Published: July 03, 2010
Words: 179,351 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781452385259

Short description

*** 2010 Readers Favorite Gold Medal Winner *** When a dedicated researcher learns too much about her client's latest project, the horrors from her past seem destined to return. As her life spins out of control, a dashing security expert from South America offers to help. But is his sudden arrival really the happy coincidence it seems? Find out in this complex tale of romance and suspense.

Extended description

*** A 2010 Readers Favorite Gold Medal Award Winner ***

When a dedicated researcher learns a bit too much about her client’s new drug, the horrors from her past seem destined to return. As her life begins to spin out of control, a dashing computer security expert arrives from South America and seems the perfect antidote. But is his sudden arrival just the happy coincidence it seems? Find out in this complex novel of romance and suspense that takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of murder, mayhem, sex, and drugs—of the pharmaceutical variety, of course—until the very last page.

Praise for Little Miss Straight Lace: (Read more) *** A 2010 Readers Favorite Gold Medal Award Winner ***

When a dedicated researcher learns a bit too much about her client’s new drug, the horrors from her past seem destined to return. As her life begins to spin out of control, a dashing computer security expert arrives from South America and seems the perfect antidote. But is his sudden arrival just the happy coincidence it seems? Find out in this complex novel of romance and suspense that takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of murder, mayhem, sex, and drugs—of the pharmaceutical variety, of course—until the very last page.

Praise for Little Miss Straight Lace:
“Romana’s characters are portrayed with skill, each is a credible person filled with foibles, warts and gaffes…the various twists and turns are handled with skill, are easily followed, and add depth and dimension often lacking in works provided by newer writers…Maria Romana’s 'Little Miss Straight Lace' is a fast paced, keep ‘em guessing and turning the page type read sure to intrigue readers who enjoy good writing, a bit of romance, a lot of action, and a downright good read...”
—Molly Martin, Midwest Book Review

"There is one thing for sure, the reader is in for a rollicking ride. It is full of suspense and mystery along with romance and humor. A very enjoyable read."
—Readers Favorite, an Amazon Vine™ Voice reviewer

“…a great beach read...all the ingredients for a story that’s hard to put down…”
—Author A.J. Braithwaite, from Inside Hawley Lodge

Read a snippet:
     “Jos, wait! There is more I have to tell you. We have to talk—”
     No! No, no, NO! Absolutely not. Josie slammed her hands over her ears as she ran up the steps into the bedroom. She knew he would follow, so she dove into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.
     Nic knocked gently on the door. “Josie, honey, come on out. Let’s talk about it, sweetheart. He is dead. He cannot hurt us anymore.”
     She shrieked at him through the door, “That’s not true, and you know it! Go away!” How could he be so reasonable, so understanding at a time like this? Where was that hot-tempered, red-faced Latino who blew up at her six months before? Why wasn’t he just burning, flaming, incinerating from the inside out, like she was?
     She looked at her over-sized shower with its marvelous, thick glass-block walls. Specially-made for her. She’d selected this condo before the building was even finished, and talked the contractor into making it to her specifications with her wit, charm, and a lot of extra dough. The three imported shower heads, each spraying from a different wall, with a combined fifteen gallons per minute of water—would it be enough? She started peeling off her clothes and dumped them in a pile.
     “Josie! Come on. Please. You cannot make this go away. We will figure it out together.”
     She stepped between the glass blocks. First spigot—all hot water. Second—same thing. Then the third. Blisteringly hot. And loud. Loud enough to drown out Nic’s voice. She stood in the center of the three searing jets and closed her eyes. She was fifteen years old again. In another blisteringly hot shower, where she had scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed, and it was never enough to get his eyes and his hands and his smell off her body.
     She opened her eyes, ignoring the hot tears that blended so easily into the shower water. She grabbed the oatmeal soap and her scratchy little sea sponge and started working. Scrubbing, scraping, up and down. Until the skin was raw. How long would it take to cleanse herself now? To get that lying, using, filthy little pig off of her, out of her, away from her, once and for all?
(Less)

Adult-content rating: This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages. For more information, see the Support FAQ.

