A review by m j hollingshead

TRAITOROUS INTENT Tanija Sharrow was unaware her life was about to change. Dressed to the nines, dripping with diamonds she waited in the car while her husband of more than a decade rushed into the convenience store. She turned to smile at her husband when the passenger door next to her suddenly opened. When Devin Sharrow reappeared moments later to discover Tanija was gone he was not overly concerned. Her unpredictability is exactly what made his wife so fascinating. Fifteen full minutes passed before Devin became aware this was no spontaneous prank and his wife had truly gone missing. Fifteen long minutes went by in which Tanija was carried further away from her husband and safety by the obsessive man who had so frightened the delicate auburn haired girl fourteen years before. The startled Phoenix philanthropist soon found herself being carried child like into a basement room that exactly resembled her own bedroom, hers and Devin’s at home. Dismay, consternation and above all terror filled the popular wife, Phoenix humanitarian and mother of three as she came to realize there was no escape, no escape. Most frightening was the realization that her captor must have prowled her home nearly at will in order to establish a room, right down to exact replicas of the panties she wore, so exactly like her own at home. Blend WHILE MY PRETTY ONE SLEEPS with Robert B. Parker’s PAPER DOLL and add a hearty splash of plain old Steven King type panic for an idea of what TRAITOROUS INTENT is all about. This first mystery thriller by new writer Charlotte Lacey is a ‘keep you turning the page’ read. The fright felt by Tanija is palpable and the desperation driven behavior of her husband to find and rescue her is something we who care for someone can all identify with. The interwoven personal issues Devin and his brother discover lying between them, share space here with an intricately wrought thriller by this young Texas native who now resides in Chandler, Arizona. Lacey’s adroitness for the human situation and her descriptive narrative draw the reader right into the tale. This young writer has an understanding of the obsessive mien many do not possess. She uses that understanding to present a character so frightening in her kidnapper that the hairs on the back of the reader’s neck begin to tingle. Lacey’s characters are inventive and well thought out. From the abrasive sister in law, to the three sweet tots each is individual and believable. TRAITOROUS INTENT offers the reader a peek inside the mind of an obsessed, hagridden, individual who at the behest of another truly demented mind begins to act upon his obsession in the most fear-inspiring manner. In a short time the reader observes how quickly obsessed adoration turns to just as unreasonable, obsessed anger, hatred and even murderous intent. TRAITOROUS INTENT is Charlotte Lacey’s first mystery thriller. We who enjoy thrillers can only hope Charlotte is hard at work on the next and many more novels are soon forthcoming. TRAITOROUS INTENT is a tale that will grab you from the first line and will hold you tight right on down to the last page.