Murder List: A Novel (Buchanan-Renard)

I am a long-time Garwood fan, but very dissapointed in her latest book. The story begins when Regan, a goody-goody hotel heiress, interrupts her selfless work when her childhood friends convince her to attend a con-artist's self-help workshop undercover. The would-be guru unplausibly coaxes his audience into preparing a list of aquaintances they consider better off dead--and Regan participates, but looses her list in the parking lot to a killer who takes it literally.

However, the original plan (which consumes more then half of the book) is almost forgotten as the story degenerates into a struggle between Regan and her overprotective brothers about how much security is necessary to keep her safe from the killer. Her love interest, a local cop given bodyguard duty by a disgruntled superviser, is almost totally excluded from the search for the killer and spends most of the book on the fence about whether or not to sleep with Regan before leaving town for his new job at the FBI.

Murder List was unfocused--instead of a fast-paced suspense novel or a passion-driven love story, it was a meanandering exploration of poorly defined relationships between a woman and her childhood friends, overprotective brothers, and only vaugely-interested bodyguard. The heroine (if the term can even be applied in this case) was the biggest pushover in literary history--she didn't stand up for herself about ANYTHING until the very end of the book--and even that victory was a minor one. The killer--who was an interesting and creatively-drawn character--was barely present for most of the book, and there was very little suspense throughout. There didn't seem to be any real chemistry between Regan and her love-interest/bodyguard, and hints of romance were few and far between. Finally, the presence of Regan's friends seemed superfluous and their plot to sink the self-help guru was an uninteresting distraction.

Overall, the book was slow, I didn't particularly care about either the overly-nice but spineless heroine or her indecisive lover, and too many subplots made it difficult to determine what the book was supposed to be about. Garwood is capable of much better work, and I hope to see that reflected in future books.

This is Alec Buchanan's story before he became FBI. After turning in his resignation from the Chicago police force, Alec's last assignment is to act as bodyguard to millionairess Regan Madison. Regan is targeted for murder. With Alec, there is a lot of humorous moments that cover his alertness and astuteness. Though suspenseful, this is a fun, fast read.

This is Alec Buchanan's story before he became FBI. After turning in his resignation from the Chicago police force, Alec's last assignment is to act as bodyguard to millionairess Regan Madison. Regan is targeted for murder. With Alec, there is a lot of humorous moments that cover his alertness and astuteness. Though suspenseful, this is a fun, fast read.

I found this a puzzling book to read, not because of the mystery, but why she kept introducing things and then dropping them. We invest heavily the first couple of chapters in this self-help guru plot and then it literally is dropped except for about 3-5 pages worth of story here and there toward the end. If she simply wanted a way to introduce "the list," we didn't need all the detail and friends chasing off after things (if she wanted them for spin offs they could have stayed put and made more sense). It was as if she started one book, changed her mind in mid-course and then decided to go back. There are three parts to this story; the short set up that never really ends up going anywhere; the long middle which is your typical bodyguard romance book (which don't get me wrong, I liked both the H and h together as a couple and separately as characters) and then a hasty ending that tries to pull together in a hash-dash manner, threads of the story long forgotten by the author. Skim the beginning, enjoy the middle and don't get irritated by the end!

I just finished this book and I absolutely loved it! Since it's an older title with hundreds of reviews I'm not going to go into the plot. Although it's the fourth in Ms. Garwood's suspense series, it can definitely stand alone. I've read all except one of this author's historicals and have since started on her suspense novels and have never been disappointed. I adored both Alec and Regan as individuals and as a couple. For a wealthy socialite, Regan was very down to earth and likable. I even fell in love with her two best friends who I looked ahead and saw will get their own stories, yeah! The writing was stellar as usual with witty banter, charming characters, and a unique plot. The killer was a multi-faceted and twisted individual who simultaneously freaked me but oddly enough I pitied at times. The romance was beautifully written and the suspense was great too. The ending was a shocker that I never saw coming which was a great surprise since I usually figure them out fairly quickly. All in all, this was a wonderful story and I enjoyed every second I spent reading it!

