Category Archives: Book Hooks

Book Hooks: “Why didn’t you leave the army, but stay around?” Grant asked Kelly. “Australia or Vanuatu.” #MilitarySuspense #ContemporaryRomance #kellysjustice #SouthPacific #Vanuatu

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Kelly’s Justice. I lived in Vanuatu, South Pacific, for 9 years and loved setting my book there.

Blurb: Kelly normally needs no help solving international security problems, but when someone from her past damages her reputation and threatens her life, she needs assistance. Joining forces with her old friend from the Australian army, now an expert on South Pacific politics, they destroy an island drug cartel and rescue kidnapped teenagers. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveKellysJustice

Excerpt

“Why didn’t you leave the army, but stay around?” Grant asked Kelly. “Australia or Vanuatu. Always plenty of private security jobs up for grabs.”

“No, I couldn’t. The brass made it clear I needed to resign, or I would be legally charged. And if I lost my case, I might be jailed as well as dishonorably discharged.” She huffed. “So I was forced out of the career I loved on an unproven drug charge while Ronnie invented the cheating story to make himself look like the injured party. He wanted me out of the army and away from my friends, yet he insisted I stay around. Take a desk job with a friend of his, a business partner, so he could keep doing whatever he wanted while  I was kept close and still under his control.” 

“So, you ran away?” His face screwed up with pain “I’m sorry. I should have tried harder to help you sort out that mess. Done more to keep you in Australia. You could have taken a private security job. Kept fighting crime.”

That made her laugh. Between their army friends, there was a long standing joke about Kelly’s drive to fight crime and get justice for victims. They frequently teased her about being the female Aussie version of Superman. Fighting for justice on all fronts. 

She shook her head. “No. Staying around was too dangerous because Ronnie discovered that I’d been digging through his paperwork to find something incriminating on he and his business mate. Whatever I uncovered would always make me a threat to Ronnie and anyone working with him. My only option was to get out of the country before his associates became aware that I had uncovered some of their secrets. I didn’t have enough evidence to expose them at that time, though Ronnie sensed I was about to go public with what I knew. I needed to leave Vanuatu quickly before things went from bad to worse. I didn’t know how far Ronnie would go to ensure my silence.”

“Briefing in five in the common room,” Jacky called to her. 

Kelly was grateful that her partner had subtly nudged the other two men towards the building and allowed she and Grant a few minutes privacy. She acknowledged her friend with a nod. “Be right there.” 

She turned to Grant. “Water under the bridge now. I always knew Ronnie could track me down, same as you could have found me with a bit of sleuthing. Hiding from anyone ex-military isn’t foolproof so I covered my tracks enough that old friends or distant family members couldn’t trace me, although I knew that one day my past would reappear.” She waved a hand towards Jacky. “But I’m living in a safer place now and working with people who’d protect me with their dying breath.”

KJ_International crime, ex-military feisty heroine, kidnapping and drug smuggling in Vanuatu, South Pacific. #MilitaryRomance #feistyheroine #ContemporaryRomance #Series #SouthPacific #Vanuatu https://books2read.com/SuziLoveKellys-Justice
Book Hooks: “Why didn’t you leave the army, but stay around?" Grant asked Kelly. "Australia or Vanuatu." #MilitarySuspense #ContemporaryRomance #kellysjustice #SouthPacific #Vanuatu https://books2read.com/SuziLoveKellysJustice Share on X
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Book Hooks: Grant said, “According to Ronnie, you hated all of us.” #MilitarySuspense #ContemporaryRomance #kellysjustice #SouthPacific #Vanuatu

Suzi Love Posted on by

Kelly’s Justice. I lived in Vanuatu, South Pacific, for 9 years and loved setting my book there.

Blurb: Kelly normally needs no help solving international security problems, but when someone from her past damages her reputation and threatens her life, she needs assistance. Joining forces with her old friend from the Australian army, now an expert on South Pacific politics, they destroy an island drug cartel and rescue kidnapped teenagers. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveKellysJustice

Excerpt

Grant stared at Kelly, disbelief written all over his face. “I can’t believe it’s really you. I tried to find you when I came back from Afghanistan, but it was if you disappeared off the face of the earth.” He winced. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me. According to Ronnie, you hated all of us. Blamed us all for your problems with the higher ups.”

