I once heard it said that there are only a limited number of plot lines available to write a romance story-that every romance book out there is a variation of one of these set "themes." I've read a lot of books that resemble each other in some ways, whether it be the type of characters in the story, the description of the villain, or the way the hero and heroine end up together. I'm happy to say, though, that it seems as if Ms. Webb never read the statement about all romances being alike-and if she did, she simply ignored it and wrote her own story. For that, we can all be happy, indeed!

I admit, DYING TO PLAY isn't the first romantic suspense story I've read by Debra Webb, and it invariably won't be the last. The reason is simple-this author has the ability to take two lead characters, throw in a non-typical baddy, mix it up with strong suspenseful situations, and have good overcome evil in a way that's usually not what you expected. This book is no different.

In Atlanta, Elaine Jentzen is in a precarious position. The youngest Deputy Chief of Detectives of the Homicide Division in the Atlanta Police Department's history, Elaine has no time for romantic entanglements, an active social life, or even dreams about having children of her own someday. A routine physical exam changes all of that, and at the worse possible time. While Deputy Chief Jentzen is finding out that she may never have children, a man walks into a bank, shoots the bank's President point-blank, and then turns the gun on himself.

What Elaine and her fellow officers don't understand is that the shooting at the bank is only a prelude of bad things to come. There's a game going on, one that Elaine is being pulled into unaware, that will put her face-to-face with the strongest, and most evil, of competitors. When Detective Jentzen is thrust into working with Trace Callahan, a burned-out FBI Agent fighting demons of his own past, Elaine is sure that things have just gone from bad to worse.

Little does she realize that Agent Callahan is the reason behind this evil computer game-Trace almost caught the elusive Gamekeeper once, and his partner died as a cause of his attempted heroic collar. Now the Gamekeeper is back, escalating his violence, drawing Trace farther and farther into his deadly web, and bringing Elaine along for the ride.

As the story progresses, you'll be on the edge of your seat, wondering yourself who could be behind this deadly game that Elaine and Trace have been caught up in. If you're like me, for once you won't be able to guess who the bad guy is, and that alone is worth reading this book.

DYING TO PLAY starts off with a bang and never lets the reader take a really big breath. Although the romantic relationship between Elaine and Trace waits until almost two-thirds of the book to develop, I can honestly say that I preferred it this way-in this story, at least, the elusive Gamekeeper and his demented game of hide and kill is the real story. The dialogue between the two main characters, the back-stabbing of Elaine's jealous fellow officers, the pain that still haunts Trace over the death of his partner, all work together to make DYING TO PLAY one of the best romantic suspense stories I've read this year. ( )

I hope this book will not be missed by Webb fans.

Because most of Webb’s books that I’ve read are in Harlequin’s Intrigue line and limited to 75,000 words, a longer novel in which she has more time to develop characters and plot is a treat.

The characters in this novel are Elaine Jentzen and Trace Callahan. Elaine is a highly successful police detective on the rise, and Trace is a burned-out FBI desk jockey hanging by a thread. They are brought together by the Gamekeeper, the serial killer who precipitated Trace’s fall from “super agent” stardom.

One thing that’s nice about Webb’s work is that her heroines kick butt without seeming like men in skirts, and even her weaker male characters are all man and generally in possession of some inner masculine strength. Elaine bears up beautifully under stressful personal/family situations that keep intruding while her bosses up to the mayor clamor for progress in the investigation. Trace deals with the suspicions of the local cops and his overall lack of credibility. He knows the Gamekeeper is back, but the Gamekeeper is supposed to be dead.

I found the romantic plot to be somewhat downplayed, especially in the beginning. This makes the novel seem, at times, more like mainstream suspense than romance. But that’s not a bad thing in this case. Totally worth reading and highly recommended. ( )