Three wealthy, successful twenty-something women living in Chicago - Regan, Sophie, and Cordie - decide to take down a scheming 'motivational speaker' who fleeces rich, lonely women. To get a bead on him they sign up for his seminar. One of the seminar exercises is to write a list of people you want gone, a 'murder list', which is immediately destroyed. Regan is seriously annoyed with several people, so she writes down their names. She then leaves the seminar before destroying her list. In the street a psychotic killer attacks Regan. He doesn't manage to kill her but does come away with her 'murder list' and cell phone - and before long people on Regan's list are being murdered and she's being emailed photos of the bodies.

Because Regan was attacked she gets a police body guard, the extremely handsome Detective Alec Buchanan. Of course Regan and Alec are attracted to one another, and nature takes its course.

There are also various side issues. Regan's job involves funding worthy causes and one recipient - who misued his funds - stalks and harasses Regan to get more. Regan's family owns a hotel empire, run by her three brothers. The boys are very protective of Regan and constantly get in her business - much to her chagrin. During all this, of course, the Chicago police department is trying to catch the killer, who has a weird agenda that isn't clear until the book's finale.

The book's characters are believable and appropiately engaging but - to me - the story wasn't very interesting. The book is about 90 percent romance novel and 10 percent detective story: not a ratio I enjoy. If you're a fan of romance novels, however, you'll probably like it.

This is the worst murder mystery I've ever read. If you're looking for a good mystery don't buy this book. I admit I never read a Julie Garwood book before so I did not know her books are meant to be romance novels, but the book title and the description on the back cover gave no indication of this. I am a murder mystery fan so a novel called Murder List and described as one in which a woman who takes part in a seminar exercise in which she is told to write a list of people who she would like to see cease to exist, and then those very people start getting murdered--well, that sounded like a great murder mystery so I grabbed that up in a hurry. My expectation was a highly suspenseful novel where every chapter or so another person from the list would be murdered, maybe 8 to 10 murders, all baffling the investigators, racing against time to warn and protect the next people on the list, arriving just too late, as another victim is murdered off by an unknown killer. But alas, that is not the case here. Instead, after the first two names on the list are murdered off (the second murder barely described, quickly forgotten) the book moves into an annoying, boring, and repetitious set of romance novel-style scenes of "He looked into my eyes and my knees started to melt," or "his fingers brushed my arm and I felt shivers all over," or "he dressed sloppy in his blue jeans and T-shirt with a forelock of hair falling over his forehead so he is so sexy, but no, no, I shouldn't get involved, but yes, yes, he is so nice and has nice eyes, but no, no, I am a tough woman I don't need a bodyguard against a psycho-killer which just shows how stupid I am." O.K. I made that sentence up--but this is the style of the writing. This went on and on and on and on and on . . . for more than 200 pages!!!! The characters were stock cliche characters, the heroine is very immature and booooring, the romantic descriptions have already been written zillions of times before. I didn't need to read 20 different times how every man followed her with his eyes as she crossed a room. Or that she is a drop-dead gorgeous hotel heiress worth millions of dollars but she thinks of herself as a nerd and just can't imagine that this detective bodyguard could possibly find little old her attractive. Yeah, right!

The worst part of all this for me is my chagrin that before I actually read this book I bought it TWICE. Like any reader who loves to read I tend to stock up. I had originally bought the book about a year ago and put it on my bookshelf, waiting for its turn. Then a month ago, browsing in a bookstore, I came across this same book as a set of audio CDs. Forgetting I had already bought it as a book I again scooped it up because of the enticing description on the box. Last week my husband and I went on a long road trip so we decided to pass the hours listening to the Murder List. By disc 3 we were starting to hear repetitions of how Alec thought Regan looked, how she thought he looked, how he thought she looked again and what it would be like to kiss her, how she didn't need a body guard especially one so cute and not like all the rich men she knew and what it would be like to kiss him, then these descriptions started all over again--like I said for about 200 pages. No more murders, no more details of an investigation. By disc 5 my husband started making big sighs, started making dismissive noises. By disc 6 my husband kept asking why I bought this. By disc 7 we were both snorting, hooting with laughter, mimicking the characters, making fun of them. By disc 8 we were skipping tracks, we actually skipped over 50 tracks of "he looked at me and I shivered with the glow of forbidden passion" stuff. By disc 9 we were begging the psycho murderer to please murder off the heroine, murder off the bodyguard, murder off her friends, her brothers, get to the end of this unbelievably awful "mystery," put us out of our misery!!! By disc 10 we realized we had been scammed by the author, there were not going to be any more actual murders after those early first two murders, none of the explanations for any of it were believable, and that unfortunately the heroine and the bodyguard were going to live. (Gosh, let's hope they're not revived for a sequel.) O.K., my husband and I did have some fun, but only in making fun of the characters and the author. But the author should worry when her readers/listeners are rooting for the killer to actually murder off her protagonists.

