Heat Lightning – Anne Stuart

Read another Stuart category and I have one more in the TBR pile. I guess it’s Anne Stuart’s week around here again.

This is another one of her stories with a bad boy, possible killer, hero and a naïve, innocent heroine who blossoms as she falls in love. Caleb Spencer comes to Turner’s Landing looking for revenge and Jassy Turner can’t help be attracted to the man who seems bent on ruining her brother’s life. As we discover what lays behind Caleb’s attitude Jassy faces the reality of an alcoholic mother and a manipulative brother. Set in the old south in the middle of swamps and with a certain gothic atmosphere I think it needed to be a full length to fully develop the atmosphere. We have a glimpse of an oppressive small town that is run behind the scenes by the most prominent member of the community but it’s not enough to create suspense.

Although I did enjoy the story I think it lacked some of the tension that makes these smaller stories stand out. By now I’ve read a small part of Stuart’s huge back list and I think what makes these small stories so attractive is the relationship between the main characters and how they deal with their feelings and situations that seem to lead them to no good. From that point of view I think I prefer titles like Blue Sage, Crazy Like a Fox or Winter’s Edge. Having said that I still think it’s a good story and so it’s a B-.

The cover photo is not the one from the book I’ve read which was the 1992 edition but I was unable to find it online so I posted this one instead.