“What?” She groaned. “Damn! I might have known Ronnie would blame everyone but himself.”

“We all had our suspicions,” Grant said with a sigh. “But when your Lieutenant tells you something, you’re expected to believe it. No questions asked. Especially when that Lieutenant warned us that the brass had been so disgusted with your behavior, they’d spoken of taking legal action. We were ordered to have no interaction with you while they debated legal action, despite none of us believing those trumped up charges. We knew you’d never steal from the army and given how much you loathed drugs, we also knew you’d never get into bed with traffickers.”

“I tried to give my side of the story about all of that, but no one believed me. And despite the army being unable to produce enough legitimate evidence to instigate legal proceedings against me, they decided to force me out. Sweep it all under the carpet.” 

Kelly looked her old friend in the eyes. “Did you believe I cheated on Ronnie? And with a commanding officer?”

“No! Hell no! I never believed that rubbish.” He met her eyes, his gaze open and honest, willing her to accept his words as the truth. “We had that conversation, remember? You and I agreed to ignore whatever attraction we felt between us, despite how much I wanted to do exactly the opposite. You’ve no idea how many times I wanted to drag you as far away from that bastard as possible. Get you completely out of that situation.” 

She nodded. “But there was no point stirring Ronnie up. Everyone suspected that Ronnie was doing something illegal, so if I’d publicly split from him at that stage, I would have been involved. Our time with the army was coming to an end anyway and I’d already planned on getting away from him.” 

She remembered very well that neither of them would take that step towards each other when she was already supposedly in a relationship with Ronnie. And Grant was far too honorable to ever come between two people who, to the outside world, appeared to be a perfect couple. In public, Ronnie claimed her as his girlfriend. In private, she saw very little of him, which was why she had suspected that he was doing more than simply cheating on her.

KJ_International crime, ex-military feisty heroine, kidnapping and drug smuggling in Vanuatu, South Pacific. #MilitaryRomance #feistyheroine #ContemporaryRomance #Series #SouthPacific #Vanuatu https://books2read.com/SuziLoveKellys-Justice
Book Hooks: Grant said, "According to Ronnie, you hated all of us." #MilitarySuspense #ContemporaryRomance #kellysjustice #SouthPacific #Vanuatu https://books2read.com/SuziLoveKellysJustice Share on X
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Book Hooks: Lady Laura Jamison hadn’t needed any announcements to know a bullet had been fired. #HistoricalMystery #RomCom #VictorianRomance #RegencyRomance

Suzi Love Posted on by

Scenting Scandal Book 2 Scandalous Siblings Series.

Excerpt: Lady Laura Jamison had turned to run, when an intractable force grasped her bodily and threw her off her feet, hurling them both sideways. Winchester, or to be precise, his muscled arms, had circled her body, heavy, protective, and immovable. Women screamed on the street below. Footsteps pounded across the stone steps.

Laura and Richard hit the ground a few feet from where they’d been standing and he rolled, his arms wrapped around her. The cocoon of his body stopped her from slamming onto the harsh stone, and he kept her lifted free of the blistering gravel on the pavement. After a series of rolls and tumbles, they pulled up in a tangled heap, a foot short of the tree-lined fence that separated church land from a row of buildings.

Not out of danger but, thank God, no longer sitting ducks. A large palm spread across the back of her head and gripped, as the Earl thrust her head into the concave shell of his chest. Her rib cage hurt as she struggled to open her lungs. She sucked in noisy streams of air, bobbed her head skyward and fought for normal breaths. His hand brushed her hair.

“Shush. Just breathe. Slowly.”

His mouth nuzzled, soothed, and hot breath lifted her curls. Under his guidance, she managed to slow her breathing to ease the ache in her chest and calm herself. She turned her head to listen, before peering out from under his arm. Sweat dripped off her brow and splashed onto the gravel below her chin, while drops fell from Winchester’s face onto her.

