Scarlet Nights

Deveraux (Days of Gold) returns to Edilean, Va., to tie up some loose ends, return to familiar characters, and introduce a few new ones. Sara Shaw is happily preparing for her marriage to Greg Anders, and though her family doesn't like him very much, she sees his good nature. That is, until he disappears three weeks before the wedding, and Mike Newland crawls through the trapdoor in the floor of her apartment. As it turns out, Mike is her friend Tess's brother and a cop investigating Greg, who is actually a criminal with a fiendish plan that Mike doesn't yet fully understand. As Mike and Sara fall in love, they remain at risk until they can figure out what Greg wants. Readers familiar with the series will delight in immersing themselves back in the comfortable world of Edilean, and new readers should enjoy exploring it with Mike and Sara. While the threat presented by the villains is minimal, Deveraux's colorful cast and easy way with words shine, even if the story's thin on plot.