Deadly Fear by Cynthia Eden

Title: Deadly Fear
Author: Cynthia Eden
ISBN: 9780446559249
Publisher: Forever/2010
Pages: 385

Monica Davenport, a FBI special agent, has the ability to think like a serial killer, profile them and finally, nab them. Lucas Dante has the protective instinct for the victims. He can put them at their ease and cooperate with him in the investigations. Together, they make a terrific team professionally.

Monica's work has taken its toll on her. She has kept to herself, not wishing for any kind of closeness with anyone. However, Luke and Monica have a past and he can't let her go. Both get together, after six years, to catch another serial killer, their chemistry as strong as ever, although Monica is not ready to give and Luke can't take no for an answer.

The serial killer seems to be on a rampage, but there is a pattern. He feeds on the fears of his victims, in one way or the other. He also has some kind of inside knowledge, about the FBI's work. He wishes for Monica to be one of the victims, fully well knowing about her fears. He always seems to be one step ahead of the investigations. He kidnaps a special FBI agent, and taunts them to rescue her. The reader is left wondering who is the serial killer, although it had been narrowed down to a few.

Monica has a lot of personal history, which is unknown to Luke. That is one of the reasons, she can get into the minds of serial killers. Luke too has a past, which has given rise to his protective instinct.

This is fast paced book, with gripping tension, with a very vile serial killer , also a lots of steamy scenes between Luke and Monica. A few of those were not really needed. And at times the language too got bad, with liberal use of the F-word, which felt completely unnecessary. Yet, it tells us about different kind of fears, how does one overcome those. Monica does it in the end.

I liked one of the secondary characters too, especially that of Hyde, their FBI superior, who knows all about Monica's history and in a way is responsible for her well being.

The Wild Irish Sea by Loucinda McGary

Title: The Wild Irish Sea
Author: Loucinda McGary
ISBN: 9781402226717
Publisher: Sourcebooks/2010
Pages: 306

Amber O'Neill gets a telepathic message from her brother and she knows that he is in some kind of trouble. She has to reach him somehow so she rushes to the rocky shores of Ireland. She lands up at the doorstep of Kevin Hennessey, looking for a policeman. He is unable to drive away this dishevveled American female. He offers to help find her brother. However, no one is keen to own up seeing her brother anywhere in the vicinity. Amber and Kevin find themselves into battling out with smugglers. And also with their own attractions.

The telepathic link between the siblings is amazing. They have always been able to talk to each other in their minds. After arriving in Ireland, Amber finds that she can read other peoples mind too, including Kevin. Somehow he too can communicate with her telepathically, although he can't do it with anyone else. Kevin is not very keen on getting closer to her as he has his own demons to deal with. When they do get to Parker, Amber's brother, they also find a selkie prince. Will Parker survive his ordeal? And how did he land up in trouble, in the first place? Amber and Kevin have to find out the truth, in order to catch the smugglers.

The scenic beauty of Ireland, the connection between the characters and also with the seals along with underlying suspense help in keeping the reader engrossed. The romance portion does get steamy but in no way out of place.