From beyond the high-piled vegetable cart, which provided a little protection, came chaotic noises—the terrified whinny of horses and high-pitched shrieks from humans. By the mix of lower-class voices calling to each other along the pavement, the crowd was confused about what had happened. Though not Laura.

She’d been stunned for a few seconds, but hadn’t needed any announcements to know a bullet had been fired. Not after several other incidents in recent months. They’d been physically threatened, and Becca had witnessed the murder of their friend who did the book-keeping at the Women’s Betterment Society.

Scenting Scandal By Suzi Love Book 2 Scandalous Siblings Series. books2read.com/suziloveSS 

SS_ScentingScandal__Lady Laura Jamison accepts help from her nemesis, the Earl of Winchester, as the unlikely pair fight to protect innocent railway investors at London’s Stock exchange.
Book Hooks: Lady Laura Jamison hadn’t needed any announcements to know a bullet had been fired. #HistoricalMystery #RomCom #VictorianRomance #RegencyRomance https://books2read.com/suziloveSS Share on X
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Book Hooks: Earl of Winchester requires a placid bride, the opposite of Lady Laura. #HistoricalRomance #RomCom #RegencyRomance

Suzi Love Posted on by

BLURB

Richard St. Martin, the Earl of Winchester, explains his requirements for a placid bride while Lady Laura Jamison scoffs at his naivete. Scenting Scandal By Suzi Love Book 2 Scandalous Siblings Series. books2read.com/suziloveSS 

EXCERPT

The Earl of Winchester, reiterated, “Your male relations understand my stance on marriage. I abhor marriages based on notions of romantic ideology, and I believe love matches create more unhappiness than joy. My convictions exclude me as a suitable suitor for you and make me the safest choice of escort, especially compared to the fortune hunters and rakes I’ve seen sniffing around your skirts recently.” Under her intense scrutiny, he shifted his feet. “For a woman as passionate and exciting as you, I’d prove very poor husband material.”

He realized how his words might be interpreted when Lady Laura said, “Are you complementing me for my passion? Or lamenting that I’m not the milk-pudding-miss you profess to require as your bride?”

He stiffened. “My countess will not be as bland as you imagine. She’ll be admired by everyone, including me of course, for her competency in running several large households.”

“Of course.” She rolled her eyes. “Because sewing and pianoforte and menu-planning and…reciting the bible…. are vital for any woman’s sanity. Mind you, your countess will need some distraction during the long boring months waiting to deliver your heir. And, of course, a possible spare or two. Stitching handkerchiefs may be the most excitement she experiences if her marriage to you is as boring as it sounds. I don’t believe you’re stupid enough to settle for a young girl who completely lacks wit.” Her gaze met his, confronting and demanding. “A chit with whom you’ve nothing in common, malleable enough to bend to your will and willing to be held at an emotional distance.”

He stared straight ahead, unable to meet her eyes. Laura, and this damnable conversation, would strip his long-held convictions regarding marriage from his bones.“It’s the way of our world, Laura. Men of rank list their requirements and choose the wife who best meets their needs. My countess needs to have enough spine to act as my hostess, yet be biddable and undemonstrative.”

“Poor, poor girl. Selected like a horse from Tattersall’s to carry on your breeding program, and then ignored for the remainder of her marriage. No doubt you’ll desert her in favor of your latest mistress.”

“You’ve no right to scoff at my rationale. Not after you’ve terrified every bachelor in London by scribbling notes about them in your little books. Only giving the poor sods a tick of approval if they have a pleasing aroma. You’re selecting your husband the same way I intend finding my wife. By examining their credentials. Your scientific theorizing degrades their worth as men far more than my plans for my countess. At least I’m choosing her for her … ah…gentler traits.”

When she scowled, he clasped a hand to his chest in a dramatic fashion and gave her a wide-eyed look. “Consider your lack of traditional female skills arts as providential. Instead of wasting your time testing me as a potential husband, you can treat me as an older and wiser financial advisor, as well as a loyal sentinel.”

She frowned. “Once again, I can’t decide if I should be insulted or relieved.”

