Bait by Robards, Karen - 2005

New York U. S. A.: Signet. As New 2005. Paperback. Marfree, 1st paperbk prtg, sniny cover as shown, not marked-in, underscored, clearance or discard. Mails from NYC usually within 12 hours. ; 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches; 408 pages; \nFrom Publishers Weekly Veteran romance/crime bestseller Robards (Beachcomber; Whispers at Midnight) delivers another hold-your-breath drama, this time starring FBI agent Sam McCabe and advertising executive Maddie Fitzgerald. The sardonic hunk and the honey-eyed businesswoman are thrown together when Maddie becomes the latest target of a serial killer that Sam and his tubby assistant, E. P. Wynne, have been chasing for weeks, with no success. The body count already stands at six, but Maddie has neither the time nor the inclination to play bait for McCabe's booby trap to catch the killer. She needs the time to win the Brehmer's Dog Chow account (worth $10 million) lest her fledgling St. Louis ad agency go under before the end of the year. (And she has a secret past that she's determined not to share with anyone. ) Soon enough, however, McCabe and his team are conducting a surveillance op from within her apartment, and that's when the suspense and romance really start to heat up. Though Robards's amorous prose is breathy as always ("His hand was warm and dry, big, long-fingered"; "Oh, god, he had dimples") , her pacing is excellent, and regular infusions of humor keep the story bouncing along between trysts and attacks. This one is sure to please fans. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From AudioFile Joyce Bean more than earns her pay in this romantic mystery as advertising executive Maddie Fitzgerald revisits an unhappy past, lives an uncertain present, and faces a deadly future. Along the way she encounters a gravelly voiced woman who can turn her firm around; an FBI Agent whose Southern drawl is a bit too syrupy; and a killer whose disguised voice intones threats over a cell phone. Bean voices Maddie's emotional pleas with authentic despair and lends a coarse, crass tone to the many thugs who attack her. As the attempts on Maddie's life escalate, so do the sparks flying between her and Agent McCabe--and that distraction may be just what the killer awaits. J. J. B. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition. .