I have been reading Deborah Fletcher Mello’s books since her Kimani Romance days. This is an entertaining read that has its share of drama, mystery, mayhem, murder, suspenseful, twists, turns, danger, romance, great characters and a plot that held me captive turning page after page. Lenore is a private investigator in her family’s agency. King is new to the Louisiana area and he is a police detective. These two are brought together when a woman’s body is found in the Louisiana swamp. Lenora and King don’t initially hit it; he is not to cool with Lenora being brought in to the investigation. With more dead bodies being found the two are spending more and more time together creating an attraction to each other with great chemistry as the two solves the murder mysteries. Since this is book one in “The Sorority Detective Series” I am so looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received an ARC via NetGalley and Harlequin Romantic Suspense and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

This is a Romantic Suspense, and this is the first book in the Sorority Detectives series. The characters in this book took a long time to grow on me, and their family is just crazy. The story/mystery in this book pulled me right into it, and I had to see how this mystery unfolded. This book is fast paced with drama, a lot of family drama, some steamy times, and a great mystery going on. I really loved the ending of this book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Harlequin Romantic Suspense) or author (Deborah Fletcher Mello) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

King is is a police detective who seems to be coming across Lenore Martin a private investigator lately. It seems she's got people in high places but he's the police and he needs to do his job well without her getting into the way but it seems like she might be what he needs to get people around to talk to him. The more they investigate this case the more gruesome the details they come across and the more it seems that this might be an inside job and they will do everything they can to figure out what's going on and taking down the ring who is causing these murders.

Whew there's a lot to pack with this book. I really enjoyed watching as they work together on the case thanks for Rocky in the beginning but I enjoyed seeing how they eventually got over many hurdles. There's a better romance and a bit of steamy scenes. I thought it was interesting how they used their connections to get to what they needed. But as things got closer to ending the case things start to ramp up which is really interesting as well was wondering how that was played out because obviously these people are not going to want to get taken down so I'm wondering at what lengths they would take to stop them. Overall this was a really good book and I really enjoyed it.

You Can't Pick Your Family

I have been reading Ms. Mello's work since 2004 and have enjoyed them all. Playing with Danger was shocking, intriguing, and romantic, with a dash of humor.

Two families, one would bend over to protect the other, while the other family took pleasure in hurting each other and other families.

I am so waiting on the next stories in the Sorority Detectives series.

This was a gripping, frequently dark suspense story lightened by an often humorous romance. A serial killer is preying on high school students in New Orleans, and it is Detective King Randolph's job to find out who it is and stop them. King is newly arrived in New Orleans from up North and still getting used to how things are done in the south. And nothing makes that more evident than dealing with the latest victim.

Lenore Martin is a private investigator, the oldest of four daughters, all working for their mother's private investigation company. She is stubborn, controlling, and follows her own set of rules. She is also beautiful, compassionate, and intelligent. As the book opens, a family friend contacts the agency looking for help finding her missing granddaughter. Lenore is at Mama Hattie's when King arrives with the news of the girl's murder.

Lenore and King notice each other, but their time is spent dealing with Mama Hattie and King's news. There is an immediate distrust between them. King doesn't know how to take the "family friend," who seems more interested in the details of the murder than in comforting her friend. Lenore distrusts a member of the police force that too often blows off calls from members of poorer communities. An encounter later that evening adds to King's frustration. His conversation with fellow detectives back at work is eye-opening and makes him realize he will have to find a way to work with her if he's going to get anywhere in his investigation.

I loved seeing these two work together. They start as barely speaking, sharing only the minimum amount of information. Still, as more bodies turn up, their mutual determination to stop the killer makes them more willing to work together. Both are used to being in charge, and learning to share had a steep learning curve. Once they made that decision, there was no stopping them, and I loved watching their fantastic teamwork.

Simmering under the surface of their teamwork is attraction and a fascination with each other. Lenore doesn't trust men, but it isn't long before King slips past her barriers. He is the first man she's encountered who she can respect and isn't driven off by her attitude, bossiness, and volatility. I loved watching King around Lenore. He's equally amused and frustrated by her and wholly fascinated. Even better, he understands her. Their banter was fantastic, often providing a few moments of relief from the darkness they faced during their investigation. They are cautious about getting involved with each other, wary of the intensity of their attraction, but the sparks are impossible to resist. I was impressed by their ability to separate their personal and professional actions. I loved the ending and seeing them able to trust each other with their hearts.

The suspense of this story was outstanding. The intensity of the investigation sucked me in from the first pages, and didn't let go until I finished the book. I could feel Lenore and King's frustration at the beginning as they tried to find the connection between the victims. I liked how they trusted their instincts as little things began to add up. Several twists exposed the likelihood that the case was more complicated and closer to home than expected. The final confrontation was a nail-biter with Lenore in danger and an unraveling that blew me away.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. Lenore's family dynamics are fascinating. The four sisters are very close, with equal parts of support and teasing. Their parents are an intriguing pair. They are divorced but still involved in each other's lives. Claudia doesn't suffer fools gladly and keeps iron control on everything to do with her business, including her daughters. She trusts them, but they have no doubt who is boss. A shocking revelation late in the book gives the girls a new perception of her. Josiah has a background you'll have to experience for yourself. No description here would do him justice. I especially enjoyed seeing King's meeting with Josiah and Claudia.

In Deborah Fletcher Mello’s romantic suspense novel Playing with Danger, detective King Randolph clashes with private investigator Lenore Martin over his murder investigation when a young woman's body is found in a Louisiana swamp. Mello’s vivid description, authentic and natural-sounding dialogue suiting her characters and New Orleans setting, descriptive world-building, and captivating storytelling drew me into the novel from the opening scenes. Her characters are fascinating, deftly developed and evolved, imperfect, and relatable, which makes it easy to care about them and their lives.

At every turn, Lenora’s pushy and aggravating personality makes him reluctant to work together with her to solve his murder investigation—not that she gives him a choice in the matter. These two complete opposites with strong personalities clash from their first meeting, causing them to distrust each other’s motives initially. Nevertheless, to find a missing Black teen and the perpetrator of heinous murders of Black citizens, they reluctantly join forces. More murder victims’ bodies are discovered, and mutual dislike soon gives way to a shared, intense, fiery attraction for each other that can't be denied. Unknown forces threaten grave danger throughout New Orleans against King, Lenore, and other innocent citizens. While they work together to solve the case and fight their attraction, the desire, connection, and emotions they share deepen, and they begin falling for each other faster than either is prepared.

Mello develops her characters through emotionally intense, amusing, fiery, sexy, and steamy interactions. Lenore works as a PI for her family's private detective agency and gets involved with the case trying to help a family friend find her missing daughter. She’s prideful, controlling, stubborn, beautiful, and temperamental, and makes up her own rules. Lenore doesn't trust men or hold out much hope for meeting a man she not only likes and respects but could also love. King surprises her, slipping past her barriers with ease. He’s an intelligent, kind, honest, intuitive, and confident man with a dry sense of humor. From the moment he meets Lenore, he’s driven to know more about her because she fascinates him as much as she drives him crazy. She’s an enigma he can't resist trying to solve. I love King and Lenore’s snarky, sexy, funny banter and interactions. The power dynamic between them is interesting because, almost from the beginning, there is a struggle for dominance in their unlikely partnership. Both Lenore and King fear getting hurt, which makes them cautious about getting involved, especially with each other when their feelings and attraction are so intense.

Playing with Danger is sometimes quite dark and intense and explores disturbing content. But Mello balances these moments with humor and romance. Lenore’s relationships with her family and friends contribute to her character development and evolution. Likewise, King’s interactions with his father and co-workers contribute to his development and progression. Mello explores the impact of socioeconomics on criminal investigations, law enforcement, and criminal activity within the Black community with subtlety and nuance through the novel’s narrative and the characters. I’m intrigued by Mello’s storytelling and look forward to reading more of her romantic suspense novels.

Suspenseful, angsty, funny, steamy, sweet, sexy, and romantic, Playing with Danger is a dark, intense, fast-paced, character-driven read with surprising twists and turns. It explores themes of family, justice, self-discovery, family secrets, anti-heroes, trauma/PTSD, healing and recovery, falling in love, and learning to trust.

Advanced review copy provided by HARLEQUIN – Romance via Netgalley for review.

Romantic suspense with some heat. This is a fast-paced keep you up til the end read. Steamy scenes complete this Criminal MInds type of engaging read. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Engaging romantic suspense. An extremely horrifying subject done without going into detail. A serial killer murdering teenagers. I liked the main characters. There is a bit of steam, but not too excessive. I appreciated the lack of foul language, too. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

On the positive, this story is decently written. It flows from situation to situation without too many issues. I thought the characters were described well physically, and settings were clear.

But this story started off wrong for me. Both main characters are pretty unlikeable. I didn't care for any of the sisters or family members of Lenore, especially not their mother. Lenore herself was grating in her responses to King as well as the people around her, and I didn't gather her personality as much as I would have liked. 65 pages in and I still didn't have an attachment to her or understand her terse attitude.

This book also has some strange shifts in POV. In chapter four, the author shares King's feelings and thoughts in Lenore's POV. This is an issue because how could Lenore know how King feels or what he knows in this moment without him telling her? Especially this early in the story. Lenore is shown to be pretty omniscient through the story which pulled me out a bit and confused me. The author says things like "she could feel her father nodding into the receiver of the phone". How?

Overall, my disconnection with the characters made this a hard read for me.

A private investigator and a new to town police detective are forced together to solve a murder. With mistrust they forge ahead as the case gets bigger.

I enjoyed the story. I did feel it was predictable but entertaining. It was paced well and didn't feel drawn out.

The book did contain heavy content, so beware of triggers.

My biggest drawback was the cover. I don't understand the wig choice. It's really bad.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This romantic suspense is a bit darker than the majority of Harlequin books I have read. I think Criminal Minds with some details rather than just danger lurking. It was a solid and engaging read. Law-enforcement, criminal activity, and more. I did not want to put this book down. The storyline drew me into its well woven web. There was a bit of steam included.

I love reading the first book of a promising new series. “Danger, Passion, Drama” are three words that accurately sum up this engaging story. PLAYING WITH DANGER introduces us to Lenore Martin, private investigator, and King Randolph, police detective for the New Orleans Police Department. Lenore works for her family’s detective agency, Sorority Row Detective Agency, headed by her mother, Claudia. Lenore’s three sisters also work at the acclaimed agency which makes it a family affair.
This story will draw you in with a swift moving storyline that unveils seedy characters with questionable histories. That includes Claudia’s ex-husband, Josiah Martin, and the father of her daughters. Josiah, a compelling side character, is an established New Orleans kingpin who oversees an empire of everything illegitimate. I’ll allow you to discover how that little tidbit fits into the scheme of things.
The romance between King and Lenore is another major factor that makes this a great read. Kudos to Ms. Mello for an engrossing story that is a page-turner. PLAYING WITH DANGER is one of the best suspense stories I’ve read this year. I highly recommend it for your reading pleasure.

Well, this book was a decent read, it had light suspense, intrigue, murder, mystery, and a few twists and turns! The storyline was interesting and flowed nicely! I wouldn't say it was one of my top favorites but it was still worth reading, it was a decent read! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!