Romantic suspense stories with a dash of psychic powers are a lot of fun. Even better is when there’s logic to it. Joyce Lamb builds on the universe she created in the first of her True trilogy, creating a fast-paced and romantic adventure.

Alex Trudeau is a photojournalist in Lake Avalon, Florida, whose talents could bring her a better job in a big city, but she prefers to be close to her sister. During the previous book in the series, Alex was shot as a casualty of a killer’s vendetta against her sister, and died in the hospital before being revived. Since then, she sometimes has weird flashes into people’s memories when she touches them, reliving their traumatic moments. Her sister, also empathic, tries to help her understand the new psychic ability, but Alex’s visions are more intense and physically damaging than either knows what to do with.

The worst part about this, in Alex’s mind, is how it may affect her budding relationship with local cop John Logan. He’s got a traumatic past, and Alex’s ability to see into his mind bring issues to a head — until someone from his past bent on revenge kidnaps Alex. When a single touch can bring her into the mind of an insane serial killer with a horrifying past, she can handle only so much before she breaks.

The rationale behind the empathic visions — electric energies and circuitry of the brain — actually made a lot of sense to me, and the super-charged version of Alex’s abilities, magnified first by defibrillation, then by a Taser, follows logically. I also think John’s reaction to her abilities is pretty realistic, and the way the conflict develops is natural. I did wonder how the rest of the law enforcement would react to how Alex learns some important information, but this wasn’t really addressed.

The book also addresses the nature of psychopathic killers, and the role of abuse. We see a fair amount of our killer’s past, a tragic one that raises the question of nature vs. nurture — and how Alex’s reliving these memories affects her own psyche. I thought it was really well done, thought-provoking without being heavy-handed.

The pacing of this book is a bit unusual. John and Alex are already well into the flirting stage as it opens, so things progress fairly quickly between them. I honestly can’t remember if John played a role in the first book; if he did, it was small, so I doubt we got the beginning of their relationship there. Regardless, I didn’t mind. It may not have taken us from the very beginning of their relationship, but it showed the true progression from that easy flirtation to something much more serious.

I don’t think it’s absolutely crucial that you read True Visions before True Colors, but it would certainly help you follow the story and understand the history of the empathic abilities shared by Alex and her sister. There’s one more book in this trilogy, featuring the elusive and mysterious third sister. Since True Colors is a solid story with romance, suspense, and just a dash of paranormal, I have high hopes for Joyce Lamb’s future novels.