Praise for the novels of Brenda Novak
âThe Perfect Couple was fast-paced and extremely engaging from the very first pageâ¦. Once I started, I couldnât stop! Definitely, most definitely add The Perfect Couple to your reading list.â
âTrue Crime Book Reviews
âNovak delivers another expertly crafted work of suspenseful intrigue heightened by white-knuckle danger and realistically complicated romance.â
âBooklist on The Perfect Couple
âI guarantee The Perfect Couple will keep readers on the edge of their seats.â
âRomance Reviews Today
âRealistic and gritty, this story grabs the reader by the throat on the first page and never lets go.â
âRT Book Reviews on Watch Me
âGripping, frightening and intenseâ¦a compelling romance as well as a riveting and suspenseful mysteryâ¦Novak delivers another winner.â
âLibrary Journal on The Perfect Liar
âA chilling, sensual tale that features a host of skillfully developed characters and intricate, multilayered plotting. Sacramento-based Novak writes gripping romantic thrillers.â
âLibrary Journal on The Perfect Murder
âAs always, Novakâs plotting is flawless, and her characterizations are rich and multilayered. What sets this story apart from the rest is the intensity of the romance between the two wounded protagonistsâit simply sizzles. A keeper.â (4.5 stars, Top Pick)
âRT Book Reviews on The Perfect Murder
âItâs hard to go wrong with a Brenda Novak novel.â
âBook Cove Reviews
To Bradley and Audrey Simkins at Booklovers Booksâ¦I love coming into the store and seeing gigantic posters of my novels covering the wall. Thanks for hand-selling so many of my novels. Thanks for coming out to any event where I need a bookseller. Thanks for doing the BBQ at my launch party each summer (no one can BBQ like you!). And thanks for constantly reminding me, just because of your own passion, how much I love everything about books.
Dear Reader,
It never fails. With each new set of books (Iâve been doing three per summer for a few years now) I seem to choose a favorite hero. One always intrigues me or resonates with me more than the other two, and this summer thatâs the hero of this novel, Roderick Guerrero. Rodâs a character who has triumphed over a great deal of adversity. Instead of letting it break him, heâs used it to make himself wiser and stronger. I like people whoâve survived a few bumps. Theyâre always more textured, more interesting.
The research for this novel took a little more time than usual, but I was glad of the opportunity. I learned a lot about Arizona and the area along the Mexican border. Although Bordertown is a fictional place, there are many towns similar to it, with lots of atmosphere and challenges. I think challenges make a place more interesting, too.
Iâd like to extend a special thank-you to Debbie Berke and Grant Noyes. Their names show up as characters in this novel because they were generous enough to purchase the privilege to help me support worthy causes such as fundraising for my childrenâs high school and diabetes research. To me, these are real heroes.
I love to hear from readers. Please feel free to write me at P.O. Box 3781, Citrus Heights, CA 95611, or visit my Web site at www.brendanovak.com, where you can enter to win monthly draws, read samples of other books Iâve written, download a pdf list of all my titles or check out my annual online auction for diabetes research, which includes so many cool things. So far, together with my fans, friends and publishing associates, weâve raised over $1 million for this cause. My youngest son is a Type 1 diabetic, so I live with it up close. A cure is my fondest dream.
Love is the key!
Brenda Novak
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Epilogue
Racism is manâs gravest threat to manâthe maximum of hatred for a minimum of reasons.
âAbraham J. Heschel, rabbi and philosopher (1907â72)
Benita Sanchez was almost as afraid of running into a rattlesnake as she was U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The CBP would send her and her husband back to Mexico. But a snake⦠The way José said she should creep across the groundâalways staying low, very lowâmade her feel so vulnerable. Snakes came out at night, when the temperature cooled. She could easily stumble into one. Maybe theyâd hear a brief shake of the rattle, but theyâd never see its beady eyes or sharp fangs before it struck. Since theyâd lost their coyote, or smuggler, they had only the moon to help them. And it was barely a sliverâa sliver that looked like a tiny rent in a gigantic dome of black velvet, which was slowly turning purple as the night edged toward dawn.
Although theyâd crossed the border with thirty-one other Mexican nationals, they were now alone. Everyone had scattered when the border patrol spotted them more than twenty-four hours ago. Had any of those people made it safely back to Mexico? Or were they in some holding cell? She and José had escaped âLa Migra,â but she was no longer sure she considered them lucky. Did José actually know where he was leading her? He said he did. Heâd come to America once, but that was five years ago. And their coyote had promised theyâd have only a six-hour walk. Even if she deducted for the time theyâd spent sleeping, theyâd been on their feet for eighteen.