Hidden Instincts

Rating:
Summary: Reviewed by Christine, www.ecataromance.com
Review: "Hidden Instincts", by Lisa Renee Jones, abounds with sensually loving attraction, hot tempers, sweet seduction, thrilling suspense, and the full range of emotions the reader should expect from a suspenseful romance novel. Lindsey Paxton is a smart, independent, and sexy attorney who likes to win, and she likes to be in control of her life. She has always lived by, and trusted her instincts until she got an acquittal for a man who was accused of raping four women, and within just weeks of his release, was accused yet again, this time for the rape and murder of one woman. Believing her instincts have failed her, thus feeling responsible for the woman's murder, she leaves her father's firm, moves across the country, and starts a new career with the FBI. Now, three years later, the past that she attempted to bury alive has unearthed and is coming for her, ready or not. Another string of murders, similar to those from her infamous acquittal three years prior, has taken place. Lindsey's father, who has been diagnosed with cancer and is in the hospital for treatments, is insisting she take over his firm and the nightmarish case that reminds her so much of her past failures. She so vehemently resists the responsibility that her father is trying to shackle her with, that she makes a visit to her father's estranged ex-partner and urges him to come back to run the show in her stead. Mark Reeves is a sexy, self-sacrificing man, a masterful attorney who, in the courtroom, has the "reputation of a cobra with a deadly bite when crossed". He only considers Lindsey's plea because of his immediate attraction to her. His heart starts to melt and his protectiveness kicks in almost instantaneously, now all he has to do is prove to her that he doesn't want to control her, like other men in her life have tried to do in the past. "Hidden Instincts" by Lisa Renee Jones is the wonderfully written story of Lindsey and Mark who are such well-developed characters it would have been nearly impossible, for me, not to feel the gamut of thrilling ups and downs this suspenseful romantic story inspired. Ms. Jones kept me in such masterful suspense, as to who the villain was, that I would have never guessed at such a shocking revelation! http://www.lisareneejones.com/

Rating:
Summary: engaging legal thriller romance
Review: Attorney Lindsey Paxton was the best trial lawyer around, but the Hudson case haunts her as she got him off, but he raped and killed a woman just after he obtained his freedom. Lindsey leaves DC for Manhattan and stops practicing law to join the FBI.

When her father is diagnosed with cancer, Lindsey returns home hoping to persuade her dad's ex junior partner consultant Mark Reeves to take over the firm. Mark refuses, but feels for the obviously shook up Lindsey. He agrees to mentor her until she can run the firm. He also accepts being first chair if she assists him on defending Williams, a case that seems eerily identical to that of Hudson as the female victims in both were raped before dying and all look like Lindsey.

This engaging legal thriller romance hooks the audience from the moment Lindsey comes home to a case that is identical to the one that had her give up her law practice. Lindsey's relationship with Mark and her somewhat estranged father (due to her refusal to practice law) adds a humanizing element to the fast-paced tale. Although the villain and his reasoning seems out of left field, sub-genre readers will appreciate the instincts of the lead couple as they fall in love while defending a client, and seeking the identity of the unknown killer who eventually will come for Lindsey if not stopped.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Hidden Instincts
Review: Edward Paxton is suffering from cancer. His daughter, Lindsey has agreed to take over the family law firm, the Paxton Group, until Edward recovers or until another partner for the firm can be found to take over for Lindsey. More than anything, Lindsey wants to find someone else to take over the Paxton Group so she can go back to her job with the FBI.

Lindsey feels ill suited to be a criminal attorney. Years before as a partner with her father at the Paxton Group, Lindsey had defended and cleverly gotten a rapist named Hudson acquitted of all his charges. Soon after his release, however, Hudson began killing his rape victims. Guilt ridden that she let a criminal back onto the streets, Lindsey vowed she'd never put her self in a situation to make that kind mistake again. Immediately, Lindsey quit criminal law and the Paxton Group and joined the counter terrorism unit of the FBI.

Hidden Instincts is a story within a story. The main story is about Lindsey Paxton as she comes to grips with her fears and anxieties about being a criminal attorney. However, the book also contains a romantic storyline as well. These two aspects intermesh extremely well adding depth and an aspect of realism to the story. The result is a layered crime story and an original romance story.