To Trust a Stranger [Paperback]

Karen Robards, who delivered a racy read (Cosmopolitan) in her acclaimed bestsellerParadise County,once again electrifies the page with hardwired passion and thrilling suspense in this heart-pounding new novel.

Suspicion burned within Julie Carlson—the heartbreaking, infuriating suspicion that her husband, a wealthy and powerful contractor, was having an affair. Not sure whom to trust, Julie turns to a handsome stranger...

Private detective Mac McQuarry ignores his better judgment about not mixing women and work when he's hired by Julie Carlson. Not only is she drop-dead gorgeous, but Sid Carlson was a player in Mac's inglorious downfall from the Charleston P.D.—and revenge would be sweet indeed.

But when Mac witnesses an explosive hit that targeted Julie, the tables are turned—and Mac and Julie become the hunted. With their fiery flirtation sparking into full-blown passion, they must crash their way through a maze of buried secrets and deadly deceptions.Karen Robards is theNew York Times,USA TODAY, andPublishers Weeklybestselling author of more than fifty books and one novella. Karen published her first novel at age twenty-four and has won multiple awards throughout her career, including six Silver Pens for favorite author. Karen was described byThe Daily Mailas “one of the most reliable thriller...writers in the world.” She is the mother of three boys and lives in Louisville, Kentucky.Chapter One

Fifteen years later

Wake up.

Julie Carlson's eyes blinked open. For a moment she lay still, heart racing, staring groggily into the darkness, not sure what had awakened her or why she felt so frightened. It took only a moment or so for her to realize that she was lying in her own bed, in her own bedroom, listening to the familiar hum of the air conditioner as it kept the sweltering heat of the July night at bay and smelling the comforting aromalã'