The Pretender: Games People Play

Whew! The Pretender by HelenKay Dimon is a fantastic romantic suspense / mystery in the Games People Play Series. I was sucked in from the beginning and could not put it down until I knew who was the guilty. My emotions were all over the place with this one. I love that we get to follow the clues along with the characters in this story. Along with the murder mystery, The Pretender follows the romance of Harris and Gabby. Two very flawed characters looking to fit somewhere and with someone even if they don’t realize it. The pace of the story was spot on and I found myself hanging on to each word. I felt like I couldn’t read it fast enough yet I had to go slow enough so I didn’t miss anything. Harris and friend Damon come to Tabitha Island to keep the heat off Gabby, who is falsely being accused of killing her sister by her uncle. Of course, they come in undercover sort of. Sparks fly between Gabby and Harris in a primal, physical way and eventually in an emotional way. They take a different path to love then a lot of people. The intimate scenes are smoking hot! Dimon does a fantastic job with the show of those scenes. As with any series, I adore characters from past books and Wren (from The Fixer) is always a presence in any of the books in the series. The scene near the beginning with Wren, Emery, and Harris was fantastic. It shows so much of each of their personalities. Just perfect. I was glad to be introduced to Damon, another Quint Five member, and hope to read a book about him in the future. If you are looking for a romantic suspense and/or mystery book that will catch you from the very first page and won’t let you stop thinking about the characters until after you finish the book, give The Pretender a read. While it is part of a series, each book can be read as a stand alone with its own plot.