Double the Pleasure-Lori Foster, Deirdre Martin, Jacquie D’Alessandro and Penny McCall

Double the Pleasure
Lori Foster, Deirdre Martin, Jacquie D’Alessandro and Penny McCall
Berkley, Dec 2008, $15.00
ISBN: 9780425224069

“Deuces Wild” by Lori Foster. Wanting to hide his training to join the Supreme Battle Challenge from his family while he trains, Hart Winston persuades his twin brother Dexter to pretend to be him. Dexter reluctantly moves into Hart’s apartment. However, Dexter falls in love with Hart’s neighbor middle school secretary Christy Nash who believes he is Hart.

“The Luck of the Irish” by Deirdre Martin. In Hell’s Kitchen, divorcee Maggie O’Brien and Irish Green Card immigrant Brendan Kelly meet when he assist his Uncle Joe in renovating her family’s Wild Hart Pub. They are attracted to one another, but she is reluctant to act after a bad marriage.

“Your Room or Mine?” by Jacquie D’Alessandro. Java Heaven CEO Gavin Laine informs his CFO Jack Warden that the accountants will attend a team building weekend at Lake Lanier’s Casa di Lago hosted by consultant Madeline “Mad Dog” Price. Jack and Madeline detest their attraction to one another; each expects fireworks at the Georgia resort, but neither is prepared for what occurs between them nor the betrayal.

“Double the Danger: by Penny McCall. Dr. Abigail West moved to Pottersville, under 200 miles from Chicago, from DC to be near her only living relative, her grandfather, but remains an outsider to the “Pottersvillains”. When she opens up a body bag to conduct an autopsy her college lover Drake, who vanished abruptly ten years ago without a trace, steps out alive. He explains he is FBI and they along with her grandfather are in danger. She assumes it is her heart from him

These are four fun well written contemporary romances that contain reasonably deep lead characters. Although the Penny McCall entry feels out of place with its police procedural suspense plot, fans will appreciate the strong quartet of tales with the bonus of Winston twins starring in Lori Foster’s fine contribution.

Harriet Klausner