The Godfather meets West Side Story in this twisty, darkly romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd. A dangerous blast sends a girl into hiding to escape a deadly family feud…
As a child, Maarja Daire saw her mother ignite an explosion that killed vengeful mob boss Benoit Arundel—and herself—to save Maarja’s life. Maarja’s been on the run ever since…fleeing from intimacy, from love, from consequences.
Now an adult, Maarja hides in plain sight as a fine arts mover, transporting priceless belongings. Work for a new client brings her to the mansion where the fateful blast from her childhood occurred. There she meets Dante, the ruthless, scarred and brooding Arundel family boss. He watches her with dark intent…but does he remember her? Will he use her to take revenge for his father’s death? A chance turn of events earns her his trust, when she courageously leaps into flames to rescue his mother. And what happens between them in the darkness sets their worlds on fire, as Maarja recklessly abandons her lifelong caution and self-imposed isolation.
Dante calls the urgency between them Fate. Maarja denies him, struggles against his domination and fights the slow erosion of her resistance. When he vows to end the ancient feud, his hidden enemies seize the opportunity to destroy him and the woman he will do anything to protect. Bound together by destruction, passion and destiny, Dante and Maarja must navigate uncharted depths of betrayal and loss, to create a new beginning…before the flames of the vendetta consume them.
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“Dodd cleverly ratchets up her usual exciting mix of suspense and romance to incendiary levels by successfully marrying a wildly imaginative story line involving an ancient feud, a Mafia clan straight out of La Cosa Nostra, and a rare artifact, with plenty of crackling sexual chemistry and a few love scenes guaranteed to scorch readers’ fingers as they turn the pages” --Booklist (starred review) on Girl Anonymous
"The plot of Dodd’s latest nerve-shredding suspense novel contains more twists and turns than a telenovela and a K-drama combined, and it is just as addictive. Pair that with a vividly etched cast of characters and deliciously acerbic wit to spare, and this is another sure bet from a master at inventively mixing suspense and romance." --Booklist (starred review)on Every Single Secret
"If Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley are on your Mount Rushmore of suspense writers, Dodd's latest release definitely needs a spot on your shelf."—E! News
"Dodd deftly loads up the extraordinarily entertaining plot of her latest thrilling and chilling entry in her Gothic-set novels, making it all work with a cinematic flair that Hitchcock would envy, an inventively imaginative cast of characters…and a sense of wit so dry it would be perfectly at home in Death Valley.” --Booklist (starred review) on Forget What You Know
"Christina Dodd reinvents the romantic thriller. Her signature style-edgy, intense, twisty, emotional-leaves you breathless from first page to last. Readers who enjoy Nora Roberts will devour Dodd's electrifying novels." —Jayne Anne Krentz, New York Times bestselling author
"Books To Read If You Love Nora Roberts."—Bookbub
“ [An] atmospheric romantic thriller… Dodd’s many fans are sure to be satisfied.”—Publishers Weekly on Point Last Seen
"Dodd's gripping voice will appeal to fans of Sandra Brown, Nora Roberts, Linda Howard & Jayne Ann Krentz."—Mystery Tribune Review
"Action-packed, littered with dead bodies, and brimming with heartfelt emotion, this edgy thriller keeps the tension high."—Library Journal starred review for What Doesn't Kill Her
"Complex, intense, and engrossing, this riveting romantic thriller has a chilling gothic touch and just enough red herrings and twists to keep readers on edge." —Library Journal (starred review) on Dead Girl Running
"Dead Girl Running is the perfect book for fans of The Girl on the Train." —Parade Magazine on Dead Girl Running
Overall rating: 4.0 / 5 from 2 reviews.
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Suspenseful with a paranormal twist
"Very suspenseful storyline with a strong heroine. I loved the addition of the paranormal aspects through the mystical bottle that is featured prominently throughout the story. There were several turns and twists that keep the suspense going and always a surprise one in the end that you didn’t see coming. I love that Ms. Dodd always manages to surprise me! I am a proud member of her ARC team."
— BonnieW (5/5)
Exciting romance with a good mystery
"A Romeo and Juliet style story, but with adults set in a gangster world of old French family feuds. Our Romeo is head of wealthy family and former French syndicate Dante Arundel. His fated love is fine arts mover Marrja Daire. She too has a dark history of violence for her mother caused the very explosion that killed Dante’s father and impaired his mother. Hiding from her true identity, intimacy and most forms of love, her life is set on a collision course when she attempts to save the Arundel matriarch and in doing so earns the respect and admiration of the son and heir, whether or not she wants it. The bonds between them ignite instantaneously and when an opportunity presents itself to end a lifelong feud, Dante will stop at nothing to protect and love Marrja. With assassins lying in wait, bombs and disguises with secrets buried deep, this was an exciting read. I will admit I thought this was a thriller when I read the synopsis. It has enough action and plot to keep me intrigued throughout, but it also had a lot more spice than I was anticipating. Not a bad thing, but I think it’s good to know what you are in for. At its heart, it is a romance with a somewhat domineering male and a fair amount of violence in the air. The relationships are a combination of sweet and toxic with Benoit Arundel being a fine specimen of the worst scum found on earth and Dante being a thoughtful yet determined opposite. The mother-child relationships were well developed to make these people feel tragically real, not like they were just dropped in this ridiculous circumstance. All in all, I very much enjoyed my first dark crime romance. I am not sure the domination or the incestual rape is something I will want to read on a regular basis, and as you know I am not a huge romance reader, but it was a nice change in my reading list. I thought it managed to blend a few genres together well enough and there were some good plot twists. It was intriguing that everyone was a suspect and that the author integrated in some Romani customs into the storyline. It was a little slower than expected, especially in audiobook format, but I was able to get into it by the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for a chance to read and review this audiobook. Genre: mob romance Themes: fated, vendetta, feuding gangs, processing loss"
— Karisbookclub (3/5)
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Published date: Mar 11, 2025
Language: English
No. of Pages: 336
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 9781335463524
Dimensions:
6.12" W x
1.04015748" L x
9.27007874" H
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