I used to read a lot of Jayne Ann Krentz books when I trawled the local library. I’m not as big a fan of some of her Amanda Quick / Jayne Castle (pseudonym) series, but enjoy her romantic suspense novels. Despite the romance! 😉

I actually had this for ages before reading it and still read it a long time before publication because it was EXACTLY what I was in the mood for one night.

When All The Girls Have Gone
by Jayne Ann Krentz
Published by Berkley
on November 29th 2016
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Romantic Suspense
ISBN: 0399174494, 9780399174490
Pages: 304

Goodreads

When Charlotte Sawyer is unable to contact her step-sister, Jocelyn, to tell her that one her closest friends was found dead, she discovers that Jocelyn has vanished.

Beautiful, brilliant—and reckless—Jocelyn has gone off the grid before, but never like this. In a desperate effort to find her, Charlotte joins forces with Max Cutler, a struggling PI who recently moved to Seattle after his previous career as a criminal profiler went down in flames—literally. Burned out, divorced and almost broke, Max needs the job.

After surviving a near-fatal attack, Charlotte and Max turn to Jocelyn’s closest friends, women in a Seattle-based online investment club, for answers. But what they find is chilling…

When her uneasy alliance with Max turns into a full-blown affair, Charlotte has no choice but to trust him with her life. For the shadows of Jocelyn’s past are threatening to consume her—and anyone else who gets in their way...

Charlotte and her step-sister Jocelyn couldn’t be more different. Charlotte’s content with her job at a retirement village, managing programs for the oldies. She’s likeable and has a generous spirit so unsurprisingly popular. She’s a bit of a soft touch however, so was shocked when her fiance dumped her a week before their wedding… landing her with all of the bills! She’s been hibernating ever since, but knows she’s playing it safe and worries her life is too boring.

Jocelyn schmoozes with high flyers in her fundraising job. Her sudden decision to go off the grid takes Charlotte by surprise, but she soon learns her step-sister has hidden quite a lot of things from her.

Charlotte and Max cross paths early in the novel and it’s fairly predictable where things will go. Plus, the blurb tells us they’re gonna get it on.

Max is investigating the supposed suicide of a friend of Jocelyn’s and it soon becomes obvious the pair – along with their fellow investment club members – were doing more than just investing in start-ups.

Charlotte and Max team up but really have no idea who they’re after or why, until they come across a series of newspaper clippings – linking the current events to those of the past and understanding why the lives of the investment club members are at risk.

I’ve read quite a bit of Krentz’s work before so knew the romance bit of the romantic suspense would rear its ugly head at some point – although in all honesty it’s not really the romance I have a problem with (other than its false promises!) but the sex scenes. And though some cringing was required:

Lightning struck. The slow-burn kiss flashed into a firestorm. p 172

She had never felt so tight, so stretched. He forged into her again and again. p. 174

I managed to survive with minimal eye-rolling. And yes I know lots of people actually like reading that stuff…. I’m weird, what can I say?!

This is romantic suspense at its best however. I adored the characters Krentz offered up and – sex scenes aside – the romance was quite enjoyable. Both Charlotte and Max were well-rounded and likeable characters. We quickly come to care about Charlotte and eventually learn more about Max’s past. And the unfolding plot is resplendent with lies, secrets and a bit of treachery thrown in for good measure.

I was interested to see a relatively complex backstory involving Max and some friends so it seems as if Krentz is intending to continue this series. And I – for one – am happy to see that happen.

When All The Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz will be published by Berkley Publishing Group in late November 2016.

I received a copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher.