Black Diamond
Wilds of the Bayou Series
Book Two
Susannah Sandlin
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Date of Publication: October 18, 2016
ISBN: 978-1503940413
ASIN: B01F1Z6818
Number of pages: 266
Word Count: approx. 80,000
Cover Artist: Michael Rehder
The mysterious deaths aren’t her only problem. A dangerous drug known as Black Diamond is circulating through Terrebonne Parish, turning addicts into unpredictable sociopaths. Jena’s investigation leads her to Cole Ryan—a handsome, wary recluse struggling with his own troubled history—who knows more than he’s willing to admit. If they want to stop the killer, Jena and Cole must step out of the shadows of their pasts and learn to help each other…before the evils lurking in the bayou consume them both.
His fists
clenched and unclenched. Again. Again. The press and release of tension
filtered out some of the stiffness from his arms and shoulders. The woman was
striking, her wistful expression had resonated with him, and he had wanted to
look at her. He’d looked long and hard enough that she’d caught him standing in
the doorway like an idiot. Otherwise, he could’ve pretended to be gone and not
answered his door. Now, hiding wasn’t an option.
The last thing
he needed in his life was a woman. Especially a woman with a badge and a gun.
Though expected,
the sharp knock made his shoulders jerk upward, and his fingers clenched again
into fists. Weapons his body provided to protect itself, to protect him, to
keep everyone away.
“Sir, I know
you’re in there. I’m Agent Sinclair of Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries.” Her
voice was clear and no-nonsense. He tried to place her accent—she wasn’t from
Terrebonne Parish but didn’t have a typical Southern accent either. “I want to
talk to you about the gator in front of your neighbor Doris’s house. It’ll only
take a minute or two.”
Damn. Now that
he knew his neighbor’s real name, the Wicked Witch was dead. Now she was Doris.
He took a deep
breath, turned, and opened the door an inch. Maybe two inches.
A hazel eye,
heavy on the green, and the bill of a dark-green baseball cap came into view,
peering through the crack. A strand of hair that trailed over her forehead from
beneath the cap shone like pure molten fire.
“You can open it
all the way, you know. I don’t bite. I’d like to come inside for a few minutes
and talk, or you can come out on the porch. Having a conversation isn’t
optional, but where we have it is. For now.”
Damn it. Cole
had to admit he was stuck and it was his own damned fault for standing in the
doorway and watching her for so long. He opened the door wide, dread giving way
to curiosity when he finally saw her face up close. She was beautiful but
lightly scarred, more on her cheeks than her forehead, so she’d probably been
hit by flying glass rather than having her head go through a windshield. Fairly
recent too. The spots were still pink, but they were scars and not wounds. Five
or six months old, he’d say. Eventually, they’d fade and, with her fair skin,
would easily cover with makeup. If she hadn’t been so close—not to mention his
fixation on her face—he wouldn’t have noticed them even now.
“Are you going
to let me come inside, or are you coming outside, or do I need to make it an
official order?”
Susannah Sandlin is the author of the award-winning Penton Vampire Legacy paranormal romance series, including the 2013 Holt Medallion Award-winning Absolution and Omega and Allegiance, which were nominated for the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award in 2014 and 2015, respectively. She also wrote The Collectors romantic suspense duology, including Lovely, Dark, and Deep, 2015 Holt Medallion winner and 2015 Booksellers Best Award winner. Her new suspense series Wilds of the Bayou started in 2016 with the release of Wild Man’s Curse and continues with Black Diamond. Writing as Suzanne Johnson, Susannah is the author of the award-winning Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series. A displaced New Orleanian, she currently lives in Auburn, Alabama. Susannah loves SEC football, fried gator on a stick, all things Cajun, and redneck reality TV.
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Romantic Fanatic
Black Diamond is a great read, action, adventure, suspense, wonderful addition to the Wilds of the Bayou series. Highly recommend.
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