And by the way, the killer was not believable and his motive for targeting the heroine was absolutely ridiculous and not credible. Such a let-down. He was a one-dimensional cartoon character, as was the "heroine" Regan and the detective bodyguard Alec. I should have honored that queasy feeling I got when listening to the Prologue, which was all about how the heroine met her best friends in kindergarten. Yes, really, kindergarten. It was just too cutsie-pie. I should have stopped listening then, but we only continued because we had hours of driving ahead of us and nothing else to do. Perhaps if you like romance novels you will like this book, but if you like murder mysteries you will be very disappointed. I will never read or listen to another of this author's books again.

Good mystery/romance. Romance is not delivered with a blow by blow sexual description which leaves something to the imagination - I prefer it that way. The main characters are Regan and Alex. She is from a wealthy family with 3 big brothers who over protect her at times. She does not realize how capable and beautiful she is. She's a liberal who looks down her nose at capitalism but happily donates the money made by the family business to charities - a little touch of dipsy there. In general she is smart and likeable. She is being targeted by a killer and enter Alec - a detective who is thinking of crossing into the FBI. When he resigns, his chief punishes him by giving him body guard duty for his last three weeks. Yes, he's assigned to Regan. Someone is killing people on a faux murder list she made out while investigating someone who has everyone in his seminar make out such a list to cleanse themselves. The hunt is for who this person is and why was she targeted in the first place. It's a good, easy story and entertaining.

I love Julie Garwood's work, except for this one. Even if a book doesn't totally grab me, I RARELY walk away from it. This one...the female characters were all idiots, the male characters were largely not very nice people (save the male protagonist, and he was too benign to make me care one way or the other). I didn't care enough about the characters to muddle through the 4,985 plot lines that were going on.

I bought this in paperback form at a thrift store for .99. That was too much to spend.

Shortly after attending a seminar, Reagan Hamilton was walking to her car, when her knee gave out. She and her two friends Sophie and Cordie had been at the seminar to try and get the goods on a self help guru thought to have caused a distraught woman to commit suicide. Reagan's knee gave out periodically, but this time, she could barely get up. She was going to shout out for help, when a man approached her. The man instantly made her uncomfortable, so instead of sticking around, she followed her instincts, and made it to her car.

Reagan was catching up with her email shortly after knee surgery when she stumbled upon one containing grisly photos of a dead man. She was horrified, but was further distraught when she realized she recognized the man. It was the police detective investigating the suicide victim. Alec Buchanan was assigned to investigate the case, and was trying to make some connection between Reagan and the murdered detective. He didn't believe just their brief meeting at the station could be at the center of it. When a second victim was identified, Reagan remembered at the seminar creating a murder list for those that had wronged her, or people she would just like to get rid of, and the two murder victims were on that list. Now that the connection was established, Alec knew her life was in danger.

Alec was assigned to be her bodyguard, and both of them found the instant attraction between them to be overwhelming. He was not going to get involved with her because he had a job at the FBI waiting on him in Boston. Nothing was going to get in the way of him leaving Chicago. Famous last words! Before long neither could contain the passion between them, and they soon discovered they could not get enough of each other.

Reagan and Alec are a wonderful couple. They balance each other very well. Alec has a tough job dealing with the scourge of the earth each day, and she brings the humanity back into his world. Reagan changed a lot in this story. She had always lived her life according to the standards of her family, and doing what they told her to do. When Alec entered her life, he gave her the strength to take a stand, and live her life on her terms. Good suspenseful read.

Shortly after attending a seminar, Reagan Hamilton was walking to her car, when her knee gave out. She and her two friends Sophie and Cordie had been at the seminar to try and get the goods on a self help guru thought to have caused a distraught woman to commit suicide. Reagan's knee gave out periodically, but this time, she could barely get up. She was going to shout out for help, when a man approached her. The man instantly made her uncomfortable, so instead of sticking around, she followed her instincts, and made it to her car.

