The Romance Reviews

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Hot new release: HOT WATER

by Maggie Toussaint

My brand new release HOT WATER is the story of a cop and an arson investigator on the trail of a serial arsonist. This romantic suspense is from The Wild Rose Press and is in the KDP program for 90-days in Kindle format prior to its release across all platforms in digital and print on July 12.

HOT WATER is my 5th romantic suspense and 9th published novel, and I just know you're going to love Laurie Ann and Wyatt's story. This is the second book I've set in the small Southern town of Mossy Bog on the Georgia coast.

Here's the book blurb:



Solving Mossy Bog's first fire fatality could net police officer Laurie Ann Dinterman the promotion she desperately wants. When the state arson investigator arrives to take over the case, Laurie Ann is assigned to give the man everything he needs while keeping him alive. The fact he's the sexiest man ever to hit town shouldn't make a difference.

Hot on the trail of a serial arsonist, Wyatt North demands justice for his partner, the arsonist's first victim. He'll find the murderer or die trying--no matter how distracting the tall, lithe figure of his local partner is.

As the investigation zeroes in on a suspect uncomfortably close to Laurie Ann's life, her cop instincts conflict with her feelings for Wyatt. Worse, the arsonist will do anything to protect his identity. Can Laurie Ann accept the truth in time...or will she and Wyatt go up in flames?

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And to further whet your appetite, here's a PG excerpt featuring this romantic couple:


Laurie Ann bypassed the elevator and hit the stairs. North’s room was on the second floor. He didn’t answer her first knock, so she knocked harder. With each second that ticked by, her nerves pinged. Was he even in his room? Had she lost track of him?

The chief would kill her.

She called Wyatt. Inside his room, a phone began to ring. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or alarmed.

“Hullo.” Sleep roughened his deep voice.

“North, I’m at your door. Lunch, remember?”

“Lunch.” He paused to yawn. “What time is it?”

“High noon. I’m right on time.”

He swore. “Oh, excuse me. I didn’t mean to say that out loud. Give me a second.”

The phone clicked in her ear. She heard rustling inside the room. A few minutes later, he opened the door, and her heart did a funny leap. He’d donned a light pink shirt the same color as hers.

But more impressive than the shirt and the man was the way his eyes warmed at the sight of her. He looked at her like she was breakfast—and lunch.

“We match,” she ventured, hoping to slow the racing of her heart.

His face twitched. “Is that a problem? One of my sisters has this thing about matching clothes. If it bothers you, I can change.”

“You’re fine. I don’t have a problem with your shirt.”

“Where are my manners?” North asked, stepping away from the doorway. “Come in.”

She noticed his tanned feet were bare. They were nice feet with nails blunt cut and slender toes. “I’ll wait out here until you’re ready.”

“I promise to be on good behavior.” He reached for her hand and tugged her gently inside.

The curtains were drawn. The bedside lamp was on. The bed was messy, clothes everywhere, and papers strewn about the room. He moved a briefcase from the chair. “Sit. I’ll be a minute more. I had a late night.”

“Looks like it was quite the event,” she said dryly.

He grinned and reached for a shoe. “Can’t help it. I’m a slob, from start to finish. No matter how much positive reinforcement my parents provided, I developed the habit of spreading my stuff around.”

No one would question a man lived in this room. Maybe that was the point. “Sounds like a nesting instinct.”

“I’m not a girl.”

“I noticed.” Her cheeks heated, and she regretted being so forthright.

“My sisters have nesting instincts. Not me.”

Oh, dear. She’d insulted him. “I apologize. I was thinking that in a large family, spreading your stuff around was a way to stake out your territory.”

His eyes sparked as he stuffed his bare feet in shoes. “Instead of peeing on the furniture?”

She groaned. “I’m going to shut up now.”

“I’m liking this side of you, Dinterman. You crack me up.”

She rose to leave. As long as she cracked him up, that was okay.

Her job was to make sure he didn’t crack up.
--
 
Here's a Five-star review for this book as seen on Amazon:

What I like about the Mossy Bog series is that each book concentrates on a different person in Mossy Bog, so the series never gets stale. This one is about Laurie Ann, who made an appearance in another book, and Wyatt, the fire investigator on the trail of a serial arsonist. There are plenty of tense moments and some nice romantic scenes that hold the book together until the penultimate scene when-- Oops, almost gave away the ending, which I never do. Pick up the book and find out for yourselves. You'll enjoy a terrific read. Highly recommended. Polly Iyer, author of MIND GAMES.
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Gotta have it? Here's the buy link:

http://tinyurl.com/d9ly236

Catch up with me around the net:
www.maggietoussaint.com
http://mudpiesandmagnolias.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/MaggieToussaintAuthor
http://www.twitter.com/MaggieToussaint

Also, I'm hosting a giveaway at Goodreads right now for my August mystery release, DIME IF I KNOW click here to win one of the 5 copies: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/49112-dime-if-i-know 

And in other news, Murder in the Buff is now available in print at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Buff-Maggie-Toussaint/dp/0983361460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364932525&sr=8-1&keywords=murder+in+the+buff

HAPPY READING! Maggie Toussaint

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I love that excerpt. I've read it and re-read it every time I see it. Maybe I can get back to the book tonight. About halfway finished. My battery went dead last night--on my Kindle, is what I mean, and I've been out all day..but my Kindle is charged.
Thanks for the Freebie!

Lindsay Townsend said...

Congratulations, Maggie, on your latest release! Sounds really exciting. Wishing you lots of sales. I've tweeted this blog article.

Maggie Toussaint said...

Thanks Celia. I love the interplay of these characters. Laurie Ann and Wyatt are similar in intent due to their highly focused careers, but they are very different in how they accomplish their goals. Lots of sparks as they work through their conflicts.

I hope you LOVE the book.

Maggie Toussaint said...

Thank you, Lindsay. I'm looking forward to hearing from readers about this one. I dug deep to get at the deep POV for each character, and as a consequence feel that they will connect better with readers. Keeping my fingers crossed.