SS_ScentingScandal_Lady Laura Jamison of the Earl Of Winchester. His fashionable trousers fascinated her, purely from a scientific point of view. #RomCom #HistoricalRomance books2read.com/suziloveSS


Book Hooks: Earl of Winchester requires a placid bride, the opposite of Lady Laura. #HistoricalRomance #RomCom #RegencyRomance https://books2read.com/suziloveSS Share on X
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Book Hooks: Lady Laura Jamison believes her extraordinary olfactory senses will sniff out her perfect match, but will the Earl prove her wrong? #HistoricalRomance #RomCom #RegencyRomance

Suzi Love Posted on by

BLURB

Lady Laura Jamison believes her extraordinary olfactory senses will sniff out her perfect match, but will Richard St. Martin, the Earl of Winchester, prove her theory wrong? Scenting Scandal By Suzi Love Book 2 Scandalous Siblings Series. books2read.com/suziloveSS 

EXCERPT

Laura concentrated on restful images. Brooks babbled, birds sang, white fluffy clouds floated. Colorful rainbows arced and…. Nothing, dammit. Her frazzled nerves refused to be soothed. Trying not to alert her aunt, whose over-emotional farewells had already delayed proceedings, Laura tugged on Winchester’s arm. His leather-gloved hand held fast. The Devil take the blasted Earl and his oversized anatomy, his overwhelming maleness and his…

She shivered. Everything overpowering about this man, including his unwanted invasion of her senses, ought to be declared illegal. A ticket tied to each limb reading: Danger. Avoid at all cost.

His cologne’s citrus tang, bergamot with an after-note of lemon, flooded her nose and made her sneeze. Another confirmation that the theory of natural selection being developed by scientists at the Royal Academe was correct. And an extra incentive to elude her keeper, ergot the enigmatic Earl, and pay another visit to her friends, Mr. Charles Darwin and his cousin, both men grandsons of Mr. Erasmus Darwin, famed researcher and theorist.

While she listed to herself the scientific reasons for avoiding the Earl, her herbalist and caring side, or more likely her feminine one, overruled. She reminded herself a few more drops of lemon should be added to the next batch of cologne she blended for Richard. Even as she mentally cursed her siblings for insisting she work closely with Winchester, Laura’s traitorous body responded in a physical way to his presence.

Imagining him, an expert financier, being granted full authority over not merely her ‘Change transactions, but also her daily household accounts, horrified her. Mortification would nail closed her coffin if he compared her scientific skills with those of her extraordinarily talented four siblings and found her wanting. Or, heaven save her, exposed her failures to the world.

SS_ScentingScandal__From Earl of Winchester: 'Her body was more enticing than any Covent Garden courtesan.'
Book Hooks: Lady Laura Jamison believes her extraordinary olfactory senses will sniff out her perfect match, but will the Earl prove her wrong? #HistoricalRomance #RomCom #RegencyRomance https://books2read.com/suziloveSS Share on X
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Book Hooks: Earl of Winchester has no time for mad scientist Lady Jamison yet when he’s with her, desire explodes. #HistoricalMystery #RomCom #VictorianRomance #RegencyRomance

Suzi Love Posted on by

Richard, Earl of Winchester, has no time for their family friend and mad scientist, Lady Laura Jamison, yet when he’s with her, passion and desire explodes. Scenting Scandal By Suzi Love Book 2 Scandalous Siblings Series. books2read.com/suziloveSS 

Richard had schooled himself into playing the role of mentor with such brilliance, Laura’s brothers and sisters would applaud his aptitude for match-making. He’d find Laura’s perfect husband as quickly as possible. And at those long and interminable dinners, he’d prove his own unsuitability by arguing until their fellow diners rolled their eyes and closed their ears to another of their battles of wit. When their companions’ eyes glazed over and they turned to more interesting conversation, he’d be free to let his eyes roam and his senses feast on Laura as she raved about the wonders of evolutionary science.

It was more likely that he’d need to dig his fingers into the elegant carvings on his chair to stop himself leaping across the table like a lunatic and shocking everyone at the sixty-seat table. He’d been in control of himself and his minor kingdom since he’d turned eighteen. So, for pity’s sake, why did being within thirty yards of Laura turn him into a wet-behind-the ears randy youth?

