Love With The Proper Stranger (1998) - Plot & Excerpts
Nachdem ich die "Operation Heartbreaker"-Reihe der Autorin, Suzanne Brockmann, gelesen hatte musste ich natürlich auch dieses Buch von ihr in die Finger bekommen. Zugegeben, es war für mich anfangs ein bisschen schwierig den Gedanken an die Navy Seals aus dieser anderen Reihe auszublenden und sie nicht mit den Charakteren und der Geschichte mit "Im Netz der schwarzen Witwe" zu vergleichen, aber nach den ersten Kapiteln wird schnell klar, dass zwar der Schreibstil der Autorin, und auch ihre Art eine Geschichte aufzubauen, absolut eindeutig ist, es sich hierbei aber um eine ganz andere Konstellation handelt. Die Kontrolle verlieren. Überwältigende Leidenschaft. Die Art von Leidenschaft, die Kriege auslöst und Weltreiche zum Einsturz bringt. Die Art von Leidenschaft, die es selbst einem abgebrühten Profi wie John schwer machte, seinen Job zu erledigen. (S. 139)Was die Figuren in dieser Geschichte alle gemeinsam haben? Sie agieren alle unter einem Decknamen. Zwar hat jeder seine ganz eigenen Gründe, aber trotzdem legt sich jeder der drei Hauptpersonen seine eigene, neue Identität zu.So versucht nicht nur die "schwarze Witwe" - als Selean Weaver - unter einem Decknamen unterzutauchen und sich ein neues Opfer zu suchen. Auch Marie Carver legt sich einen anderen Namen zu, aber aus ganz anderen Gründen: Und zwar versucht sie ihrem stressigen Arbeitsalltag komplett zu entkommen, indem sie unter einem anderen Namen weit weg von zu hause einige Monate ausspannen will und nennt sich fortan Mariah Robinson - wobei "Mariah" schon als Kind ihr Kosename war. Die Verbindung zu Selena scheint einfach ... die beiden sind in ihrer jeweiligen neuen Identität Freundinnen, wobei Selena wohl mehr auf Tarnung aus ist als auf Freundschaft und schlicht ihr markaberes Spiel treibt. Neben den beiden tritt der FBI-Agent John Miller als Jonathan Mills auf und ermittelt verdeckt gegen die "schwarze Witwe".Wirklich interessant wird es als Mariah und John das erste Mal aufeinander treffen und Johns Plan/Ermittlung schlagartig in's Wanken gerät, denn er kann sich der Anziehungskraft dieser Frau nicht entziehen und auch Mariah ist hin und weg. Johns Ermittlungen legen ihm Steine in den Weg und auch seine Vergangenheit und die damit verbundenen emotionalen Brücken machen es ihm und Mariah nicht einfach. Nicht, dass Mariah von all dem wüsste. Und mehr als einmal wollte ich John zurufen, die Frau seines Herzens endlich in's Vertrauen zu ziehen, denn dieses hin und her ist wirklich nervenaufreibend und frustrierend!Die hinterhältige, gerissene Art und Weise von Selena ist beinahe bemerkenswert. Es ist schon interessant auch einmal im Kopf einer solchen "kranken" Person zu stecken und zu Lesen was in ihr vorgeht. Wobei schnell klar wird wie brandgefährlich diese Frau ist.Die Geschichte ist mitreißend, super spannend und es sieht am Ende absolut nicht gut aus für unsere beiden Helden, Mariah und John. Außerdem stehen genau genommen so viele Geheimnisse zwischen den beiden. Angetrieben von Neugierde habe ich das Buch in einem durchgelesen und kann "Im Netz der schwarzen Witwe" als spannungsgeladenen Roman mit einer interessanten Liebesgeschichte nur empfehlen4,5/5 Sternen.
