Calliope Garland's assignment is to find incriminating evidence to be used against her employer in a financial company where she works. Once she locates what she is looking for, she finds herself in danger from multiple sources who are after not only the data she accessed, but also a small tube, which her boss won in a poker game and contains something of immense value. Tox Buchanan becomes her protector, but finds himself falling into old patterns, obsessing over a woman. Calliope and Tox couldn't be more different, but they must use their differences in order to figure out what Calliope has that so many people seem to want.

Illicit Intent is a wonderfully concocted mystery/romance that adds clue after clue until the very end when all of the information comes together to form an interesting conclusion. Some parts of this book are predictable, but the large number of suspects and rotating time lines builds a mystery that is tough to pin down until the resolution. The pacing and placement of evidence make following the plot difficult at several points throughout the book. In addition, the romance story line is cute but loses momentum because the reader is constantly pulled into and out of it. Overall, Illicit Intent has the bones of an outstanding romantic suspense but loses a little in the execution. ( )