BLIND DATE – Bella Jewel
St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN: 978-1-250-10836-4
August 2017
Romantic Suspense Thriller

Denver, Colorado, the Present

BLIND DATE is written wholly in the first person. The tone is set in the prologue when the villain decides he has found the victim he has been waiting for. Then in chapter one, the point of view switches to the heroine, Hartley Watson, whose voice carries on for nearly all the rest of the book.

Hartley suffered the loss of her dearly loved husband, Ray, four years ago. She recently switched from nursing to studying midwifery thinking bringing lives into the world would give her nearly empty life meaning. Hart's only companion is her best friend Taylor, who urges her to start dating. In fact, Taylor talks Hartley into going on blind dates she finds for her on the internet. Why not? About the only man Hart ever sees is the hot looking cop with the rude and grumpy personality who lives on her floor.

The first blind dates don't work out, but the next one, with Jacob, has possibilities. They take it slowly to see what develops, but Hart gets some comfort from him in her life. Just when her spirits begin to lift, however, unsettling things begin to happen to her . . . strange things start popping up inside her apartment, even notes from her dead husband. Is she going crazy?

Is it possible her dilemma is connected to the serial killer who has been murdering women in the area?

BLIND DATE's principal characters are ones we can believe in. The story is well done with an escalating fright factor, romance, and a satisfying conclusion. You might want to read it in the daytime if you live alone.

Jane Bowers