A romantic suspense that sends your emotions on a sexy roller coaster ride of fear.
"You have to trust somebody, Cassidy. It might as well be me," he said. But she didn't know him. And something her mother taught her once always stayed with her: "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."
When reputed mobster Tony DelMorrie feuds with his girlfriend and wins the fight by killing her, Cassidy Hoake is the only witness. She quickly becomes a target when DelMorrie skips bail—running is Cassidy’s only option.
Now, she’s hiding from the devil, living in a small Ohio town, aware that only her anonymity protects her. She can’t afford complications like Clay Cestra. His police uniform fits like a second skin and he looks even better with his clothes off.
But he is the law and she is a fugitive. A life with him means risking everything, confronting her demons and defeating the devil.
Excerpt
She sat beside him on the bed, their thighs touching, her right arm rubbing against the muscles in his left arm as he explained the mechanics of the black mini-Glock .40-caliber pistol.
He handled it like a feather, but clutched in her hand, her biceps strained to keep it level.
“Lock your wrist.”
She did, using her other hand to level the weapon. Sleek and cold in her grip, she couldn't imagine actually aiming and firing the way Clay was demonstrating now.
“Are you listening to me?”
“Yes.”
No. She concentrated on the nausea, willing her lunch to stay down, forcing herself to stay at his side, focusing her eyes on the weapon without really seeing, silently praying
that she would never, ever have to do what he was explaining.
But what if that son of a bitch Tony DelMorrie stood before her, the man who had virtually ruined her life?
If he stood in front of her threatening Clay's life or terrorizing
Maggie and Jack, or if he screamed that he would end hers like he did the day she fled the convenience station? Could she pull the trigger then?
She’d resolved that he wouldn’t push her around anymore, that he wouldn’t keep her in the dark. She reminded herself that enough was enough. She squeezed her eyes shut and envisioned Amber, smiling, laughing, wiping sandwich sauce from her lips. Her heart tugged.
“Cassidy, answer me.”
Instead, she raised the unloaded gun to the window, balanced her right hand in her left palm in a steady grip, and slowly squeezed the trigger. The decisive click cut through
the anxiety in the room.
“Don't worry Clay.” She inhaled, renewing her resolve. “If I have to, I will.”
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Reviews for "The Devil She Knew"
Reviewed by Jan Mathew
5/16/2013
A Devilishly Good Read
Rena Koontz’s second romantic suspense novel, “The Devil She Knew” leaves no doubt: This author has mastered the knack for page-turners.
Koontz builds suspense from page one — introducing compelling characters; parceling details; connecting the dots at a skillfully measured pace; and keeping the reader flipping pages with every twist and turn.
Close your eyes, and you can picture Koontz’s rich cast of characters: Hunky police officer Clay Cestra, whose looks, actions, and passion re-define “good cop;” Cassidy Hoake, forced into life on the run after witnessing a mob murder; and ruthless mobster Tony DelMorrie, a devil with no disguise. After posting bail, DelMorrie makes it his mission to track and kill Cassidy — the woman who identified him as his girlfriend’s killer.
Their paths converge at The Packing Place, where Cassidy hopes to work inconspicuously as a counter clerk. But when Clay Cestra walks in the door and meets her for the first time, Cassidy’s skittishness alerts Clay’s cop instincts. She’s obviously a woman with many secrets — skeletons he’s compelled to uncover.
Romance and unlikely friendships build gradually, as Cassidy struggles to follow her heart and learn to trust. Along the way, Koontz introduces supporting characters that are every bit as real as the book’s hero and heroine. Close your eyes (again!) and you can picture Cassidy’s lecherous boss, her free-spirited co-worker, and Clay’s obsessive and clearly dangerous ex-wife.
Suspense builds steadily and while DelMorrie’s pursuit originally catapulted Cassidy’s life as a fugitive, he turns out to be only one of several that are bedeviling her.
Block off some time for this page-turner, but be strategic. Because once you start “The Devil She Knew,” you simply won’t want to stop until the breathless conclusion.
Reviewed by Judy Totts
5/5/2013
Rena Koontz has done it again. The author offers “The Devil She Knew,” a brand-new romance that burns even hotter than her first book, “Love’s Secret Fire.” She immediately draws readers into the lives of Cassidy Hoake and police officer Clay Cestra, and after the first page, there’s no turning back.
Koontz draws on her past experience as a cops and courts reporter for several major newspapers to create a fast-paced romantic suspense novel.
Be prepared to read to the very end in one delighted sitting, so once you start, hang a do not disturb sign on the door, turn off your phone and settle down to a fantastic few hours of heart-pounding action on the police beat and in the bedroom.
Cassidy is on the run, and for her, there’s no safe place to hide. She’s fled across the country and changed her appearance, but she’s getting tired of running. She has no one to turn to, no one she can confide in, even though Amber Malone, her co-worker at The Packing Place, tries to help her. Cassidy is edgy and nervous as she learns her new job, especially when Amber introduces her to police office Clay Cestra.
Although he’s just met her, Clay is drawn to Cassidy. She stubbornly rebuffs any attempts he and Amber make to help her, but her elusive attitude toward the simplest questions raises his curiosity – and a whole lot more. Slowly he begins to elicit information, and the more he finds out, the more he is attracted to her.
The feeling is mutual. Despite her resolve to distance herself from any relationship, she allows her heart to lead her into a love that is hot and growing hotter with each kiss and caress.
Koontz expertly builds the tension of the relationship as she weaves in the pieces of Cassidy’s past, as well as the complications caused by Clay’s ex-wife. Readers will not be disappointed as the action builds to an electrifying conclusion.
Readers who open to the first page of Rena Koontz's The Devil She Knew will be thrust immediately into action that doesn't let up. A romantic suspense, the book delivers on both powerful suspense and steamy romance.
When heroine Cassidy Hoake changes her appearance to elude grave danger, she also begins a new life with a move into the town where hot hero Clay Cestra works as a police officer. Though Clay struggles with his own problems, he can't help but get caught up by the beauty and vulnerability of Cassidy when their worlds intersect at her new job. Willingly swept into the nightmare that is her present life, Clay finds he wants more than to keep her safe; he wants to get to know everything about her. For fugitive Cassidy, getting close an officer of the law is the last thing she wants.
With authentic characterization, crisp dialogue, and evocative descriptions, Koontz's writing took this reader through vivid action scenes and the emotional journeys of two sympathetic characters trying to thwart the devil's they each face and embrace love.
Rena Koontz’s second romantic suspense is a tight, spine-tingling roller coaster ride of a tale—exactly what I enjoy in a romantic suspense. I was immediately drawn to the heroine, Cassidy, and could imagine myself in her shoes. The description of her apartment in the seedy side of town was so spot on, I could feel the grit in the air. And her fear of everything and everyone was palpable. The hero, Clay, is a classic good guy who loves babies and serves and protects the community. Despite all the goodness radiating off Clay, Cassidy is afraid to get too close, to trust him. And for good reason. The twists and turns in this book kept me awake long after my bedtime. Rena has a winner on her hands here.
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