French Silk by Sandra Brown

Title: French Silk
Author: Sandra Brown
ISBN: 0446364266
Publisher: Warner Books/1992
Pages: 483


Persuasive televangelist Jackson Wilde has targeted Claire Laurent and her lingerie catalogue for her line, French Silk, as tools of the devil. When Wilde is murdered, Claire is the prime suspect. She claims that she is not the killer and that someone is trying to set her up. At the same time, she does not cooperate with the investigations by DA Robert Cassidy. She continues to lie to him, until he forces her hand as he keeps digging up things from her past. He is unprepared for the feelings, Claire arouses in him. For the first time in his life as a prosecutor, he finds himself desperately trying to find proof that their suspect is innocent. There are a host of others out there with motive to kill not so squeaky-clean preacher, including his latest wife and son, who are having a torrid affair.

Set against the backdrop of New Orleans, Sandra Brown weaves a tale of mystery, suspense and an unforgettable story of romance and family loyalty. Claire will stop at nothing to protect her fragile mother from an unforgiving world, her best friend from the perils of loving a married man, and the company she founded from the ravings of a religious fanatic.

Trying to forget her sad childhood, Claire has adopted an appearance of aloofness, building a wall around her emotions. Not since she was five, when the social workers first took her away from her mother, did she let anyone wield any power over her - until she meets Cassidy. Claire knows that it is hopeless to fall in love with the man who represents the system she has resented and feared since she was a child.

This story will keep you guessing until the climatic end, with its many twists and turns and subplots.