Reagan was catching up with her email shortly after knee surgery when she stumbled upon one containing grisly photos of a dead man. She was horrified, but was further distraught when she realized she recognized the man. It was the police detective investigating the suicide victim. Alec Buchanan was assigned to investigate the case, and was trying to make some connection between Reagan and the murdered detective. He didn't believe just their brief meeting at the station could be at the center of it. When a second victim was identified, Reagan remembered at the seminar creating a murder list for those that had wronged her, or people she would just like to get rid of, and the two murder victims were on that list. Now that the connection was established, Alec knew her life was in danger.

Alec was assigned to be her bodyguard, and both of them found the instant attraction between them to be overwhelming. He was not going to get involved with her because he had a job at the FBI waiting on him in Boston. Nothing was going to get in the way of him leaving Chicago. Famous last words! Before long neither could contain the passion between them, and they soon discovered they could not get enough of each other.

Reagan and Alec are a wonderful couple. They balance each other very well. Alec has a tough job dealing with the scourge of the earth each day, and she brings the humanity back into his world. Reagan changed a lot in this story. She had always lived her life according to the standards of her family, and doing what they told her to do. When Alec entered her life, he gave her the strength to take a stand, and live her life on her terms. Good suspenseful read.

Shortly after attending a seminar, Reagan Hamilton was walking to her car, when her knee gave out. She and her two friends Sophie and Cordie had been at the seminar to try and get the goods on a self help guru thought to have caused a distraught woman to commit suicide. Reagan's knee gave out periodically, but this time, she could barely get up. She was going to shout out for help, when a man approached her. The man instantly made her uncomfortable, so instead of sticking around, she followed her instincts, and made it to her car.

Reagan was catching up with her email shortly after knee surgery when she stumbled upon one containing grisly photos of a dead man. She was horrified, but was further distraught when she realized she recognized the man. It was the police detective investigating the suicide victim. Alec Buchanan was assigned to investigate the case, and was trying to make some connection between Reagan and the murdered detective. He didn't believe just their brief meeting at the station could be at the center of it. When a second victim was identified, Reagan remembered at the seminar creating a murder list for those that had wronged her, or people she would just like to get rid of, and the two murder victims were on that list. Now that the connection was established, Alec knew her life was in danger.

Alec was assigned to be her bodyguard, and both of them found the instant attraction between them to be overwhelming. He was not going to get involved with her because he had a job at the FBI waiting on him in Boston. Nothing was going to get in the way of him leaving Chicago. Famous last words! Before long neither could contain the passion between them, and they soon discovered they could not get enough of each other.

Reagan and Alec are a wonderful couple. They balance each other very well. Alec has a tough job dealing with the scourge of the earth each day, and she brings the humanity back into his world. Reagan changed a lot in this story. She had always lived her life according to the standards of her family, and doing what they told her to do. When Alec entered her life, he gave her the strength to take a stand, and live her life on her terms. Good suspenseful read.

Shortly after attending a seminar, Reagan Hamilton was walking to her car, when her knee gave out. She and her two friends Sophie and Cordie had been at the seminar to try and get the goods on a self help guru thought to have caused a distraught woman to commit suicide. Reagan's knee gave out periodically, but this time, she could barely get up. She was going to shout out for help, when a man approached her. The man instantly made her uncomfortable, so instead of sticking around, she followed her instincts, and made it to her car.

Reagan was catching up with her email shortly after knee surgery when she stumbled upon one containing grisly photos of a dead man. She was horrified, but was further distraught when she realized she recognized the man. It was the police detective investigating the suicide victim. Alec Buchanan was assigned to investigate the case, and was trying to make some connection between Reagan and the murdered detective. He didn't believe just their brief meeting at the station could be at the center of it. When a second victim was identified, Reagan remembered at the seminar creating a murder list for those that had wronged her, or people she would just like to get rid of, and the two murder victims were on that list. Now that the connection was established, Alec knew her life was in danger.

Alec was assigned to be her bodyguard, and both of them found the instant attraction between them to be overwhelming. He was not going to get involved with her because he had a job at the FBI waiting on him in Boston. Nothing was going to get in the way of him leaving Chicago. Famous last words! Before long neither could contain the passion between them, and they soon discovered they could not get enough of each other.

