Review - Wicked Game

Title: Wicked Game
Author: Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush
Publishing Date: February 2009
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Rating: C+
Sensuality: Warm

Twenty years ago at a private high school in Oregon, a young teenage girl went missing. Her friends all just thought she ran away, but the cop investigating the case always believed there was foul play involved. Now, present day, the school is going to be torn down and human bones are uncovered. Are those bones Jessie's? Becca Sutcliff was a part of the group of friends who hung around Jessie. Now, slowly one by one they are dying in horrible accidents.

I just love the premise of this book. A bunch of kids in high school all brought together by tragic, mysterious circumstances. There is even a unrequited childhood love story to go along with it. The suspense portion of the story was much more prominent than the romance portion of the story. I think it's a little misleading to label this a romantic suspense. I think it would be better classified as a thriller. Indeed, the mood of the story was very dark and suggestive. The atmosphere the author created was spooky, to say the least.

The mystery/suspense part of the book was excellently done. I loved the attention to detail and I could clearly picture certain scenes in my mind. Where the book was lacking for me, was Becca and Hudson's relationship. There wasn't any real emotional development to it. Don't get me wrong. I liked both Becca and Hudson's personalities, but I didn't feel connected or invested in them as a couple. That could be because of their relationship developing off page. I think fans of suspense or mysteries will enjoy this book. Die hard romance fans might be disappointed though.

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