Review: Killer Charms by Marianne Stillings

Marianne Stillings’ “Killer Charms” is a combination of a paranormal romance and mystery.  It features Andie Darling, a San Francisco police detective who is desperate get a promotion into the Homicide division.  But to get the job she has to prove that Logan Sinclair’s claim of clairvoyance is simply his method of scamming vulnerable people.  However, in order to get the evidence she’ll need in court, Andie has to set herself up as bait for Logan.

For his part, Logan is immediately intrigued by Andie.  As a man who is used to getting any woman he wants, he is fascinated by her stubborn streak of independence, especially as he tries to figure out what makes her tick.  However, he is determined not to let her distract him from his current con – obtaining a valuable diamond necklace called the Star of Avril from a woman whose brother recently passed away.

The book changes tone about halfway through, when a secret about Logan is revealed.  However, once the secret was known, I then had a hard time trying to figure out why such an elaborate setup was needed for the first half of the book.  It probably didn’t help that I read the book piecemeal, with several interruptions between each section.  It’s possible that the con would have made more sense if I had read the entire book at once.

All that being said, Logan truly lives up to the book’s title, and is very charming.  He and Andie have great chemistry as they try to out-wit each other in the first half of the book, and then as they work together in the second half.  The villain in the book is easy to spot, but his character seemed very weak, and it was obvious that he existed solely to cause trouble for both Andie and Logan.  For those that have read Marianne Stillings’ work before, this book also includes updates on Andie’s two brothers – Nate and Ethan – who each previously had their own romance story told in earlier books.

Overall, I liked Marianne Stillings’ Killer Charms, but would strongly recommend that it be read in only a few sittings.  I happened to read it in a very disjointed fashion, which perhaps contributed to my confusion over the plot at the end.  Still, Logan and Andie are very likeable characters, and you truly were able to see how they grew and changed as their relationship developed.  Additionally, while this book had some paranormal elements, those elements typically weren’t as central to the story as is typical in a paranormal romance.

 

Reviewed by Kristina