Today I am reviewing a great suspense romance novel, Covert Exposure. This is the first in Valerie Clarizio’s Nick Spinelli Mystery series. This was a fun suspense filled novel that will keep you on your toes. For my full review keep reading after the book blurb. I hope you all have a great Tuesday.
Book Blurb:
Detective Spinelli’s life is tossed sideways when he is reassigned from the Homicide division to assist in the Child Services division of the Social Services Department for the holiday season. From the beginning, Spinelli and Caseworker Shannon O’Hara generate their own kind of fireworks, causing more than the normal workplace stress. They both have their own philosophies for dealing with the clientele. However, the forces of nature have their own plan for Spinelli and Shannon.
Shannon moonlights as Santa Claus’ little helper at the mall, and when Santa and an elf turn up dead Shannon appears to be next on the killer’s list. Spinelli is placed back on homicide and goes undercover as Santa to help capture the killer. He catches a great deal of grief along the way but will he capture the heart of his little Santa’s helper as well?
Review:
Spinelli has had a tough day. First his mentor and father figure retires and then he is reassigned to the Child Services department. But, the bright spot in his day is when he meets his partner, Shannon O’Hara. His bright spot quickly becomes dark when they can’t seem to work together. The more they fight and hate each other the more they start to feel for each other. When the Santa and an Elf that Shannon works with at the Mall are found dead she is soon dragged into a case that Spinelli is working. The closer Spinelli gets to both the killer and Shannon the tougher it is for him. Can he manage to find the bad guy before they find Shannon?
I really enjoyed this book. Spinelli was a fantastically fun character. It wasn’t just Spinelli though. The story was a great story that unfortunately we could possibly find in the newspaper. That aspect alone gave this story a level of realism. With the realism, the fun characters and the spicy love story between Shannon and Spinelli join together for a great book. I am so glad this is only the first book in the series because I can’t wait to read the next book. I definitely enjoyed the book, the characters and the story. Valerie Clarizio did a phenomenal job and she has found a fan in me.