An enjoyable vacation incorporates many things: rest and relaxation, a splash of adventure, and an intriguing destination. With SINFUL RAIN Rebecca Vinyard wrote a story that meets the need for a mini vacation to New Orleans and small town Louisiana. Her prose captures the culture and excitement of the Big Easy and incorporates the charm of the south in her characters, allowing the readers of SINFUL RAIN to feel as though they've visited the destination.

Justine Damaris was a private eye in New Orleans who just completed a tough case that encapsulated not only her head but also her heart. She broke the number one rule to never get emotionally involved with the client, but Reed Burkett was impossible to ignore. Yet her involvement with Reed proved the reason for the rule when he'd left her after a night in the sack, breaking her heart. To make matters worse, Tito Benes, a local mobster with connections to a larger syndicate, was pressuring Justine for money her father owed from his gambling debts. Justine was stuck between a rock and a hard place when the door to the detective agency opened producing her next client, the one that would change her life.

A New Orleans storm blew Reed Burkett, the same client that broke Justine's heart, back into her life. A man whose motto was always "use her then lose her" decided that he hadn't had enough of Justine, a woman he considered a vixen he wanted to tame. While he regretted his actions that left Justine thinking he'd only wanted a one night stand, Reed wanted to find a way to make it up to her, and involving her in his new case was just a way to get close to her again. Little did he know just what kind of adventure he invited into his and Justine's lives.

In a tale that twisted and turned, Justine and Reed took the reader on a whirlwind adventure that risked their lives and captured their hearts. Brought together by murder, threatened by physical assault, and intrigued by a variety of characters, Justine and Reed were on a mission to solve a murder and discover the true identity of a boy who wouldn't talk. Through the gamut of emotions, Reed and Justine found themselves drawn to one another despite everything that was threatened to tear them apart.

It is obvious that Ms. Vinyard has a cultural understanding of her story's setting. She developed realistic characters and places that complement the Louisiana culture and pull the audience into the plotline. Justine and Reed are likable characters that the readers root for as the hero and heroine of this novel. While it's primarily a Romance, Ms. Vinyard is able to weave a tale of mystery and intrigue effectively through the conflict. Ms. Vinyard also does an excellent job of creating a narrative that builds on the tension and satisfies the enjoyment of a good mystery as well as a good love story. SINFUL RAIN is a fun and enjoyable read.

By Maci Walker ©2004