Unstoppable: Love with the Proper Stranger / Letters to Kelly

by Suzanne Brockmann

New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockman brings readers two beloved stories of men who will stop at nothing to get the women they love….

Love with the Proper Stranger

FBI agent John Miller was on the trail of a notorious female serial killer, and he couldn't blow his cover to anyone. Not even the beguiling Mariah Carver, who had unwittingly entangled herself in a web of deadly deceit. The daring lawman couldn't deny his feelings for Mariah, but he was poised to wed another the ruthless Black Widow, who marries—then murders—her victims….

Letters to Kelly

For years, a trumped-up charge—and a Central American prison cell—kept Jax Winchester from claiming the girl he loved. Now he was a free man. Or was he? He was still a prisoner, in a jail of his own making. The way out this time? Keep that promise he'd made to Kelly O'Brien all those years ago—and claim her for his own.…

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, Fiction, Anthologies, Contemporary Romance, Suspense

512 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 28, 2012

About the author

After childhood plans to become the captain of a starship didn’t pan out, Suzanne Brockmann took her fascination with military history, her respect for the men and women who serve, her reverence for diversity, and her love of storytelling, and explored brave new worlds as a bestselling romance author.

Over the past thirty years she has written sixty-three novels, including her award-winning Troubleshooters series about Navy SEAL heroes and the women—and sometimes men—who win their hearts. Her personal favorite is the one where her most popular character, gay FBI agent Jules Cassidy, wins his happily-ever-after and marries the man of his dreams. Called All Through the Night, this mainstream romance novel with a hero and a hero hit the New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list. In 2007, Suz donated all of her earnings from this book, in perpetuity, to MassEquality, to help win and preserve equal marriage rights in Massachusetts.

In addition to writing books, Suz writes and produces indie movies and TV including the award-winning romantic comedy The Perfect Wedding. Her recent feature, Out of Body, is streaming on Amazon Prime.

In 2018, Suz was given the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award from the Romance Writers of America. Her latest projects are Blame It on Rio (Tall, Dark & Dangerous # 14), available in print and e-book from Suzanne Brockmann Books, and Marriage of Inconvenience, a six-episode LBGTQ rom-com TV series, streaming on Dekkoo in April 2023.

Reviews

[N.N. Heaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of mine recommended Brockmann to me and I started with this one. Two stories for the price of one and I was pleasantly surprised by the stories. Well-written and filled with plenty of suspense and romance, Unstoppable will appeal to both romance and mystery lovers. The characters had depth and a ring of realism that I found likable. I'll be reading more from Brockmann.

My Rating: 4 stars

[Dasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bien.
Este relato me ha gustado más que el otro que incluye este libro. Aunque tiene algunas cosas que no me convencen demasiado.

No sé si son cosas mías, pero Mariah no parece ser el mismo personaje en los primeros capítulos. Entiendo que, quizás, la escritora pretendía eso pero no me ha convencido.

Luego está este párrafo:

No, John clearly liked "women". Real women. And maybe especially women who were six feet tall, and generously—and appropriately—proportioned for their height.

Así que parece ser que no se es una mujer "de verdad" si no se es proporcionada físicamente y se tienen curvas. Pechos generosos y caderas anchas. Eso sí. Solo un poquito de barriga, una redondez sutil. ¡Anda ya! Espero que algún día, se nos deje de presionar para que encajemos en las expectativas de nuestro género (sea el que sea).
También espero que la escritora haya crecido y evolucionado en este aspecto. Estos relatos ya tienen su tiempo. Ya veremos. Tengo un libro suyo más actual pendiente en mis estanterías digitales.

Al principio de la relación de los protagonistas, Mariah me estaba pareciendo un personaje demasiado perfecto (un poco sí lo es) además de que se deja pisotear. No es algo que me guste demasiado pero reconozco que al final me ha gustado cómo ha terminado todo y cómo se solucionó el principal obstáculo de la relación. Iba a ponerle solo dos estrellas pero el final le ha valido otra más.

A título personal, este relato me ha servido para reflexionar y darme cuenta de lo afortunada que soy por haberme alejado de un par de "amigas" que se comportaban, cuando había algún hombre delante, como la asesina en serie de esta historia. Impresionante y preocupante 🤣

[Jacquie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who knows me, knows Suzanne Brockmann is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read everything she’s ever written and published–or at least I thought I had.

Every now and then I do a search through Amazon to see what my go-to authors have coming up in the future. I was surprised to come across Love With The Proper Stranger, a re-release from 1997.

From the opening line, She laced his coffee with opium, I was hooked. I mean, how can you not want to find out what happens after that, right? Right :)

This book kept me involved the entire time. I needed to find out if John and Mariah would get their HEA and how was he going to catch the black widow, an infamous serial killer who had evaded the law for years.

The favorite line for me was: He tried to formulate a plan, tried to make his brain turn back into a brain again, rather than the soggy basket of wet laundry it had become.

