Out of Control
Shannon McKenna
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Out of Control
Shannon McKenna
Brava
Paperback
362 pages
April 2005
rated 5 of 5 possible stars

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The McCloud brothers are back in Shannon McKenna’s Out Of Control. This time it is Davy McCloud’s turn to have his life turned upside down by a mysterious woman. Dark and compelling, this story pulls the reader into the horrors of a woman on the run from a sadistic killer, one will stop at nothing to get his hands on her. Her life has spun out of control, but she soon finds out that the biggest danger may be the one to her heart.

Margo Vetter’s life changes in the blink of an eye. One moment, she is a successful web designer with her own company; the next, she is on the run for her life. It all begins when she discovers that her boyfriend has been cheating on her. Outraged, she throws all his belongings in a plastic bag and dumps them off the dock in back of her house. Then she goes to confront him with his infidelities. When she gets to his studio, she stumbles across his body as well as that of his assistant. Both have been brutally murdered.

She is attacked from behind, and her world goes black. When she awakens, she is alone in a hotel room, totally naked except for a heavy gold snake pendant draped around her neck. Quickly she discovers that she is the prime suspect in the double murder. Fearing for her own life, she runs. The only clue she has to the nightmare puzzle her life has become is the pendant.

Davy McCloud is a rough, tough, controlled man. He owns a martial arts school and various properties, and is in the process of phasing out his private investigations practice. He’s burnt out from years of working as a P.I., and he is no longer taking any cases - that is, until Margo tentatively asks for his advice. He’s had his eye on her since she started working at the women’s gym next door. He wants her, but he doesn’t trust her.

Even as he’s putting her off with one hand, he’s reaching for her with the other. Margot leaves him confused and off balance, very unsettling for a man who values control above all else. He knows she has secrets because he ran a background check on her when he first became interested in her. She is not who she pretends to be. Margot is trouble, and Davy is through with rescuing women in trouble. He’s nobody’s hero.

All that changes when he finds out that Margot has a stalker. Deep down, she knows it is the same murderer she fled from. At first he leaves rose petals on her doorstep. Then the violence erupts when her apartment is broken into. It is only when she finds a dead dog on her porch with its throat slit that she turns to Davy for help. She immediately realizes it was a mistake to involve him and tries to keep him out of it.

But now that Davy knows the kind of threat she is under, he cannot leave Margot alone. Her stalker is a skillful assassin who obviously enjoys taunting her, as he could easily have murdered her any number of times. That leaves them with many questions. What does the murderer really want with Margot? Why was she framed for the original murders? Unfortunately, they have more questions than answers. But Davy is not without skills of his own, and he will need every last one of them to keep both Margot and himself alive.

The sexual attraction between Davy and Margot complicates things even further. Davy is not a man who wants commitment of any kind. He offers a no-strings affair and retreats when things begin to get emotional. Margot’s life is a mess, and the last thing she wants is a romantic entanglement - but she cannot separate her heart from their relationship. She is falling for Davy even though she knows it will end in heartache.

Out Of Control takes the reader deep inside the mind of a horrifying killer and the people who control him. There are other forces at work intending an even greater evil than Margot and Davy first realize. Margot must learn to trust Davy if she is to have a hope of surviving. But how can she do that when he won’t open up to her? Davy, in turn, must face his own demons or risk losing everything.

Once again, Shannon McKenna has penned a masterpiece of dark emotions. Intensely emotional, highly sensual and incredibly well-crafted, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat. The intense sexual and emotional connections between Davy and Margot heightens the danger surrounding them. McKenna fans will not be disappointed. And anyone who has never read her before will be scrambling to find the rest of her books after reading Out Of Control.



Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Norma Collins, 2005

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