Reagan and Alec are a wonderful couple. They balance each other very well. Alec has a tough job dealing with the scourge of the earth each day, and she brings the humanity back into his world. Reagan changed a lot in this story. She had always lived her life according to the standards of her family, and doing what they told her to do. When Alec entered her life, he gave her the strength to take a stand, and live her life on her terms. Good suspenseful read.

Shortly after attending a seminar, Reagan Hamilton was walking to her car, when her knee gave out. She and her two friends Sophie and Cordie had been at the seminar to try and get the goods on a self help guru thought to have caused a distraught woman to commit suicide. Reagan's knee gave out periodically, but this time, she could barely get up. She was going to shout out for help, when a man approached her. The man instantly made her uncomfortable, so instead of sticking around, she followed her instincts, and made it to her car.

Reagan was catching up with her email shortly after knee surgery when she stumbled upon one containing grisly photos of a dead man. She was horrified, but was further distraught when she realized she recognized the man. It was the police detective investigating the suicide victim. Alec Buchanan was assigned to investigate the case, and was trying to make some connection between Reagan and the murdered detective. He didn't believe just their brief meeting at the station could be at the center of it. When a second victim was identified, Reagan remembered at the seminar creating a murder list for those that had wronged her, or people she would just like to get rid of, and the two murder victims were on that list. Now that the connection was established, Alec knew her life was in danger.

Alec was assigned to be her bodyguard, and both of them found the instant attraction between them to be overwhelming. He was not going to get involved with her because he had a job at the FBI waiting on him in Boston. Nothing was going to get in the way of him leaving Chicago. Famous last words! Before long neither could contain the passion between them, and they soon discovered they could not get enough of each other.

Reagan and Alec are a wonderful couple. They balance each other very well. Alec has a tough job dealing with the scourge of the earth each day, and she brings the humanity back into his world. Reagan changed a lot in this story. She had always lived her life according to the standards of her family, and doing what they told her to do. When Alec entered her life, he gave her the strength to take a stand, and live her life on her terms. Good suspenseful read.

Shortly after attending a seminar, Reagan Hamilton was walking to her car, when her knee gave out. She and her two friends Sophie and Cordie had been at the seminar to try and get the goods on a self help guru thought to have caused a distraught woman to commit suicide. Reagan's knee gave out periodically, but this time, she could barely get up. She was going to shout out for help, when a man approached her. The man instantly made her uncomfortable, so instead of sticking around, she followed her instincts, and made it to her car.

Reagan was catching up with her email shortly after knee surgery when she stumbled upon one containing grisly photos of a dead man. She was horrified, but was further distraught when she realized she recognized the man. It was the police detective investigating the suicide victim. Alec Buchanan was assigned to investigate the case, and was trying to make some connection between Reagan and the murdered detective. He didn't believe just their brief meeting at the station could be at the center of it. When a second victim was identified, Reagan remembered at the seminar creating a murder list for those that had wronged her, or people she would just like to get rid of, and the two murder victims were on that list. Now that the connection was established, Alec knew her life was in danger.

Alec was assigned to be her bodyguard, and both of them found the instant attraction between them to be overwhelming. He was not going to get involved with her because he had a job at the FBI waiting on him in Boston. Nothing was going to get in the way of him leaving Chicago. Famous last words! Before long neither could contain the passion between them, and they soon discovered they could not get enough of each other.

Reagan and Alec are a wonderful couple. They balance each other very well. Alec has a tough job dealing with the scourge of the earth each day, and she brings the humanity back into his world. Reagan changed a lot in this story. She had always lived her life according to the standards of her family, and doing what they told her to do. When Alec entered her life, he gave her the strength to take a stand, and live her life on her terms. Good suspenseful read.

Shortly after attending a seminar, Reagan Hamilton was walking to her car, when her knee gave out. She and her two friends Sophie and Cordie had been at the seminar to try and get the goods on a self help guru thought to have caused a distraught woman to commit suicide. Reagan's knee gave out periodically, but this time, she could barely get up. She was going to shout out for help, when a man approached her. The man instantly made her uncomfortable, so instead of sticking around, she followed her instincts, and made it to her car.

