Book Review: When the Smoke Clears by Lynette Eason

When the Smoke Clears (by Lynette Eason) is a book that grabs you with the first page and keeps you interested through to the last. It’s a romantic suspense novel that follows Alexia back to her hometown for a high school reunion…and the danger that was stalking her in her new life follows right along. Once back home, Alexia meets up with an old crush, Hunter, who is now the police officer investigating the murder that Alexia walked in on at her mom’s house.

I’m usually pretty good at guessing who the culprit is in books like this, but I have to admit that I didn’t actually see this one coming. (That’s a really big deal for me, and I love it!) There were a few places that got slow, but it never became a chore to work through them. I thought the budding romance was very well written and developed and, while there was a hint of a love triangle (sigh) it never really got off the ground because Alexia had a spine. I like main characters with spine.

It did feel like the ending was ever so slightly rushed to get some loose ends tied up and pave the way for book two, but the story was so good, I can’t really say I mind…and I’ll be looking forward to the next installment to boot.

4 stars (out of 5)