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	Catherine Chant is an award-winning writer from New England. In addition to serving as the FMAM webmaster and book review coordinator, Catherine is an editor at Chippewa Publishing LLC. She is also a PRO member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and an active member of the From the Heart Romance Writers (FTHRW) chapter, the National Association of Women Writers (NAWW) and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). A graduate of Boston College, she worked for fifteen years at her alma mater as a computing & communications consultant/technical writer and web content manager. She is currently working on a young adult time travel romance. She can be reached at webmaster@fmam.biz.

THE PREY
Allison Brennan
Ballantine Books, December 27 2005, $6.99, 416 pp.
ISBN: 0345480236

Rowan Smith makes her living writing crime novels where, unlike her former job as an FBI agent, the bad guys never escape the law. While out in California working on a screenplay for the latest movie adaptation of one of her “Crime of” novels, she learns a serial killer is using her books as a blueprint for his crime spree. Not only does he recreate the murders using the same gruesome methods Rowan penned, but he finds victims with the same names in the same towns depicted in the books to make the murders completely identical.

The killer’s attention to literary detail and the way he leaves copies of Rowan’s books at the scenes as calling cards is startling enough, but when he starts sending objects with personal significance to Rowan, Rowan no longer believes he’s targeting her randomly. Somehow this killer knows her and knows about her tragic childhood, but Rowan has no idea how. She has never been one to have close relationships since she lost her family at age ten, and at that time she changed her name and started a new life. Who could know so much about her?

Despite Rowan’s protests that she can take care of herself (none of her FBI training has faded since she left the bureau), her anxious producer contacts a personal security company to protect her 24/7, and the FBI agents investigating the murders concur with this decision. Enter Michael Flynn, personal bodyguard, along with his sister, and company employee, Tess.

Michael has no doubts he’s up to the challenge of protecting the beautiful and aloof Rowan Smith from the psychopath tormenting her, but his sister isn’t too sure. Michael has a history of falling for damsels in distress, and Rowan seems just his type. Tess calls in reinforcements against Michael’s wishes.

When their older brother John, a former DEA agent, comes on the scene to help out, Michael feels he must not only prove himself capable of handling the job on his own, but also finds himself not so subconsciously battling John for the affections of Rowan. While John has no desire to show up his little brother or get involved with their client, the killer’s threats against his family give John no choice but to see this case through to the end for his siblings’ safety as well as Rowan’s. It’s an interesting twist in a romantic suspense to have two strong male leads introduced to vie for the attentions of the heroine. I rather enjoyed wondering who Rowan would end up with.

As exciting as the romance is, the suspense is even more so. Rowan is a wonderfully strong heroine. No shrinking violets here. She can kick ass with the best of them, but she also has a vulnerable side, particularly when it comes to memories of her slain family members. It was a delight to watch those two sides of her in action throughout the story.

Simply put, THE PREY works on all levels. This debut author has woven a gripping tale where secrets from the past collide with secrets of the present, and love conquers the darkness, but not without one heck of a battle. Following along as Rowan unravels the killer’s plot and the truth about her life leads to such an exhilarating fast-paced read, you’ll be tempted to stay up late and finish it in one sitting.

THE PREY is a fine example of what a romantic suspense should be: sexy and spellbinding.

And the thrills don’t end there—THE PREY is the first in a trilogy about three women who met at the FBI training academy. After devouring THE PREY, you’re in for more non-stop suspense and romance in THE HUNT and THE KILL, available in February and March 2006. Some of the backstory for THE HUNT is touched upon in THE PREY, and it sounds as intriguing as it’s predecessor.

Catherine Chant

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