REVIEW: "Nowhere to Hide" by Leslie A. Kelly
In these uncertain times there is one thing of which I am sure: quarantine has changed me. As I moved through the molasses-slow marathon that was the spring and summer of 2020, I expected that, eventually, things would just go back to the way they were. But, now that at least some modicum of normalcy has returned, I am finding that I came out the other side changed in meaningful ways.
For one, my desire to dine and drink at restaurants has been completely obliterated. Now I just want to enjoy the same indulgences on my sofa without putting on real pants.
For another, I tired of quarantine snacking and, as a result, dropped some weight — which I know is the opposite of most — but I have long done the opposite of what's fashionable in terms of weight fluctuation. This trend started with my freshman year or college when, instead of gaining the freshman 15 I lost a freshman 100.
I think the change that has surprised me most, though, is that I have become a little bit obsessed with series romances. Specifically, of the suspense variety.
I'm not sure why, exactly, I have developed this attachment. The best I can hypothesize is that since I’m saving so much energy I would be expending meeting new people and forming attachments IRL — something of which I’ve never been a fan, TBH — I have extra energy to apply to developing attachments to fictional people — much more my speed.
And it’s because I’ve formed these attachments, specifically an attachment to Jessica and Reese from I’ll Be Watching You, the first book on this series, that diving into this novel felt like making a safe — and socially distant — trip home.
This series as a whole centers around three unreasonably attractive brothers who came of age in Hollywood. In Nowhere to Hide, we are introduced to Rowan Winchester, the second half of a set of twins. Unlike his posh — and rich AF — twin brother, Reese, Rowan chose to leave the limelight after a stint as a child star. Now, he works for the LAPD, bringing down bad guys and generally just looking satisfyingly yet unrealistically sexy in his too tight jeans and shoulder holster.
As all of the best romance novel meetings are, Rowan’s first encounter with Evie Flemming is intense, action-filled, and entirely serendipitous. While driving down the road, essentially minding his own business, Rowan sees an unsavory character following a woman. Given that he is a cop — and just generally not a shitty human being — he intervenes, saving the woman. He later learns that the woman, Evie, is a true-crime writer who has come to LA to conduct research for a project she is writing.
Given that he has demonstrated his ability to come through in a pinch, Evie is more than happy to allow Rowan to become her personal bodyguard. His job: to accompany her as she travels around LA, keeping her safe as she visits the locations of notorious crimes.
The more time the duo spends together, though, the more difficult it becomes for both of them to fight the draw they feel towards each other.
But Rowan isn’t the only one with his sights set on Evie. She has slipped into the crosshairs of a criminal. Someone wants to shut her up before she can expose a long-buried secret. And he’s willing to stop at nothing to do so.
As a romantic suspense, this book should obviously be both romantic… and suspenseful. And it succeeded on both fronts.
Leslie A. Kelly took her time developing the relationship between her male and female lead. This made the connection that ultimately did blossom between rugged protector Rowan and spunky siren Evie more realistic. It also allowed for the development of a palpable tension between these two characters.
As this tension built so did readers’ eagerness to see these characters finally give in to temptation — as, quite honestly, we all knew they would.
Mirroring the way in which Kelly developed the romantic relationship in this book, she paced out her action. This pacing allowed the suspense to build naturally, scene by scene, and ensured that the readers were kept guessing until the book’s gasp-worthy conclusion — like, no joke, I did literally gasp...audibly.
With a ripped-from-the-headlines style central conflict, this novel felt incredibly current and relevant.
Increasing my excitement about this book in particular, and the series in general, was the fact that Kelly layered her mysteries. In this novel, she continued to expand upon a mystery established in the first novel. One that she will — hopefully — fully resolve in book 3. Generally, I do not expect this kind of nuanced, multi-faced suspense in romantic suspense novels — as it is almost never present — but I was delighted to see it here and will be thrilled to finally have all of my questions answered when I conclude this series — which… you all know I will...literally as soon as I am given the opportunity to do so.
An extraordinary escape, Nowhere to Hide is one that lovers of romantic suspense shouldn’t miss.
It earns 4 out of 5 cocktails.
I’m eager to continue my indoctrination into the series romance cult. Help me out. What are your favorite romantic series? Tell me about them in the comments below.
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