Lisa Renee Johnson
Dangerous Consequences is the perfect title for this book. Every character at some point is forced to come to grips with the results of their actions. Donathan James, a psychologist, is known on his radio show as the “Sex Doctor”, where he gives out advice to listeners. Of course his local celebrity status and the subject matter he discusses come along with a certain amount of extra attention from women, and now one of them has turned into a stalker. She is able to get him into a compromising position and begin blackmailing him, all of which he tries to shut down before his wife Sydney, a pediatric neurosurgeon (how stressful is THAT job?) finds out.
I admit that I wasn’t sure at first that I would like this romantic thriller, but the great writing sucked me in. The resulting twists and turns weren’t thrown at you, but eased into the story in a very believable way. Characters who normally appear in books like this aren’t usually written as complex and faceted as Johnson does here. I was constantly re-evaluating the categories that I had placed them in as I read. The subplots featuring Donathan and Sydney’s friends and family fit well into the ongoing narrative.
Books with cliffhangers are usually off-limits to me. I don’t like feeling obligated to read further just in case the initial book isn’t good. Not the case here. Dangerous Consequences tied up a loose end nicely while leaving the others dangling in an interesting enough way to get me to come back.
I received a complimentary copy of this e-book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.