How can you not love a book that gives you visualizations like that? :)

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two books in one - they both had men who start with secrets they can't speak of to the women they are just starting to fall in love with. In one case, it's so he won't blow his cover as an FBI agent, in the other, he's worried that his traumatic story is too intense for his childhood crush, and he's paralyzed with the fear that he'll turn her off before he has a chance.

They were suitably distracting from the mess that is our current reality, but didn't give me much to engage with nor to carry with me after the books ended.

[Kem · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like this one. Not sure why, but it didn't draw me into it enough to finish it.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy

Wow , Both were great books. Each were intriguing and romantic. The characters were really top-notch and funny at times. Thanks for the great books! I enjoyed both of them.

[Ronda · Rating 2 out of 5]

enjoyed Love with the proper stranger, could not get into Letters to Kelly

[*Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unstoppable by Suzanne Brockmann
Contains: Love With a Proper Stranger; and Letters to Kelly

Love With a Proper Stranger is the story of FBI Agent John Miller falling in love with Mariah Carver while undercover tracking a female serial killer called the Black Widow. John is known as "The Robot" by his colleagues because of his inability to show emotion and his nonstop work ethic. In reality, he is trying to get through each day while dealing with the memory of his former best friend/partner being murdered by drug runners before he could get there to stop it. It is not until he meets Mariah that he is finally able to relax enough to get a full night of sleep. Unfortunately, problems arise because he cannot tell Mariah the truth about who he really is and why he is simultaneously courting relationships with both her and her friend.

Letters to Kelly is terrific. Jax Winchester and Kelly O'Brien have known each other for years, since she was 12 and he was her brother's college roommate. He loves her quirkiness as a kid and over the years his attraction to her changes to something else. They have one date when she is a teenager where they both admit to their feelings for each other and the promise of more of a physical relationship starting once she turns 18, but Kelly's brother catches them in a compromising position and assumes Jax is forcing himself on his little sister. He forces Jax to leave Kelly without allowing him any time to say goodbye. He moves away to work as a journalist planning to keep his promise to return for Kelly on her 18th birthday. Unfortunately, he is framed for a crime he did not do and placed in a Central American prison for close to two years. When he is finally released, he discovers that Kelly has married someone else. This story picks up years later after Jax learns that Kelly has divorced her husband and he may now have a second chance with her. The unsent letters Jax wrote to Kelly while in prison are the epitome of what a romantic story is all about. Very touching.

[PepperP0t · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall rating of 3.5

Not quite the Brockmann pen of the popular Troubleshooter series, but hallmarks of what will become her definitive style are evident in this two novella reprint of her earlier work. That writing style of two narrations, the non-linear flashbacks, the strong solid males who clearly follow where the lines are drawn and even outlines of what later becomes characters in the Troubleshooter series are evident. If any of that is your cup of tea, you won’t go wrong with this/these reads.

In Letters to Kelly: Jax has been in love with Kelly since he was 20 and she was 12 – but he kept his feelings to himself giving her a chance to grow into the woman she would one day become. His journey in the years away from her and the clear vision with which he sees her today is such a complete circle of love you may wish the story was a bit longer. I rate this short a 4star read

Love With A Proper Stranger has you dotted lining to Jules of the Troubleshooter series. Jude and Mariah just seemed to be convenient. The deceit and subterfuge was an unwelcome plot device and did its part to separate the reader from the story. I will probably re-read this at a later date to ensure I rated it on its own merit. This novella rates 3stars from this reader
.
While both stories do show facets of the same writer and it was interesting that these two stories were paired together – they didn’t really seem to complement each other. The mechanics and storylines of each were fine and moved well, I wanted more of one and had quite enough of the other. After the gentle sweetness of Letters to Kelly, Love with a Proper Stranger felt coarse and unworthy of my emotional investment. Both are reprints of earlier works, I’d classify one as contemporary romance and the other romantic suspense.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can I just discuss how much I love Suzanne Brockmann? These are some of her earlier stories but you can still see the tight story telling with the well-developed characters. Especially for these being shorter stories.
Love with the Proper Stranger
Mariah Robinson (not her real name) has just worked for two long years to pull her father's company back from the brink of bankruptcy. Now, she just wants a life. She's on a small island, working on her photography skills, and enjoying time with her new friend Serena.
But she's about to be introduced to the FBI. It seems that Serena is actually a killer (the hero doesn't suspect Mariah and fight his feelings for a "killer?" How original! (and appreciated)).
Of course, John has a back story as well, one that he hasn't been trying to escape, much to the detriment of his health.
Not my favorite Brockmann but pretty okay.
Letters to Kelly
The story of a man who fell in love with a girl when she was young. Very young. And he knew it it, so he left. And now he's back. An overly simplistic explanation of such a fantastic story but that's the basis. Would definitely have been four stars if the hero's behavior didn't cross over into stalking (following her, watching her at home, etc.)

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a re-print of a couple of the author's earlier works.

Love With the Proper Stranger, the first one, just didn't work for me. I didn't care for John and had a hard time believing Marie/Mariah would walk away from her life. After 30 pages I gave this one up, it just wasn't for me.