Opening Line:"She laced his coffee with opium."This is one of the better early Brockmann romances I‘ve read. (Shame about the cover though) Written in 97, it's really worthy of a re-release because there’s an excellent suspense filled story here that managed to surprise me several times by not following the usual cookie cutter formula required of category romances. I never really knew where this was going to go; with events setting up in one direction only to end up going a very different way. And with several steamy love scenes, a tortured hero I just wanted to hug and a heroine that was well… normal (meaning that she didn’t ‘suddenly’ know how to use a gun, or annoy me with stupid talk and the usual quarrels) I had trouble putting this one down. When Brockmann’s on her game theres just no one better and this quick romantic suspense gave me everything I could possibly want.FBI agent John Miller is known throughout the department as “the robot”. Still reeling from the death of his partner which he blames himself for, John is unable to sleep or eat, just barely going through the motions of living. When he’s sent undercover to catch a black widow serial killer, John actually resembles the hollow, sickly cancer patient he’s meant to be. The plan is for “Johnathan Mills” to appear wealthy, in bad health and to marry their suspect Serena Westford, gathering enough evidence to take her down before she murders another husband. The plan however is not for John to fall in love with her best friend Mariah Robinson. Somehow though she’s made him feel alive for the first time in years and even though he knows he’s sending her mixed signals (that kiss was probably a mistake as was falling asleep on her couch after a back rub) he can’t blow his cover. For as much as he wants Mariah he’s going to have to follow through and marry and sleep with Serena.As I said the story here is not as straightforward as I first thought; the antagonist is always one step ahead of the FBI and as it turns out Mariah is not who she seems to be either. Oh and our strong, manly hero cries at the end which just did me in. Cheers.
What do You think about Love With The Proper Stranger (1998)?
For days, off and on for weeks even, I've had the ending of a book I once read in my head and could not for the life of me remember which one it was. I knew it was a shorter Harlequin-size novel, but I have a shocking number of books in my library shelves and can't keep track of them all. Then on Amazon a Suzanne Brockmann popped up, and I thought idly, "I don't think I read that one. It doesn't look familiar." So out of mild curiosity, I clicked on it and read the blurb. I hadn't gone more than a sentence or two when I had the jolt of recognition. This was The One! The one I'd fully intended to scrounge through my multiple bookshelves to find! That's the kind of book this is. One that gets in your head and haunts you. It's of course masterfully written, the plot crafted with meticulous care. An FBI man on the trail of a Black Widow. He's nearing a nervous breakdown after the death of his closest friend, a death he heard happen over the wiretap and was helpless to prevent. Even though the death happened years ago, he has never come to terms with it. It seems only this current case is keeping him from going over the deep end at long last. So when the Black Widow's trail goes hot, he goes undercover posing as her next potential victim.The only problem is that the Black Widow's closest friend is the woman he really wants to get close to. For the first time in months, he feels alive, and quiet inside. And guilty about what he's going to have to do to her. He knows, they both know, the attraction between them is off the charts, but his goal is to marry the Black Widow and catch her in the act, hopefully without letting her kill him in the process. Mariah is not the kind of woman it's easy to lie to, and even his undercover persona is a lie that eats away at him. Which is a good way for an undercover agent to get himself killed.I have made no secret about the fact that there is one plotline I despise, and that is when someone marries someone even though they are in love with someone else. That is the whole premise of this book. We know all along that he intends to 'marry' the Black Widow. So? In a lot of this type of book, we know the potential of the wrong marriage is looming. But while it might seem like I'm splitting hairs, I think this book is different. For one thing, John drops giant hints all along that things are not what they seem, to please, please trust him. He even promises Mariah he will not sleep with Serena. Granted - and I'm trying not to put in spoilers here - after a certain point, Mariah has no reason to believe him any longer. It doesn't hurt that this has one of The Best endings of any book ever, the ending that has nagged at me for a long time trying to figure out which book it was. Amazing ending. Gripping, heart-pounding, nail-biting. So if you don't mind a bit, okay a lot, of unavoidable angst mingled with moments of heart-touching sweetness, give this a try!
—Mary
