Aftermath

by Lisa Jackson

AFTERMATH — 19 and burning with love, Tessa had given herself wholly to Denver under the wide Montana sky. But that was only moments before flames had ripped through the McLean ranch, casting deadly suspicion on Tessa's ardor and leaving her dreams in ashes. Denver had abandoned her without a backward glance. — now, years later, he was back, a cold embittered stranger. Yet beneath his harsh exterior was the man Tessa had never stopped loving. Desire rekindled, hot and fierce. Still, Denver harbored lasting scars from a long-ago blaze of passion and betrayal. Was it possible for Tessa to fight fire with fire?

Genres: Romance, Harlequin

251 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1989

About the author

Lisa Jackson is the number-one New York Times bestselling author of over ninety-five novels, including the Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya Series, the Pescoli and Alvarez Series, the Savannah series, and numerous stand alone novels. She also is the co-author of One Last Breath, Last Girl Standing, and the Colony Series, written with her sister and bestselling author Nancy Bush, as well as the collaborative novels Sinister and Ominous, written with Nancy Bush and Rosalind Noonan. There are over thirty million copies of her novels in print and her writing has been translated into twenty languages.

Before she became a nationally bestselling author, she was a mother struggling to keep food on the table by writing novels, hoping against hope that someone would pay her for them. Today, neck deep in murder, her books appear on The New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly national bestseller lists.

With dozens of bestsellers to her name, Lisa Jackson is a master of taking readers to the edge of sanity—and back—in novels that buzz with dangerous secrets and deadly passions. She continues to be fascinated by the minds and motives of both her killers and their pursuers—the personal, the professional, and the downright twisted. As she builds the puzzle of relationships, actions, clues, lies, and personal histories that haunt her protagonists, she must also confront the fear and terror faced by her victims and the harsh and enduring truth that, in the real world, terror and madness touch far too many lives and families.

Visit http://www.LisaJackson.com where you can find a Media Kit with photos and more information.

Reviews

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

1989 was a world away and a genre away from what Lisa Jackson writes these days. I love reading this old stuff! It shows me an authors growth and progression even though these books can still be intense and filled with angst, just like the plots that now make up the romance genre.

Tessa was 19 and in love. On a horseback ride she gave her all to handsome Denver McLean only to have him desert her without a word after a fire leaving him with scars, his parents dead and suspicion hanging over Tessa's father. Now, Denver is back after seven years. His outward scars are healed, but inside . . . What returns is a cold, embittered stranger, but Tessa only remembers the love she still holds in her heart. Denver is still physically drawn to Tessa, but trust - that's another matter. 3-Stars

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first is Aftermath and deals with the aftermath of a barn fire that claimed the parents and several horses of Denver and Colton McLean. They both left the area soon after and the ranch was run by Curtis Kramer and his daughter Tessa. Tessa loved Denver but he would not see or talk to her. Now he was back after seven years and wants to pick up where they had been but she thinks he will return to LA and leave again.

The character of Tessa ruined Aftermath for me. She is an employee on the ranch but acts like it is hers and orders Colton out of her house. She is living in the McLean house and it is definitely NOT hers. She is too self-centered and selfish to me and I tired of hearing her pity-me talk.

[Susannah Carleton · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. The big misunderstanding goes on and on, and returns with variations on the same theme, but is finally resolved in the penultimate scene.

The characters are interesting, but don’t show a lot of personal development. Most of that occurs in the seven year span between the prologue and first chapter.

The writing is very good. Perhaps the book is representative of series romances in the late 1980s. (I read my first one about a decade later.)

[Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read under the title Backlash which also included Tender Trap

[Ellyn (Mrs. Darcy in my Dreams) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this enough to continue with the next book in series.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a fire that splits a couple apart. He is back and she still loves him. I love a god love story but found trust lacking between the two.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well-written but highly predictable romantic novella.

[Tracy Hebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book. I enjoyed reading.