Tags

romance, romantic suspense, suspense, mystery, multicultural, murder mystery, womens fiction, hispanic, latino, date rape, sabotage, award winner, religious cults, sexual assault, abortion drug

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Reviews

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Review by: Carol on June 08, 2011 :
A good thriller romance set in the research end of the pharmaceutical industry. This is a long book - really too long to read in one sitting. The e-pub version has no chapter links; I didn't try the pdb version (pdb saves your place). Anyways, a smart heroine, a dashing Chilean hero and a good cast of supporting characters make this a good read.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Evelyn Durston on Nov. 23, 2010 :
This book reminded me of an old Judith Krantz or Fern Michaels saga, where the heroine is caught up in a misery or mystery of someone else's making, and has to claw her way out of it, using only her wit and skills...with maybe a little help from a handsome hero. What I liked best about it was the attention to detail. I really got to know the characters and their world, and genuinely cared about them and their experiences. Even the bad guys were well drawn, eliciting a certain amount of sympathy instead of just being flat, purely evil characters.

I will warn you that this is a long, complicated story. It's not something you're going to finish on a cross-country flight or even in a weekend. It has lots of characters, lots of layers, and lots of events taking place over a period of several months. If you're looking for a short, sweet romance or a bit of chicklit fluff, this is not the book for you. Fortunately for me, long, complicated stories that pull me in and won't let me go are exactly what I like!
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by: Arkali on Nov. 19, 2010 :
Little Miss Straight Lace has a great story to tell, a great cast of characters, and a wonderful brace of villains that you enjoy hating.

Josie Natale is a bio-statistician - she makes her living checking and correlating the data produced by pharmaceutical trials. She's good at her job and has earned a reputation for being by-the-book, never fudging numbers or cutting corners - Little Miss Straight Lace. Nic Remedian is a South American security consultant brought in by Josie's best friend to investigate threatening emails that have been received by various employees and appear to be coming from a religious cult.

The relationship between Josie and Nic is wonderful to see unfold. Josie is a vibrant character and so is Nic. They work well for each other. The supporting cast of friends and family is also well-drawn and fully fleshed out, and the villains are both brilliant and scary.

My only problem with the book was the pacing. At points it would drag on, and on, and on, like the Energizer Bunny. As an example, Nic thinks he sees someone leaving Josie's apartment. He tells her about it and she thinks he's mistaken - and then NOTHING happens for chapters and chapters and chapters. I'd read something like that and would gear myself up for the action / confrontation to start and then it would just wither. It sometimes felt as if I was reading two separate books. One was a contemporary romance, and the other was a romantic suspense. For the first half of the book, it was straight contemporary with a smidge of suspense thrown in here and there, and then at the last half of the book the romantic thriller took over. I feel like the book would have been better if pacing and flow had been a bit faster.

Despite the plodding plot, it was still an enjoyable read. I was really rooting for Josie and Nic, they were a great couple. Miss Romana really nailed the chemistry between them and created something very sweet where you just ached for them to have a Happily Ever After. She delivered on that, too, in a very satisfying way.

Official Review for TheRomanceReviews.com
(reviewed the day of purchase)

Review by: Mary McLaughlin on Sep. 19, 2010 : (no rating)
This book is very well written and the main character, Josie is a researcher testing an abortion drug. I liked her immediately! Next you will meet Nic, the computer expert who is called in when Josie begins receiving mysterious emails after reporting the truth on the drug. The book will keep you reading as the plot thickens. A very good read!
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by: Molly Martin on July 28, 2010 :
Romana’s characters are portrayed with skill, each is a credible person filled with foibles, warts and gaffs...the various twists and turns are handled with skill, are easily followed, and add depth and dimension often lacking in works provided by newer writers.

Maria Romana’s Little Miss Straight Lace is a fast paced, keep ‘em guessing and turning the page type read sure to intrigue readers who enjoy good writing, a bit of romance, a lot of action, and a downright good read for these long hot summer afternoons.
(reviewed the day of purchase)

Review by: smartmouth on July 25, 2010 :
i really enjoyed this book. i read it in one sitting. looking forward too more.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: A. J. Braithwaite on July 24, 2010 :
A thoroughly enjoyable read. Kept me glued to my computer for a day and a half. A great mixture of romance, pharmaceutical shenanigans and pure escapism. Thanks for sharing it!!
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

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