After her olfactory tests had proved he wasn’t her ideal mate, he should feel relieved, not affronted. And rather than reveling in a bachelor’s escape from the clutches of another would-be countess, Laura’s rejection had prompted him to childishly extol his own virtues. For an earl who also held minor titles and controlled several estates, being categorized as ‘Examined and Disregarded’ was as abnormal as it was lowering.

“Laura,” he said, dodging lace frills. “Picture my brutalized face if Michael and Jonathon caught me, the one man able to resist your charms and ignore your demands, composing appalling odes to the length of your lashes like your other fawning fops.”

“Is that why Sherwyn needed to coerce you into acting as my keeper?”

Ah yes, trust Laura to demand to know the reason he complied with his cousin’s wishes. “I was the only able-bodied male available for the time required.”

SS_ScentingScandal__Lady Laura Jamison accepts help from her nemesis, the Earl of Winchester, as the unlikely pair fight to protect innocent railway investors at London’s Stock exchange.

Book Hooks: Earl of Winchester has no time for mad scientist Lady Jamison yet when he's with her, desire explodes. #HistoricalMystery #RomCom #VictorianRomance #RegencyRomance https://books2read.com/suziloveSS Share on X
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Book Hooks: Pleasure House Ball: Lady Armstrong scrabbled for an excuse for her being at a scandalous ball. #RegencyRomance #BookHooks #EroticRomance #ReadARegency

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Pleasure House ball Book 3 Irresistible Aristocrats books2read.com/suzilovePHB.

Lady Lillian Armstrong’s mind raced, scrabbling for an excuse for being here. Shock held her captive. Her best friend stood behind her and he’d recognized her, despite the pains she and Maggie had taken with their enormous masks and gowns purchased from the dressmaker who designed flamboyant gowns for courtesans. Lord Mallory, Brenton, was the last person she’d expect to meet at a ball for procuring a mistress.

Maggie, her companion and procurer of ball invitations, had assured her that the majority of gentlemen attending tonight would be vetted acquaintances of Lord Browning’s. Gentlemen on the lookout for a new mistress, young men eager to exchange their quarterly allowances for a brief affair with a rising star in courtesan circles, or men with aspirations of wealth who hoped to afford a full time mistress in the next year or two.

Brenton didn’t fit any of those categories, or perhaps she was mistaken and he lived an entirely different life than the one she saw. He’d barely ventured ten miles from his estate in the past five or six years and preferred evenings at home with his daughter to roaming London’s streets with his peers, gambling at clubs, or getting drunk and visiting brothels. She lifted her fan to her face and waved air across her heated cheeks, not wanting her male admirers to notice her distress. Maggie had promised that all conversations and connections were incognito, so Lillian wouldn’t be recognized as the duke’s disgraced daughter, giving her an opportunity to let the repressed side of Lillian to fly free.

The last thing she needed was a serious conversation with Brent, or to have him criticize or interfere in the outrageous night she and her companion had planned. Maggie’s twelve months of wearing depressing black and pretending to grieve for a man who’d been cruel and abusive had almost destroyed her, so she’d urged Lillian to avoid her mistakes. Advised Lillian to avoid spending months in seclusion and under censure from ignorant family members. Urged Lillian to do something rash and abnormal. Something to clear her mind and soul of the stink of her husband’s infidelity, uncontrolled spending, and irrational actions.

Pleasure House ball Book 3 Irresistible Aristocrats books2read.com/suzilovePHB.

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Book Hooks: “Yes, yes, I know. They’ll dispense with us regardless.” #HistoricalRomance #HistoricalMystery #FamilySaga #VictorianRomance

Suzi Love Posted on by

Embracing Scandal Book 1, Scandalous Siblings Series. Lady Rebecca Jamison sneaks into the house of the Duke of St. Martin to beg his assistance to combat a rogue and murderous group of railway investors.

Lady Rebecca Jamison told The Duke of St. Martin. ‘We utilize Foster and Braithwaite as our stock trading agents and invest through them using the minimum identification on any documents.” 

“Impressive. I heard that Foster and Braithwaite’s business grew twelve fold in the last few years by riding on railway stocks.” 

