“Sexy, emotional, funny . . . Dimon gives it all to her readers.” —New York Times Bestselling Author Jill ShalvisThey say it takes a thief to catch a thief, and Harrison Tate is proof. Once a professional burglar, he now makes a lawful living tracking down stolen art. No one needs to know about his secret sideline, “liberating” artifacts acquired through underhanded methods. At least until one of … acquired through underhanded methods. At least until one of those jobs sees him walking in on a murder.
Gabrielle Wright has long been estranged from her wealthy family, but she didn’t kill her sister. Trouble is, the only person who can prove it is the sexy, elusive criminal who shouldn’t have been at the island estate on that terrible night. She’s not expecting honor among thieves—or for their mutual attraction to spark into an intense inferno of desire.
Under the guise of evaluating her family’s art, Harris comes back to the estate hoping to clear Gabby’s name. But returning to the scene of the crime has never been riskier, with their hearts and lives on the line.
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I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads, so here is my review.
Harrison “Harris” Tate was a professional thief but now he works for those trying to get stolen painting and other items back to the rightful owners without going through all the red tape of governments. He has worked for insurance companies and even Interpol but on the day he is to steal a painting from the home on Tabitha Island, he comes in at the end of a killing. And he has to run before he is blamed for killing Tabitha Wright. He is the only one that knows for sure that Gabby didn’t kill her.
Gabrielle “Gabby” Wright has been the outcast of her family for many years. Both her parents died a few years back and her sister was murdered a little over a year ago, Gabby has returned to the family island to try to help figure out who killed her sister. With her Uncle Stephen there and he is always blaming her for Tabitha’s death and trying to make her feel guilty. Gabby just wants someone to believe her when she says she didn’t kill her sister.
While Harris is there to help Gabby and keep her safe, he has to lie to her or she really will hate him. Will they be able to trust each other and find out who killed Tabitha? Will Harris and Damon be able to find out the truth before whoever killed Tabitha comes after Gabby? Will Gabby trust Harris enough to tell him all of her secrets? Can Harris trust her and himself to tell Gabby the truth about his involvement in her sister’s death?
This is a first for me from this author and I really enjoyed the suspenseful storyline. It was a great story that had me hooked from the beginning and I didn’t want to put it down because I had to know how it ended. Now I want to go back and read the others in this series. So if you are looking for a good suspenseful who-done-it, then this one is for you. So I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Helen Kay Dimon books are my weekend treat. This one was excellent. Great characters, good, and plausible story line. Be sure you have time to enjoy it as you will not want to put it down until the book is done.
I could hardly put this book down. I started this series (Games People Play) with book 2, The Enforcer, which was amazing too. But then I read the blurb for this one and thought—no way can the author make me care about a reformed thief. But she did. The story lured me in immediately and kept me on edge throughout. I was really invested in discovering how the mystery would be solved–and how the hero would be able to explain the awful secret he’d kept from the heroine. I’m off to read the rest of the series.
Gabby Wright did not kill her sister, but the only man who can prove that, was a man ‘liberating’ some stolen artwork from a private island the night Gabby’s sister was killed. He shouldn’t have been there.
Coming back to the island to assist in evaluating the extensive art collection in the house, Harrison is also there to help Gabby prove her innocence, even if she doesn’t know it yet.
This was a good read. Not my favorite in the ‘Games People Play’ series, but a solid showing. I enjoyed the isolation of the island and how the story became more intense when you KNEW it could only be a very small group of people who might have murdered Gabby’s sister! Lots of suspense, sex, twists and turns, money, and betrayal. What a ride!
Not the best in the series but not bad
THE PRETENDER is the third full length instalment in HelenKay Dimon’s contemporary, adult GAMES PEOPLE PLAY erotic, romance series focusing on a tight knit group of life-long friends, known as the Quint Five, whose business it is to investigate and ‘fix’ whatever has gone wrong for the rich and famous. This is former professional thief Harrison ‘Harris’ Tate, and Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Wright’s story line. THE PRETENDER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Gabby and Harris) THE PRETENDER focuses on the hunt for the truth. Fourteen months earlier, while on ‘assignment’ to procure a missing piece of art Harrison Tate walked into the aftermath of a fatal attack against Tabitha Wright- a woman left for dead by an unknown assailant. Running from the scene of the crime Harrison will come face to face with Gabby Wright, the victim’s sister, and the woman with whom he would fall in love. Fast forward to present day wherein Harrison must return to the Tabitha Island to prevent Gabby’s uncle Stephen from destroying her life, having blamed our heroine for everything that went wrong. What ensues is the building relationship between Gabby and Harrison, as they endeavour to uncover the truth, along with Harrison’s partner Damon Knox, about the death of Tabitha Wright, and the potential fall out when the truth about Harrison’s presence, and his appearance fourteen months earlier, that could have stopped months of grief and accusations against our story line heroine.
Gabby Wright has struggled to come to terms with the brutal murder of her sister but as the primary suspect our heroine is no closer to proving her innocence in light of the truth. As her uncle Stephen continues to accuse our heroine of killing Tabitha, an investigator /auditor is called in to itemize the contents of the house on Tabitha Island, and find evidence that will prove Gabby is guilty of the heinous crime. Harrison Tate, a man whose guilt about that day fourteen months earlier, found our hero on the run, in the hopes that his identity would not be revealed but Harrison’s friend and ‘fixer’ Wren forces Harrison to face the woman in an attempt to prevent further harm or accusations thrown her way. As Gabby, Damon and Harrison search for the truth, a series of break-in, fires and threat aimed at our heroine begin to take their toll.
The relationship between Harris and Gabby is one of mutual and immediate attraction but Gabby suspects Harris is lying about his true reasons for coming to the island. Their physical relationship begins soon after Harrison arrives on the island, a relationship that could be destroyed by the truth. The $ex scenes are intimate, seductive and intense, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
There is a small ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Gabby’s uncle Stephen, estate groundskeepers Burton Kramer and his son Ted, ferry service owner Craig Pak; as well as Harrison’s friends Damon Knox, Garrett McGrath, Levi ‘Wren’ and Emery Finn (The Fixer). Damon’s story line is next in THE PROTECTOR.
THE PRETENDER is a story of romance and suspense; of mystery and betrayal; of forgiveness and falling in love. The premise is entertaining and engaging; the characters are edgy and tragic; the romance is energetic and passionate. My only complaint is the lack of background information about our leading hero. THE PRETENDER is a provocative, moving and intriguing story line.