Title:
Pretty Baby
Author:
Audrey Godwin
Published By:
New Concepts
Publishing
ISBN:
1-58608-345-7
Copyright:
October 2003
Format:
Electronic
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Lieutenant Shadoe Madison needs a break. His captain has demanded Shadoe take time off from his police work even though Shadoe doesn't agree that he is over worked and stressed out. Agreeing to take a few days off, Shadoe finds himself at a travel agency with a brochure in his hand. It is of Scarlet, Georgia, home of the notorious Scarlet Bay Inn.
Lucretia Van Dare is the manager of the inn. It is a family owned mansion that has been turned into an inn. It is a house with a lot of family skeletons. Shadoe can't turn off his cop instincts. From the first time he meets Lucretia, he knows she is hiding something. Not only that but there is something sinister about her. And then he gets a glimpse of a young woman in a hideous mask that dresses like a little girl. Lucretia is not impressed with Shadoe snooping around. What if he discovers the truth behind her secrets? Such as the truth about Julita. Julita just turned eighteen, and she is ready for love. Since she was a little girl she has been made to disguise her beauty by her ugly sister. Lucretia wants to keep Julita a little girl. But Shadoe sees past the disguise and falls in love. Before he can help Julita he has to free her from Lucretia, her demented older sister. But Shadoe must first discover the old man held captive in the basement, and a ghost that haunts an old church in the woods that isn't really there. What skeletons do they hold? And whom can Shadoe trust in this house of mysteries?
Pretty Baby is full of excitement and one intrigue after another. The reader never knows who to trust and what secret will be revealed next. Audrey Godwin is a talented author and has penned an interesting book that never has a dull moment and always keeps the reader guessing. There are a full range of secondary characters along with the three main characters that bring out the best and the worst in human nature. Here this reviewer must caution some readers that this book contains explicit sex, strong language, and some instances of rape and unconventional sex. The characteristics of Julita and Lucretia are revealed deliciously slow which is very enticing. Shadoe is a strong hero that can play word games with the best of them, namely Lucretia, and he doesn't give up. Julita's situation is heartbreaking and draws the reader in from the first chapter. But this reader didn't really feel the chemistry between Julita and Shadoe. Part horror, part mystery, and part romance this book hits it all. But what is it? A mystery, a horror story, or a romance? This reviewer really couldn't tell from one page to the next.
Reviewed by: Penny
