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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 a PRO member of the Romance Writers of American (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.

A BREATH AWAY
Rita Herron
HQN, May 2005, $5.99, 376pp.
ISBN 0-373-77030-8

When Violet Baker was eight years old, her best friend Darlene was kidnapped and later found murdered. During the ordeal, Violet psychically connected with Darlene and heard her friend's tearful cries for help, but was unable to pinpoint Darlene's location until it was too late. Violet's father called her gift a curse. The night Darlene died, he sent Violet away with her grandmother and never made contact again.

Twenty years later, Violet is still haunted by the guilt of failing her best friend and a feeling that somehow she must be cursed if her own father can't even love her. She's thankful that she has never had another psychic vision since Darlene's death, but everything changes when she psychically connects with a stranger kidnapped by a serial killer. Unfortunately, as with Darlene, Violet is helpless to stop the woman's murder. More deaths follow as the man known as the Bone Whistler and "the blood taker" abducts young women who somehow manage to connect with Violet.

When Violet's father allegedly commits suicide after writing a note confessing to Darlene's murder, Violet is forced to return to her home town of Crow's Landing, TN. Darlene's older brother Grady Monroe, now the town sheriff, is glad to be able to finally close the case on Darlene's death. Only thirteen at the time of her death, he has also been haunted by what happened to his sister. If he'd been watching her like he was supposed to, she wouldn't have been abducted.

Although Violet and Grady are initially on opposite sides of Darlene's murder investigation, they share a bond through the pain and guilt they each carry over the loss of Darlene. Grady wants Violet's father to be guilty so he can at last have justice for Darlene, and also so he doesn't have to confront another suspect-his own father. But while Violet admits her father has been like a stranger since he abandoned her, she doesn't want him to be guilty. To think that the man she pleaded with that night to help find Darlene is the one who killed her is unbearable.

When the serial killer strikes in Crow's Landing and Grady learns of Violet's psychic connection to the victims, he and Violet join forces to aid the FBI in catching the killer and inadvertently discover a link between what happened to Darlene and what's happening now.

Tightly written, with a fast pace and engaging characters, A BREATH AWAY will leave you breathless as you turn the pages. From the very first page, the tension and stakes rise, making this book very hard to put down. The scenes with the serial killer are guaranteed to give you shivers. You won't want to read them alone late at night, but you won't be able to stop yourself. The romance is top notch, and both Violet and Grady are characters you want to root for.

The cast of suspects is large enough that the killer's identity isn't obvious, and no one suspect stands out as the culprit, which keeps you guessing until the spine-tingling end. Although there are a few unanswered questions left at the end about one of the secondary characters suspected of the crime, I'm hoping that means there'll be a sequel featuring this character. I'll be first in line to buy it!

A BREATH AWAY is a fantastic example of what a fine romantic suspense should be-gripping, chilling and sexy. The conclusion will indeed take your breath away.

Catherine Chant

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