Reagan was catching up with her email shortly after knee surgery when she stumbled upon one containing grisly photos of a dead man. She was horrified, but was further distraught when she realized she recognized the man. It was the police detective investigating the suicide victim. Alec Buchanan was assigned to investigate the case, and was trying to make some connection between Reagan and the murdered detective. He didn't believe just their brief meeting at the station could be at the center of it. When a second victim was identified, Reagan remembered at the seminar creating a murder list for those that had wronged her, or people she would just like to get rid of, and the two murder victims were on that list. Now that the connection was established, Alec knew her life was in danger.

Alec was assigned to be her bodyguard, and both of them found the instant attraction between them to be overwhelming. He was not going to get involved with her because he had a job at the FBI waiting on him in Boston. Nothing was going to get in the way of him leaving Chicago. Famous last words! Before long neither could contain the passion between them, and they soon discovered they could not get enough of each other.

Reagan and Alec are a wonderful couple. They balance each other very well. Alec has a tough job dealing with the scourge of the earth each day, and she brings the humanity back into his world. Reagan changed a lot in this story. She had always lived her life according to the standards of her family, and doing what they told her to do. When Alec entered her life, he gave her the strength to take a stand, and live her life on her terms. Good suspenseful read.

Shortly after attending a seminar, Reagan Hamilton was walking to her car, when her knee gave out. She and her two friends Sophie and Cordie had been at the seminar to try and get the goods on a self help guru thought to have caused a distraught woman to commit suicide. Reagan's knee gave out periodically, but this time, she could barely get up. She was going to shout out for help, when a man approached her. The man instantly made her uncomfortable, so instead of sticking around, she followed her instincts, and made it to her car.

Reagan was catching up with her email shortly after knee surgery when she stumbled upon one containing grisly photos of a dead man. She was horrified, but was further distraught when she realized she recognized the man. It was the police detective investigating the suicide victim. Alec Buchanan was assigned to investigate the case, and was trying to make some connection between Reagan and the murdered detective. He didn't believe just their brief meeting at the station could be at the center of it. When a second victim was identified, Reagan remembered at the seminar creating a murder list for those that had wronged her, or people she would just like to get rid of, and the two murder victims were on that list. Now that the connection was established, Alec knew her life was in danger.

Alec was assigned to be her bodyguard, and both of them found the instant attraction between them to be overwhelming. He was not going to get involved with her because he had a job at the FBI waiting on him in Boston. Nothing was going to get in the way of him leaving Chicago. Famous last words! Before long neither could contain the passion between them, and they soon discovered they could not get enough of each other.

Reagan and Alec are a wonderful couple. They balance each other very well. Alec has a tough job dealing with the scourge of the earth each day, and she brings the humanity back into his world. Reagan changed a lot in this story. She had always lived her life according to the standards of her family, and doing what they told her to do. When Alec entered her life, he gave her the strength to take a stand, and live her life on her terms. Good suspenseful read.

Shortly after attending a seminar, Reagan Hamilton was walking to her car, when her knee gave out. She and her two friends Sophie and Cordie had been at the seminar to try and get the goods on a self help guru thought to have caused a distraught woman to commit suicide. Reagan's knee gave out periodically, but this time, she could barely get up. She was going to shout out for help, when a man approached her. The man instantly made her uncomfortable, so instead of sticking around, she followed her instincts, and made it to her car.

Reagan was catching up with her email shortly after knee surgery when she stumbled upon one containing grisly photos of a dead man. She was horrified, but was further distraught when she realized she recognized the man. It was the police detective investigating the suicide victim. Alec Buchanan was assigned to investigate the case, and was trying to make some connection between Reagan and the murdered detective. He didn't believe just their brief meeting at the station could be at the center of it. When a second victim was identified, Reagan remembered at the seminar creating a murder list for those that had wronged her, or people she would just like to get rid of, and the two murder victims were on that list. Now that the connection was established, Alec knew her life was in danger.

Alec was assigned to be her bodyguard, and both of them found the instant attraction between them to be overwhelming. He was not going to get involved with her because he had a job at the FBI waiting on him in Boston. Nothing was going to get in the way of him leaving Chicago. Famous last words! Before long neither could contain the passion between them, and they soon discovered they could not get enough of each other.

