Irish Jewel

American Amy Reid, the 29-year-old heroine of James’s light thriller, learns that her fairy-tale engagement to handsome Irishman Michael Cambridge may in fact be too good to be true. In the days leading up to their nuptials in an Irish castle, Michael, who’s the sole heir to his family’s jewelry business, is blackmailed and Amy is abducted by a figure referred to as the Instigator. The suspense builds as Amy, held captive in a graveyard crypt, transitions from a naive romantic rendered oblivious by devotion to a woman fighting for her survival. Alas, James reveals too soon that the kidnapper is Michael’s evil twin, whose very existence is denied by his parents and who has escaped from an asylum to sabotage his brother’s wedding day. The stakes never climb quite high enough for readers to doubt whether Amy will get her happily-ever-after. Though a cliffhanger conclusion does provide a welcome subversion of expectations, it may leave readers looking back over the pages to gain clarity. (BookLife)