Copy received from author via Netgalley for an honest review

I was not sure what to expect when I started reading Five Steps To The Harem. The synopsis had intrigued me, so I was curious to see where the story would take me.

Five Steps To The Harem was so much more than I thought it was going to be.

Catherine has been chasing down Nicholas Redthorn for months - in her capacity as a London cop. There has been so much happening in her life the past 12 months, and she is completely focused on them "getting their man"

Nicholas Redthorn is not what she expected at all. When he tempts her with an indecent proposal, things start to really heat up. But he is a big ol' riddle wrapped up in an mystery inside an enigma. I just could never tell if he was the good or the bad guy.

And I didn't until A.M Helen wanted me to know. Then it was like "woah! I was not expecting that!" - which is good, because I don't like to have been able to have picked it! I want to be surprised, shocked, taken back.

There are 5 steps to the harem - Expectation, Consideration, Commitment, Realization and Fulfillment.

These could be chapters of Catherine's life. As the story progresses we see her coming to terms with things in her past and present, and looking towards her future. It is as much a voyage of self discovery for Catherine as it is a murder mystery.

A.M Helen is a new to me author, but I will definitely be reading more in the future.

I usually give a little description of the book before I start my opinion but I have to tell you that I LOVED THIS BOOK! I would give it more than 5 stars if I could!

The story is set in England. Catherine is a police officer, or copper as she says, lol. She is a widow of less than a year, her husband James was on the police force and was killed in the line of duty. No one really knows that her marriage was over and that he was planning on leaving.

She has been investigating the deaths of 2 young women and she is sure that Nicholas Redthorn is guilty of the crimes as both of the victims had been his lover at some point. Once again she has interrogated him and he calmly denies he had any involvement in their deaths.

Nicholas can prove his alibi and she is ordered to release him. Her boss is very upset with her and tells her she has no proof and can't keep accusing him. He removes her from the case. He also stresses that maybe she didn't take off enough time after the death of James, her husband.

Soon after, Nicholas has a meeting with her boss and basically says he may sue for Catherine's harassment of him over this case. Her boss decides Catherine needs time off to get her act together (as she never really grieved) and puts her on leave for 6 months. She is very angry but can't really do anything about it.

A few days later, Catherine receives an invitation from Nicholas. It tells her that if "she wants to know the truth, then meet him tomorrow night @ 8pm". This is beginning.......

Catherine is very beautiful but not feeling it since her marriage was failing and her husband was unfaithful. Catherine is very vulnerable at this point in her life. She has a good friend Olivia and her brother Brandon but since she hasn't told them everything about James they can't really help.

Nicholas is handsome, rich and powerful He was a "show" child though. His father was working all the time and this mother a cold woman who only wanted him around when she wanted to impress her rich friends. This poor guy doesn't even really understand what love is.

There isn't much I can say because I don't want to give anything away. This book has to be read....it is very subtle and then it's like you were hit in the head. As a woman, there are 2 things (OK, 3 if we include my hard earned money) a woman doesn't trust easily with, her heart and her body. I know for me this is very hard and many of us have had experiences to make us feel that way.

So there are "5 steps to the harem": Expectation, Consideration, Commitment, Realization and Fulfillment..The book splits the chapters under these steps. Maybe this is really the formula to happiness: What you expect, How to accomplish, Committing yourself, Realizing what can and cannot be done and Getting the fulfillment you deserve.

The murder investigation is done very well and has a few twists and turns. There are several issues happening at once so every time I thought I figured it out, it would twist on me and prove me wrong!

There is lot of steamy sex in this book but why Nicholas thinks he is doing all the teaching...he is also learning even more. Like I said, it's subtle.

This book really needs to be read to show why it enamored me so. One character I loved was Mona and would love to read more about her.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book!

This book was amazing. It had everything I love in a book, sex, greed, mystery and drama. And last but not least romance and a happily ever after. The author does a good job of keeping you on your toes. Because I didn't know who to trust. When all is revealed in the end, I was stunned to find out who really committed the crimes. I do know that from the beginning, Lord Redthorne truly had a thing for Catherine. I felt his feelings were genuine. But was he a murderer? Awesome and spellbinding book. One of the best, I've read in a long time.

Catherine is a police detective and trying to discover who murdered two young woman. She believes that Nicolas a man they both were involved with is the guilty party but when she crosses the line she is removed from the case and suspended. She receives a note from Nicolas to meet her if she wants to learn the truth and she learns much more than that. Lots of drama and suspense, plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested throughout and very steamy. I really liked it.

A fun and steamy read!

Expectation, consideration, commitment, realization, and fulfillment are the Five Steps of Harem. I received this novel as an Arc. Over the last several years I have moved more towards the murder/suspense novel and this one didn’t disappoint. Catherine, the detective had to find the murderer of two women who had a connection with Lord Nicholas Redthorn. Because of her focus on this man, she was suspended from the case. She wanted nothing to do with the sexual advance thrown her way by him but in the same thought she wanted his hands on her. No longer on the case, Catherine placed herself in his harem, one of many, to solve the murders of Lord Redthorn dead mistresses. What connection did he have to the dead girls and her husband? I won’t tell but read and find out.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
It is the story of a detective who is determined that she has found the killer of 2 girls, although there is no evidence and nobody else believes her. When she is handed 6 months leave to grieve her husband, who died 7 months ago and whom she has not mourned properly, and also invited to be a concubine by the man she suspects she decides to do some undercover work on her own and find out the truth.
I highly recommend this book and will look out for others by this author.

Wonderful look at a secret world.

Really enjoyable