Reagan and Alec are a wonderful couple. They balance each other very well. Alec has a tough job dealing with the scourge of the earth each day, and she brings the humanity back into his world. Reagan changed a lot in this story. She had always lived her life according to the standards of her family, and doing what they told her to do. When Alec entered her life, he gave her the strength to take a stand, and live her life on her terms. Good suspenseful read.

Shortly after attending a seminar, Reagan Hamilton was walking to her car, when her knee gave out. She and her two friends Sophie and Cordie had been at the seminar to try and get the goods on a self help guru thought to have caused a distraught woman to commit suicide. Reagan's knee gave out periodically, but this time, she could barely get up. She was going to shout out for help, when a man approached her. The man instantly made her uncomfortable, so instead of sticking around, she followed her instincts, and made it to her car.

Reagan was catching up with her email shortly after knee surgery when she stumbled upon one containing grisly photos of a dead man. She was horrified, but was further distraught when she realized she recognized the man. It was the police detective investigating the suicide victim. Alec Buchanan was assigned to investigate the case, and was trying to make some connection between Reagan and the murdered detective. He didn't believe just their brief meeting at the station could be at the center of it. When a second victim was identified, Reagan remembered at the seminar creating a murder list for those that had wronged her, or people she would just like to get rid of, and the two murder victims were on that list. Now that the connection was established, Alec knew her life was in danger.

Alec was assigned to be her bodyguard, and both of them found the instant attraction between them to be overwhelming. He was not going to get involved with her because he had a job at the FBI waiting on him in Boston. Nothing was going to get in the way of him leaving Chicago. Famous last words! Before long neither could contain the passion between them, and they soon discovered they could not get enough of each other.

Reagan and Alec are a wonderful couple. They balance each other very well. Alec has a tough job dealing with the scourge of the earth each day, and she brings the humanity back into his world. Reagan changed a lot in this story. She had always lived her life according to the standards of her family, and doing what they told her to do. When Alec entered her life, he gave her the strength to take a stand, and live her life on her terms. Good suspenseful read.

Shortly after attending a seminar, Reagan Hamilton was walking to her car, when her knee gave out. She and her two friends Sophie and Cordie had been at the seminar to try and get the goods on a self help guru thought to have caused a distraught woman to commit suicide. Reagan's knee gave out periodically, but this time, she could barely get up. She was going to shout out for help, when a man approached her. The man instantly made her uncomfortable, so instead of sticking around, she followed her instincts, and made it to her car.

Reagan was catching up with her email shortly after knee surgery when she stumbled upon one containing grisly photos of a dead man. She was horrified, but was further distraught when she realized she recognized the man. It was the police detective investigating the suicide victim. Alec Buchanan was assigned to investigate the case, and was trying to make some connection between Reagan and the murdered detective. He didn't believe just their brief meeting at the station could be at the center of it. When a second victim was identified, Reagan remembered at the seminar creating a murder list for those that had wronged her, or people she would just like to get rid of, and the two murder victims were on that list. Now that the connection was established, Alec knew her life was in danger.

Alec was assigned to be her bodyguard, and both of them found the instant attraction between them to be overwhelming. He was not going to get involved with her because he had a job at the FBI waiting on him in Boston. Nothing was going to get in the way of him leaving Chicago. Famous last words! Before long neither could contain the passion between them, and they soon discovered they could not get enough of each other.

Reagan and Alec are a wonderful couple. They balance each other very well. Alec has a tough job dealing with the scourge of the earth each day, and she brings the humanity back into his world. Reagan changed a lot in this story. She had always lived her life according to the standards of her family, and doing what they told her to do. When Alec entered her life, he gave her the strength to take a stand, and live her life on her terms. Good suspenseful read.

Shortly after attending a seminar, Reagan Hamilton was walking to her car, when her knee gave out. She and her two friends Sophie and Cordie had been at the seminar to try and get the goods on a self help guru thought to have caused a distraught woman to commit suicide. Reagan's knee gave out periodically, but this time, she could barely get up. She was going to shout out for help, when a man approached her. The man instantly made her uncomfortable, so instead of sticking around, she followed her instincts, and made it to her car.

