Rylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston's wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her. Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything.As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?

When novelists Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand first met in a Houston critique group, they never expected where friendship would take them. She wrote romance; he wrote crime novels. But growing respect for each other's work culminated in the decision to try blending their talents into this wonderfully engaging story merging romance and mystery. Rylee Monroe walks dogs in old-money Charleston, a part of the city recently targeted by a daring thief. Logan Woods works the crime beat for the local paper but dreams of a life as a nonfiction writer. When the string of robberies takes a strange twist, Logan sees the making of a once-in-a-lifetime book that seems to circle around this charming, eye-catching dogwalker. But pursuing the truth means ignoring that he seems to be falling for her. And what is she hiding in her past that could crack the story wide open?

Deeanne Gist has a background in education and journalism. Her credits include People, Parents, Parenting, Family Fun, and the Houston Chronicle, and she has a degree from Texas A&M. Dee is the author of five previous bestselling novels, including A Bride in the Bargain and Maid to Match, and lives in Houston, Texas.

J. Mark Bertrand is the author of Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World and has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. His debut solo suspense novel will be published in summer 2010 by Bethany House. He grew up in Louisiana, spent fifteen years in Houston, and now lives with his wife in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Veteran romance writer Gist (A Bride Most Begrudging) teams with tyro crime writer Bertrand to create a mix of their specialties. Their hybrid is a crime mystery with an irresistibly attractive and oh-so-naïve dog walker named Rylee Monroe. A young adult resident of Charleston whose parents are dead, Rylee is accused of robbing her wealthy dog-owning clients. Aghast at being accused of theft, she pleads her case to her newspaper reporter beau, Logan Woods. Certain that sweet Rylee is innocent, Logan tries to protect her reputation until even he grows suspicious of the mounting evidence against her. Enter in old family ties and unanswered questions regarding Rylee's parents' deaths, and even Rylee is confused as to who's telling the truth. Fans of Gist will appreciate her characteristic genteel manner of presenting the male/female courtship dance. Bertrand's deftness at adding in the crime dimension lends depth to this likable yet predictable story. (Feb.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

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