“Hence, our problem. Their profits, our profits, became legendary. People speculated about the mysterious names on share certificates.” At his puzzled look she added, “Simple enough. We draw up letters. Ladies sign with their initials and family name, nothing more, so no one realizes the investors aren’t men. Or rather, no one did before.” 

“And now?” 

“Two weeks ago, some members of the outer circle approached my brother, Michael. They believe him to be personally responsible for our own change in fortune.” 

“How big a change in fortune?” 

“Oh, nothing too major.” She waved a hand in a vague manner and hoped her face didn’t flush. “Modest successes. Dividend rates in excess of six percent in some situations.” 

His eyebrows shot upwards. “Six percent! Nobody I do business with calls that modest. No wonder they wish to obliterate all reference to your family, and your Society.” 

“Yes, if only we’d been able to keep our good fortune a secret. We take the uttermost care with our clandestine activities, as we value our privacy and our reputations.” 

The Duke raised a brow and pointed at his clock. “Oh, yes. Great care with your reputation!” 

She chose to ignore him. “Michael laughed it off. Refused to join their so-called group of friends who dabbled in investing. So they raised the stakes. If he refuses to hand over m … his calculations for all the new railway share ventures opening, within the next two weeks, they vowed to destroy the members of his family. One by one, until he gives in.” 

“Ah, now I understand. That’s why they’re keeping you alive. They’re waiting to acquire the records. They assume as eldest, and involved in a charitable society, you hold the most knowledge of…” When he mumbled, she stiffened. Did he guess? “Of Michael’s future stock predictions. Then, when they have all they require, they’ll kill all–” 

“Yes, yes, I know. They’ll dispense with us regardless.” 

She lifted her chin a notch. “But I can resolve this situation. Given a little more time, plus a little assistance from you.” 

“Ah! Back to the crux of the matter. What you require from me.”

ES_EmbracingScandal_Lady Jamison saves family from financial ruin by railway investing but when her friend is murdered, Becca begs assistance from new Duke of Sherwyn. https://books2read.com/suziloveES
Book Hooks: "Yes, yes, I know. They'll dispense with us regardless." #HistoricalRomance #HistoricalMystery #FamilySaga #VictorianRomance https://books2read.com/suziloveES Share on X
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Book Hooks: The duke asks, “Who protects you from the current set of fire-breathing dragons?” #HistoricalRomance #HistoricalMystery #FamilySaga #VictorianRomance

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The Duke of St. Martin asks Lady Rebecca Jamison, “Who protects you from the current set of fire-breathing dragons?” #HistoricalRomance #Mystery https://books2read.com/suziloveES

“And who protects you from the current set of fire-breathing dragons?” 

She raised her chin. “I’ve outgrown such childishness.” 

She lowered herself to the closest settee, a demonstration of ladylike maturity and a reprieve for her trembling knees. 

“Pity.” His forehead furrowed into a pained frown. “Ah. 

That’s why you wore a disguise. And why you came so late at night.” 

She nodded. “The consortium watches our house and tracks our movements. In order to speak with you alone, I was forced to dress like this and sneak out the servant’s entrance in the dark. Although luckily, the syndicate’s inner circle doesn’t want me dead. Not yet. 

“Wonderful!” He glared at her. “Your blithe not yet offers such comfort to my nerves.” 

She glared back. “Oooh! I cannot explain if you interrupt with your sarcastic jabs.” 

He dipped his head, and then waved a hand. “I apologize for my uncertain temperament this evening. Please, tell me about Peggy, and what she did at your Women’s Society.” 

“She writes — No, she wrote the letters for women who wish to invest in stock ventures. We were trying to keep their identities, and their objectives, a secret.” 

“Why? Because they’re women? Because jobbers stood for them in the Exchange?” 

She raised a brow. “For someone only recently returned to London, you appear exceedingly well acquainted with the inside activities at the Exchange.” 

He shrugged. “I’ve spent every spare moment since my return settling the family’s finances. Naturally, I’ve looked in at the Foreign Funds Room a time or two. Nobody in my position can afford to let bank balances sit idle, despite some labeling it as trade.” 