Reagan was catching up with her email shortly after knee surgery when she stumbled upon one containing grisly photos of a dead man. She was horrified, but was further distraught when she realized she recognized the man. It was the police detective investigating the suicide victim. Alec Buchanan was assigned to investigate the case, and was trying to make some connection between Reagan and the murdered detective. He didn't believe just their brief meeting at the station could be at the center of it. When a second victim was identified, Reagan remembered at the seminar creating a murder list for those that had wronged her, or people she would just like to get rid of, and the two murder victims were on that list. Now that the connection was established, Alec knew her life was in danger.

Alec was assigned to be her bodyguard, and both of them found the instant attraction between them to be overwhelming. He was not going to get involved with her because he had a job at the FBI waiting on him in Boston. Nothing was going to get in the way of him leaving Chicago. Famous last words! Before long neither could contain the passion between them, and they soon discovered they could not get enough of each other.

Reagan and Alec are a wonderful couple. They balance each other very well. Alec has a tough job dealing with the scourge of the earth each day, and she brings the humanity back into his world. Reagan changed a lot in this story. She had always lived her life according to the standards of her family, and doing what they told her to do. When Alec entered her life, he gave her the strength to take a stand, and live her life on her terms. Good suspenseful read.

Detective Alec Buchanan is assigned as a bodyguard for Hamilton hotel heiress, Regan Madison when someone starts fulfilling her Murder List. She and friends set out to expose Dr. Lawrence Shields as a fraudulent self-help guru when she is asked to create a murder list, a list of people that would make her world a better place, if they ceased to exist. Suddenly, someone is killing those on Regan's list and adding additional names to the bottom. Detective Buchanan is assigned to protect her until the killer is found. As the suspense builds, so does their attraction to each other. I enjoyed this book and found it to be a fast read. This is the first Julie Garwood I have read, although it is fourth in the Buchanan-Renard series. I enjoyed her characters and continued to turn pages. Mystery, romance and suspense all converge into one as the story continues.

Chicago Hotel heiress, Regan Hamilton Madison and her two friends attend a seminar conducted by a shady con man. As part of an exercise, Regan creates a list of people she would not mind leaving this Earth. While her friends made up names, Regan chose real people, including the mean clerk at a lingerie store, and a lazy police detective who laughed when she asked him to look into the con man.

When both of them end up dead, and an anonymous photo of the dead cop is emailed to her, the cops get involved and she gets a sexy babysitter in the form of Alec Buchanan, who is three weeks shy of leaving to force to join the FBI. As penance, his captain gives him the cruddy assginment to anger Alec and get in good with the Madison family. Of course they end up acting on their attraction, which makes Alec want to protect her even more.

Regan's three brothers are totally over-protective. They try to control every aspect of her life, and she constantly allows them to walk all over her. One brother even hires private detectives to look into her lovers. Their devotion wreaks havoc on her romances and brings potential danger to her doorstep.

The third in the "Buchanan Brothers" mysteries, "Murder List" is just not as satisfying a read as the others. Missing is the interaction of other meddlesome Buchanan family members and FBI agent Noah Clayborne, who make the stories so entertaining. Perhaps it would be better if it had not followed three really good novels. And was it just me, or did that killer come out of nowhere??

If you want an easy flowing Romantic mystery this is your book. For those who gave Garwood low scores on this book because is a romantic mystery, HELLO! Garwood IS a ROMANCE Mystery writer.

That said, those looking for spine tingling mystery/thrillers and complicated plots should look to Dan Brown, Stephen King, Jacqueline Carey, Tami Hoag or a large variety of other authors.

Personally, I loved the book. It flowed smoothly, kept me entertained and had likable characters. I do not read to exercise my mental aptitude. I read for enjoyment, to relax and have a fun escape. This book gave me just what I expected and wanted. It was not boring in the least, so Four Stars.

PS: I'm really saddened by the narrow-minded censorious view of some reviewers towards Romance novels, or novels with romantic sub-plots, as if romance is a sub-standard media. A lot of work and research goes into novels in this genre, as evidenced by the accuracy and detail in just the historicals. So please stop being so condemnatory or simply stay away from the genre. For those who dislike romance and have a difficult time deciding if a book will have a romantic twist, carefully turn the book over and read the plot summary on the back. If it has a female character and a male character who, are thrown together by fate, luck, circumstance, or necessity, there is a 98% probability it will have some sort of romance involved.

Remember: One reader's aversion is most always another reader's pleasure.