Never Love a Stranger

When Annie Simpson turns around in her kitchen on Friday evening and sees a naked man standing there, she is very surprised. She’s a widow, and there hasn’t been a naked man in her kitchen in over a year! This naked man is extremely ... superior ... in all his physical attributes. The man says his name is James and that he is a fugitive from the law enforcement officers of the future. Because James seems totally unfamiliar with everyday items like refrigerators, Annie realizes that he must be insane or amnesiac, so she humors him by going along with his story and giving him food and clothing until she can contact the authorities to come get him. The next day, as they are coming back from the mall after a shopping trip for clothes, they are attacked by a woman with a ray gun, and suddenly Annie knows that James was telling her the truth!

This is a very good science fiction romance. The plot and action are motivated by the science fiction framework of the story. The romance slides over into erotica with its very powerful and explicit love scenes between a loving male/female couple. The characters of Annie and James are realistic, likeable people, who make mistakes but try their best to correct their errors. The author carefully builds the suspense, giving the reader small amounts of information at a time, thus revealing what is really going on gradually. I’ve always loved such skillfully developed plots because they keep the reader intrigued right up through the final dénouement. In fact, I think the aspect of this novel that I enjoyed the most was not knowing exactly what was going to happen throughout the book. I recommend this book highly to science fiction and romance readers alike.

Reviewed by: Jean