Covert Identity

Sharon Vaughan is minding her own business on a peaceful Sunday afternoon drive to Wal-Mart when she is rudely interrupted by an attractive man on the largest, loudest motorcycle she can imagine.  He has the audacity to follow her to the store, introduce himself as Jimmy Shaw, and invite her for a ride on the offending bike.  Sharon has a bad impression of biker gangs and wants to keep away from Jimmy, but she can’t seem to stop herself calling him.  They begin a relationship, but as Jimmy won’t tell Sharon much about what he does or about the bikers he mixes with, she has to wonder what he’s hiding from her.

Despite his tough biker image, readers will appreciate that Jimmy has a protective nature.  Sadly, neither his nor Sharon’s characters are well developed, and therefore their mutual attraction, the speed that their relationship grows, and the direction it takes are not really credible. The couple’s physical and emotional reactions to the situations they go through are not entirely realistic nor is the point of conflict between them fully exploited.  It is also very apparent the plot is not overly original, the writing shallow and the author’s ability to use the correct tense poor.  However, if the novel was rewritten with more depth and the suspense element of the story well honed, this could be an enjoyable read.

Heather Belleguelle