Lena Diaz

Good book that kept me hooked from start to finish. Raine is a desperate woman. Her brother is two weeks away from being executed for a murder she is convinced he didn't commit, and she will lose the last member of her family. She takes that desperation to Unfinished Business - a firm that investigates cold cases. When they turn her down, she accosts one of their investigators, Callum, and kidnaps him at gunpoint to get him to help her. Callum was also the junior detective on her brother's case when he was arrested.

Callum didn't plan to help Raine, but she had information on a serial killer case he had been working on, so he promised to help in exchange. They work together, looking for anyone who might know who really killed the victim. Matters become complicated when another case crosses paths with their investigation. Are the two connected, and who is behind the threats? I did not expect the twist that came along with the second case and the danger Sienna experienced. The final confrontation was a nail-biter, and I was on the edge of my seat until it was over. The ending was unexpected, and it took me a little while to believe it.

I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Callum and Sienna. Their chemistry was intense. I also liked seeing them get to know each other and respect each other's jobs and integrity, though there was some doubt about Sienna when she revealed her secret. I laughed at Callum's reaction, as he'd already had suspicions. I was impressed by the self-control both had in keeping their attraction in check while they worked together and while their feelings for each other grew. There was a rough patch at the end, but love eventually won the day.… (lisätietoja)

Romantic pulp fiction has been around for ages, dating back to the hardboiled detective pulp. Back in the day, Harlequin actually published some pretty hard-nosed pulp fiction, which might be surprising to many readers. Harlequin Mills & Boon, are like a second cousin to pulp, even in their softer and more modern form. The Mills & Boon Intrigue stories offer a pulp style updating of crime and romance, usually with at least one steamy scene — that’s what Missing in the Glades has — and are simply romantic escapism. The intrigue and action fuel the romance of two people thrown together — known as the H&H ( hero and heroine) — by circumstance. That’s what Missing in the Glades is, and I found it a fun read that accomplishes very nicely everything it sets out to do in the sub-genre.

Often the downside to the Intrigue series is the unevenness of the writing from book to book, due to various authors. It was the same many decades ago with the various forms of pulp (noir/romance/weird menace/science fiction). Just like then, when you run across the well-written and entertaining stuff, it can be rewarding, and that was the case here. Lena Diaz has written a very fun and enjoyable story that holds your interest, and puts a smile on your face at the end. That ending is wonderfully sappy and romantic. If you don’t like that, or you prefer no sex at all in your romance, this one isn’t for you. This one does have one steamy scene, but it isn’t vulgar, and fairly tastefully rendered by the author. The rest is just a good story of intrigue and romance blooming in a great location — here it is the Florida Everglades. Not the real Glades, of course, but the Glades of pulp, just like the danger and intrigue is the pulp rendition of danger.

Jake Young is an official detective who has teamed up with his pal Dex Lassiter to test the waters of private investigations. To that end the tall and capable Young is out on I-95, known an Alligator Alley, searching for a man they’ve been hired to find by an FBI agent (don’t think too hard about it, it’s pulp). A lot can happen out in the swampy Glades, where snakes, gators, and even a panther roam about, but they’re nothing compared to quirky but beautiful Faye Star. She lives in Mystic Glades, a place Deputy Holder hasn’t even been to, it’s so deep in the Glades. The first time Jake meets Faye she’s pointing a rifle at his Dodge Charger.

I don’t want to ruin this one for the reader, but Faye has a mysterious tie to the man Jake’s after. The hero and heroine reluctantly lie to one another while they fall in love as they are chasing and being chased through the Glades. The panther is Faye’s — not a real spoiler — and there’s a very sweet — but of course implausible story behind it. Faye is a slightly mystic-new-age kind of girl, but not over the top silly, nor is she so spunky that it’s more unrealistic than even the avid pulp reader can take. In fact, the chemistry of the couple, and the story, is quite good. The story-line has some twists and turns handled very nicely by author Lena Diaz. I don’t know if this is her water level, as musician Herb Alpert calls it, and she’s found her calling, or whether this is just a stepping stone, but it is very fun stuff.

There are some good supporting characters from Mystic Glades, and even an unexpected twist before the romantic ending Mills & Boon Intrigue is noted for. This reads as a good solid updating of romance/intrigue pulp and is great fun for those who read in this genre. There are three or four in the Marshland Justice mini-series from Lena Diaz, of which this is the first. If you enjoy romantic escapism blended with crime, written as a modern updating of pulp, you’ll have great fun reading this one. It’s been at least a couple of decades since I tackled one of these — maybe longer — and I got lucky right off the bat, because this was near perfection within its self-imposed perimeters. Highly recommended for fans of the sub-genre!… (lisätietoja)