He was the first reckless thing she did in her life. She was his last one – or so he hoped.Widowed physician Joy Clayton is the ultimate overachieving good-girl who’s always followed the norms and has never done anything crazy. Or has she? A secret romance with alluring Richard Fields was more than Joy bargained for – after all, he was an undercover FBI agent investigating her. A heart-break and … all, he was an undercover FBI agent investigating her. A heart-break and six months later, all she wants is to move on. But when she finds herself shoved in the middle of his investigation, it seems clear that destiny has other plans.
FBI agent Richard Fields is on the brink of a career breakthrough in the great city of New York. Yet his heart stayed behind in the small beach town of Ft. Sunshine, Florida. There remains the only woman who’d ever made him reconsider his vow of never settling down again: Dr. Joy Clayton.
When his investigation brings him back to Ft. Sunshine, Joy holds the key to solve his case – and the key to his heart. Yet she’s the same woman he must desperately stay away from, at risk of losing his career or ending up in jail.
This enthralling story will keep you glued to the page with its uncommon mixture of meaningful romance, heart-racing suspense, and splashes of comedy.
This is a stand-alone book connecting the Sunshine State Series and the Beyond Romance Series. It has a non-mandatory prequel (Beyond Physical: A Mystery Romance) which can be read after this book without major spoilers.
Sunshine Series:
- Book 1: Hope for Harmony: Baby Makers vs. Peter Pans
- Book 2: Just for Joy: Beyond Achievement.
- Book 3: Faith is Fearless (Coming October 2018)
Beyond Romance Series:
- Book 1: Beyond Physical: A Mystery Romance
- Book 2: Beyond Light and Darkness (Coming tentatively in 2019)
- Book 3: Just for Joy: Beyond Achievement (stand-alone)
more
“Just for Joy: Beyond Achievement” (nook version) was phenomenal. The action was intense and, at times, scary. There was humor, angst, love and self-discovery. A very complex story and worth reading.
In the “acknowledgment” section Ms. D. Pichardo-Johansson thanked the Federal Bureau of Intelligence and I halted at that point. Was this a test to see if the reader was paying attention? If so, I passed the test because I caught that “intelligence” was inserted rather than “investigation.”
Thank you for a great book.
I enjoyed this book very much.
I found this book to be more of a medical mystery than a romance. The main characters Joy and Richard are not together more than they are together. Their “complicated” relationship seems to have started before this book and I was playing catch up to figure everything out and who all the characters were. The story itself is very interesting and keeps you interested in all of the action. The author engages you with such detail in regards to these mysterious murders that it was difficult to put the book down. I really enjoyed the book and recommend it especially if you like mysteries with a little relationship drama thrown in for balance.
This book was such an enjoyable read from the very beginning. Mystery with your romance, a great combination.
There were so many possibilities for the bad guy that it was hard to figure out who it was until the end. Good story.
The storyline was well written and the characters were so likable and believable.
This was the first book that I have read from this author and it definitely will not be the last!
A romantic who done it mystery.
I could not put it down until I finished it.
I liked the characters & the medical mystery. I’m buying the next one.
The story was good, but sometimes the “feel-good” self improvement stuff felt forced and un-productive to the story line.
It was okay but not realistic and kinda slow
This was an uplifting romance. Easy and enjoyable to read.
I love a mystery that keeps me guessing. Tie it together with a compelling romance – make it even more irresistible by being a second chance for the couple – and you’ve given me a book better than catnip. The only complaint I have about Joy and Richard’s story is that I hadn’t read the book about their first “meeting”, not realizing that the book that starts their saga comes from a different series. This stands okay on its own, but there’s definitely some details and context missing without the other. Now I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for the rest of these ladies.
D. Pichardo-Johansson, ‘Just for Joy, Beyond Achievement’.
As an ARC reader I received this book for free. I promised an honest review. Here it is.
English is not my first language. Sorry for errors.
Rating: 5 (of 5) stars.
In general: Fine psychological, romantic thriller
Main characters:
– Joy Clayton, psychiatrist in Fort Sunshine, Florida. Widow of Michael O’Hara, her husband who was murdered 3 years before. She has 3 sons: Arthur (7) and the twins Edward and Alex (3).
– Special Agent Richard Fields (FBI New York). Divorced from Sandy, the girl he married when he was very young. They have a son Ray (14), living with his mother in Florida but she’s not giving him enough attention.
Other characters:
– Carl Andrews, psychiatrist, Richard’s friend and Joy’s mentor. He helps both to overcome the mental problems from their unhappy past.
– Blair Sanders. Reporter, having her own local TV show. Daughter of one of Joy’s patients, Lucia, a severe grief case frequently making suicide attempts. Joy saves Blair’s mother’s life a few times.
Joy and Richard met during Richard’s investigation of Michael’s murder. They fell in love, but had to keep this love a secret, for a FBI agent will lose his job when he has a relationship with a suspect or a witness in a murder case. Reporter Blair Sanders discovered that Richard made a false testimony in the case and blackmails him. To avoid more problems Richard returns to New York without an explanation to Joy, breaking her heart.
However, the FBI-murder case forces Richard to go back to Fort Sunshine and Joy’s hospital.
There’s a lot of misgivings and misunderstandings on both sides, but Richard and Joy try to find love again.
The author, Mrs D. Picardo-Johansson, – with a lot of understanding and feeling – gives a fine description of the developments in their relationship. And in the meantime she creates a suspenceful story (with many unsuspected turns in the plot) of the murder investigation. In both, love-story as crime investigation, the reader finds credible characters and a lot of action and suspence. So the book is a real page turner, almost to the last sentence.
R. Huiszoon.