Quickie Review

So many good ideas that went absolutely nowhere.

The relationship between Quinn and Morgan is enjoyable though. They have great chemistry and his character is very well developed, but them I'm a sucker for a bad boy :0) ( )

Not as good as I've come to expect from her, but that may be because this is a reworking of an earlier category romance. It's a sequel to Once a Thief.

So where's the next one? This is definitely the _middle_ book of the three-volume novel. There isn't even a full romance in this one - Quinn and Morgan admit love but they're not settled at all. And while the big story - the trap - is done, there's a major loose end left lying about, and the book ends with Quinn going after it. More revelations about relationships and employment, and we do know who Nightshade is - but _still_ not a complete story. I suspect the Loveswept version left out the loose end and just had Quinn and Morgan happily ever after (probably without dealing with the life-changes that would take, too), but... The annoying thing is, as far as I'm aware this is only two books, she hasn't written the third one. Arrrgh! ( )

I'm not sure when I got this book, but I nearly put it down shortly after I started reading it. Lemme 'splain. Kay Hooper is on my C list, I think--if I'm remembering correctly how I've arranged my lists. Anyway, I generally enjoy her books, but not enough to actively look for them. So this one was likely bought to round out an order at Half.com. Unfortunately, it's a sequel.

Thief Quinn shows up, shot, on museum director Morgan West's doorstep. They'd obviously met before, and had a connection, but something--Quinn being a thief, perhaps?--kept them apart. Nevertheless, when Quinn was wounded, his instincts send him straight to Morgan.

Turns out Quinn is working with the police to trap and catch another, more ruthless thief. It's like To Catch a Thief (Quinn looked, in my imagination, remarkably like Cary Grant), with humor, romance, and a labyrinth of twists and turns.

Always a Thief and its predecessor Once a Thief are, I gather, rewritten from old Loveswepts, reminiscent of Carole Nelson Douglas's Midnight Louie books. How much they're changed, I don't know, but it would be interesting to find out.

At any rate, it was a fun read, and I intend to look for Once a Thief, though I'm not sure I'll be buying it new. ( )

Hooper Does It Again!

I read Once a Thief a few years ago and as a romantic fan of a 'happy ending' I was a bit disappointed. But as an author, I know the value of a good cliffhanger ending to capture readers and hook them on a series. Kay Hooper has done this in her sequel Always a Thief.

The sparks flew in the first novel between Morgan West, a museum show director and the notorious cat burglar Quinn. Now they're back. When Quinn shows up at her apartment, injured and needing her assistance, what's a girl to do? Especially when an extremely mysterious and devastatingly charming man passes out in her arms.

With more twists and turns than a rat's maze, Always a Thief is a combination of witty humor, high stakes action and sizzling romance. Without the complications of too many characters, this Hooper novel has characters that are 3-dimensional, delving into their motives and emotions. How about a ‘Forever a Thief’, Kay?

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
Canadian suspense author ( )