This is an angel romance, complete with bumbling angel and cute child, yet it avoids being too sweet. After all, the plot involves a master criminal who operates from afar; a heroine who is running a corporation and searching for her missing husband; and a hero with amnesia who is afraid that he was once a criminal himself.

Jonathan Ramsey is pursuing his archenemy, the Chameleon, when both are killed in an explosion. A bumbling angel named Faith must send both men back to Earth. However, she makes a mistake, and she must work very hard to set things right. If not, Jonathan’s wife, Emma Ramsey, is in serious trouble.

Drew Gallagher is a private eye who can’t remember most of his past. He finds himself drawn to help businesswoman Emma Ramsey. He wants to protect this woman and her child from a mysterious villain. Yet Drew is plagued with doubts about his past. Criminals seem to recognize, even fear, him. Was he a criminal in the past? Meanwhile, just as Drew isn’t sure if he is trustworthy, Emma Ramsey is reluctant to trust Drew. Still, he can help her find her missing husband, Jonathan, so she’ll hire him. After all, he did save her daughter, Kerry. Or did he just pretend to save her to win her trust?

The plot moves slowly at first. Once Emma lets down her guard and hires Drew, it picks up speed. Julie Miller creates plenty of suspense from her complex plot – and manages to tie the threads together. She also adds a couple of great plot twists that could only have been done with a paranormal. However, I wish Faith had made more appearances, especially at the beginning.

Although Drew doubts himself, the reader never doubts him. He’s obviously one of the good guys. He cares too much about Emma and her daughter to be otherwise. For a man without memories, he’s a memorable character. It takes the reader a little longer to warm up to Emma, in part because she starts out being afraid to trust Drew. She’s so desperate to get information about her husband that she’s willing to make deals with obvious slimeballs, yet she can’t trust Drew. She also takes a couple of huge risks that put her in danger.

The secondary characters are more varied than usual. Even Emma’s daughter, Kerry, is cute without being cloying. However, some of the characters were too one-dimensional. This plays out in the scenes where Emma’s security chief, Brodie, keeps showing up to throw Drew out. OK, OK, he’s protective – we get the point. Along the same lines, the villain lacks subtlety.

Although the plot is driven by the actions of a bumbling angel, Always Faithful isn’t a comedic novel. The plot involves shady characters, outright criminals, and even a mysterious archcriminal. Fans of romantic suspense involving organized crime might like this just as much as fans of paranormal romances.