RECKLESS

Author: Shannon Drake ISBN: 03733770618 9/2005 HISTORICAL Publisher: HQN
Time Period: 1890's Egypt and England

When Kat Adair plunges into the waves to rescue a drowning man, it is just the beginning of an odyssey that will sweep the fisherman's daughter on an adventure of danger and desire. Convinced she is in love with the man she saved, Egyptologist David Turnberry, she plots a bout of "amnesia" that enables her to linger among the highborn, hoping to win David's heart away from his betrothed! The only problem is Hunter MacDonald, rugged archaeologist, bold adventurer, a man who is wise to her little charade—and determined to protect his best friend. Undaunted, Kat stows away on the ship carrying David and Hunter's expedition party to the land of the Pharaoh. Scandal ensues, and Hunter vows the only way to protect his friend and keep this confounding woman out of trouble is to make her his wife. Inevitably, in the sultry heat of the desert, passions ignite. But as the secrets of the ancient tombs are revealed, terrible danger unfolds. Is it a legendary curse, or pure human evil? Plunged into terror, Kat must trust the one man willing to risk everything to save her from doom.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I like RECKLESS despite the awful use of exclamation points in the beginning/middle of the story. I know I have commented on this before, and this seems like a small thing, but truly, it's a standing joke amongst a few of us. As passionate as Drake's characters tend to be, no one shouts or thinks excitedly that much. Perhaps the horrid use of !!! has become Shannon Drake/Heather Graham's trademark?! Still, every other sentence in a paragraph is just a bit much.

Anyway, since the storyline is decent I will try and focus on that, rather than the lack of editing. Faithful readers will recognize the standard feisty, yet likeable, heroine with blazing red hair and fierce green eyes. The hero, more masculine and appealing because he gives the stubborn woman the set down she needs without breaking her spirit, is a mixture of cool indifference and hot passion. Together, the two of them fight attraction while being forced to work together on a tomb raiding mission to Egypt.

Never mind that she is supposedly in love with a playboy youngster who appears to be in danger. Or that he is a rake of the first order. Intrigue, mystery, and danger follow them every step of the way, along with an unusual cast of characters that help bring the story to life.

As I read, many things became apparent to me. I figured out who the bad guys were, but that didn't bother me because I wasn't quite sure what they were up to. Drake does a good job of keeping the mystery of the plot buzzing. It's a "you know, but you don't know" kind of thing. I like the hero and admire his restraint in not throttling the heroine. I also like the fact that the heroine is not a simpering child, but a smart lady from the working class. So, it's decent, this RECKLESS, but not completely different from Drake's other stories. That will make some people happy and leave others asking if they have read something like this before.

Shannon Johnson