I love a good romantic suspense novel, and Shadows at Midnight features a good romance in addition to a gripping suspense plot. It’s the sort of book where the villain’s identity is obvious early in the story, but still I could not stop reading. Between the romantic tale of two damaged souls finding love and healing together and all the interesting details behind the villain’s plot, this book will definitely hold readers’ interest.

On a fateful Thanksgiving day, Claire Day stayed behind in the American Embassy in Laka, Makongo to work. When a rebel army invaded the unstable African capital where she worked, she got trapped inside with Daniel Weston, the guard on duty. As the two sit out the uprising, readers see inside their minds, learning that Dan has been deeply attracted to Claire ever since he met her. Though he has not made any overt moves, he has kept an eye on her in the embassy and is determined to keep her safe from harm. However, when the embassy is bombed, Dan is injured and whisked away, believing Claire to be dead.

Claire has had a difficult recovery. She suffers nightmares every night, cannot remember much of what happened to her in Makongo, and faced a difficult rehabilitation from her injuries. In addition, her father died of a heart attack which she believes was caused by the strain of what happened to her overseas. Claire lives in self-imposed exile in the family home in Florida until one day she sees Daniel Weston featured in a news account of a heroic rescue. She does not remember the day they spent together in the embassy, but she does know Dan’s face is the one she sees in her dreams. Desperate for answers, she travels to Washington, D.C. to see him.

When Claire shows up in D.C., Dan’s reaction makes it clear that this is pretty much the best day of his life. After all, Dan’s main focus is pretty much Claire. He went to Laka because of her, and now that he knows she survived the embassy bombing, he wants to care for her and protect her. Dan’s super-intense focus on Claire might seem stalkerish in the hands of a less talented writer, but the author makes his focus and protectiveness seem more like a warm blanket and less like a creepy obsession. As an added bonus, Dan actually seems to think and talk more like a real guy than many romance heroes I’ve known. Some folks may be put off by the profanity in the book, but I’ve been around Marines before and I have to say that the speech patterns ring true.

After Claire finds Dan, attempts on her life begin and the remainder of the story focuses on Dan’s attempts to protect Claire while they get to the bottom of what is happening. In the meantime, their relationship also heats up. Both plots worked for me. There were some moments that defied logic a bit and the wrapup of the suspense plot went from satisfying to overkill in a matter of a few paragraphs. However, I just ate this book up. The chemistry between this couple works so solidly and so well that I could easily believe in them no matter how the rest of the story went.

Claire is a truly damaged heroine, and I’ve had issues with these in the past. After all, those moments when all the life has been sucked out of you don’t set you up to make the best relationship choices. However, Claire has just enough spark to awaken sympathy rather than pity, and Dan handles her situation well. While he devotes himself to caring for her, he doesn’t stifle her or keep her helpless; he simply gives her what she needs and lets her handle the rest. Though weakened, Claire still plays a pivotal role in unraveling the plot against her and in bringing the bad guys to justice. She and Dan make a good team, and that’s the main thing that makes Shadows at Midnight such a good book.