“I’m impressed, Cayle. You detested accounts when your father wanted you to learn.” 

Once more he shrugged, yet his show of nonchalance appeared overdone. “Perhaps it was more of not liking the methods of the educator, rather than the subject being taught.” 

She shuddered at her recollection of the late duke’s disciplinary methods. “But you’re correct,” she said, pushing away images of birch rods twanging on bare flesh. “Some in our prudish society frown upon a gentleman of your caliber frequenting auction rooms. But, for a woman, it’d be an outrage.” 

His eyes fixed upon her, all signs of his earlier fatigue vanished. “I can well imagine.” 

“Though legally nothing prevents a woman from owning shares,” she said, assessing his concentration by the tense way he held his long, muscled body. “Visiting members are vetted at the door. Bank managers and jobbers pay eight guineas a year to enter the main Exchange room, yet self-righteous men evict females.” 

“So, is it your gender that sees you under threat?” 

“Not merely our gender. When the consortium heard we invested in secret, and often did very well, at first they became alarmed. Then, they became angry. Very angry indeed.” 

“I can well imagine men abhorring being bested by a female.” 

ES_EmbracingScandal_Cayle to Becca: “I will have you. I will not stop until I find a way.” Embracing Scandal By Suzi Love. #MysteryRomance #HistoricalRomance https://books2read.com/suziloveES

Book Hooks: The duke asks, “Who protects you from the current set of fire-breathing dragons?” #HistoricalRomance #HistoricalMystery #FamilySaga #VictorianRomance https://books2read.com/suziloveES Share on X
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Book Hooks: Bodies don’t walk out of hospitals. #ContemporaryRomance #MedicalRomance #outback

Suzi Love Posted on by

Outback Arrival : A contemporary medical set in an outback Australian hospital. A city nurse follows the doctor she loves to the bush town where he manages his family’s cattle properties, determined to prove her love for him. But can he accept that she is carrying his baby and that those he trusts have lied?

‘No, no, no! Bodies don’t stand up and walk out of hospitals.’

‘I’m real sorry, Nurse Kristie.’ The weather beaten grounds-man shuffled his feet in front of her office desk, distress adding a decade to his sixty something years.‘Looked everˈwhere. Can’t find it.’  

‘This can’t be happening, Joey. A corpse cannot just disappear. Somebody must have noticed something.’ 

‘Sure ain’t sometin´ no normal person’d tuck un’erneath their arm. Walk out with, when visitors go ‘ome.’ 

Kristie adopted the calm and confident demeanor that had helped her tackle hundreds of emergency room dramas without showing a moment of panic. Casualty nurses joked that no matter how many crazy things you’d dealt with, something stranger was always about to walk in your door. Or in today’s case, walk out of the morgue’s door. 

She hauled in a deep breath, while mentally chastising herself for not making more time to attend yoga classes, for Joey’s sake if not her own. She faked a confident smile. ‘We have to find his body, Joey. Quickly. Before the board’s fusspots hear what’s happened. Or we’ll have them arriving, en masse, and breathing down our necks.’

When she’d arrived four weeks earlier, the majority of the board members had welcomed her with open arms. Enticing an experienced nurse away from a city hospital to a remote outback town didn’t happen every day and the town had seen them as heroes saving their stretched outback health system. The few remaining few board members, however, were old-fashioned, staid, and highly suspicious of her motives.

Kristie had learned to be vigilant at work and circumspect when off duty. During her three months’ probation as Director of Nursing, she couldn’t afford any slip ups or she wouldn’t be contracted for a permanent position, no matter how desperate rural towns were to keep medical staff.. Those board members, the ones lacking a sense of humor, would be horrified that a recently deceased member of their small community had mysteriously disappeared from the hospital’s morgue. Although morgue was a loose term for a brick shed which housed a refrigerator, a work bench, and was supposedly cooled by a temperamental air-conditioner. Misplacing a body, without any of her rostered staff noticing, would be classified by the board as her first mistake, a huge mistake.

Book Hooks: Bodies don't walk out of hospitals. #ContemporaryRomance #MedicalRomance #outback https://books2read.com/suziloveOutbackArrival Share on X

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