension drained out of her. Her eyes rolled back then closed.
“No, no, no.” This time he started mouth-to-mouth. He blew and counted, trying to remember the precise sequence from every television show where he’d seen it performed and from a class he’d taken more than a decade ago.
Nothing worked.
He clamped down on his fight-or-flight instincts and reached for the burner cell tucked in his back pocket. He’d just hit the first button to make the call as he heard the sound. A gurgling in her throat, as if she was drowning in her own body. An openmouthed labored breath . . . then a shocking stillness. Saliva dribbled out of the corner of her mouth as her head dropped to one side.
The death rattle. Had to be. He’d never heard it before and never wanted to hear it again.
oh its the worst when stories seem to drag right? It is just horrible. However, there are many elements to this book you described that makes me want to grab it up anyway. I love Robin Hood Themes and a clue game like plot??!! That totally works for me.
Hmmm … this sounds like it could go either way for me. I’m not keen on the dragging, but … maybe worth it. Yeah, waiting is the worst!