Letters to Kelly, on the other hand, was great. I loved T or Jax fell in love with Kelly when she was young, that he knew it was inappropriate and he tried to hold back. His jumping to take her to her prom was sweet. I hated what happened at the end of the night, hated the consequences that happened after that. I did love how he never strayed from his love of Kelly and how it was the one thing that gave him hope when he needed it most.

Because of what happened in the past I can see why Kelly leery and I liked that she made T work for her affections. I did like that eventually T let Kelly in on all of his secrets. It allowed Kelly to realize that what she thought was history wasn't and broke down those final walls.

I wish that there would have been one final phone call to Kelly's brother a sort of "told you so", one finger salute. He needed it!

[Melanie Chabrol- · Rating 4 out of 5]

over all it was a 4, Unstoppable, it contains 2 stories and i admit the first one was better.LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER. FBI agent John Miller is undercover trying to find the serial killer, they call the black widow, who is always finding older men or sick men marrying them then killing them and inheritting their money. Though he knows the rules he has to find a way to get close to the serial killer thru her best friend, then he develops feeling for Mariah. Will his feelings get in the way of finding the BLACK WIDOW or will there be anothr murder.

A LETTER TO KELLY i rate a 3. for years Jax Winchester has always hed feeling for Kelly. After all she has a great personality and was his colleage roomates sister. Took her to the prom, even being older than her. Then when he promised to come back, he gets thrown in jail for trumped up charges and still cannot get rid of Kelly out of his mind. When he is discharged will he find a way to prove his love? will she be married and with children, does she share his feelings? my only complaint with this story was they talked about the past, present and future

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reprint which includes two books in one was a nice find. I love Brockmann and like to read everything she's written, even if the early ones aren't as good as her later works. These two stories were pretty good and I enjoyed them both for the most part. Love with the Proper Stranger was interesting and I thought the characters were well-developed - I liked both main characters and was really rooting for them. Letters to Kelly was less interesting to me. I wanted to really love this book - I thought the idea of the letters was uber romantic and I wanted the story to be great. Unfortunately, it wasn't. I found the premise to be really forced and contorted just to get it to work, and that I didn't like. The idea that this privileged rich kid could just get thrown into a prison in central america for two years with nobody caring was a huge stretch. But the idea that nobody would have told Kelly about it, or that she wouldn't have known when he came back, was even less plausible. It was the only way the romance could work, and that left me rolling my eyes.

[Doris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not particularly impressed with these stories. I liked the "Love with a Proper..." characters and found them sincere and believable but Brockman's action-writing has improved a great deal since this was written (1998). "Letters to Kelly" may have been dear to her heart but I was not impressed with it at all. It was repetitive and bland. Jax was Kelly's first love and he crushed her without explanation. It was the greatest hurt of her young life that haunted her since. He walks back into her life after 7 years and (SPOILER) to fight off his new advances and get over that big, horrible hurt once and for all she decides to have sex with him??? To get it out of her system??? Really???? What a shame. All the compelling drama that could have unfolded did not. I'd have surely thought this was an early book but it wasn't (2003). I expected far better by then, as I have enjoyed many many of her other books. I'll still read her newer ones, but I'll be careful not to grab one off the shelf that I think is new and is not.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unstoppable: Love with the Proper Stranger & Letters to Kelly by Suzanne Brockmann.

A combo paperback with two of Brockmann's early stories. 'Proper Stranger' was okay, I enjoyed it but I don't think it's one of her best. I never believe it when one of the main characters, usually the man, is so besotted that he just can't function in his daily life. Here you have an FBI agent that keeps making mistake after mistake, can't tear himself away from his fascinating new love interest, etc. A little much for me, but I'd still give the story 3 stars.

'Letters to Kelly' is much, much better and deserved 4 stars. I wanted the way to the end to happen differently but I'm not the author. I wanted the book of letters published and Kelly to read the letters that way. Either way, 'Letters' was interesting, the characters were interesting and I really enjoyed it. Brockmann's writing was really good, even way back then. I wish she'd write more - faster!

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two very different books but you very Suzanne Brockmann. The first, Love with a Proper Stranger, is great fun. You get glimpses of Brockmann's later Troubleshooter series and Daniel is definitely a fore-runner of Jules. I think what I liked most about this book was that the heroine is not small & beautiful but taller and not your usual stunner. Instead she's self-conscious of her body especially compared to her 'friend'. But the hero loves her - more for her personality and character than her looks. Great fun.

However I have to say that I enjoyed Letters to Kelly more. I loved the different strands of the book - the letters that Jax writes to Kelly are beautiful; whilst the scenes where he is trying to write his book and his relationship with his character, Jarred, is so much fun. Fantastic and it just goes to show what you can do within a fairly short book.

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love with a proper stranger : 3 star
At first it was promising but the more the story goes and the more
I was losing interest.



Letters to Kelly: 5 star
I totally get why this is the favorite story of Suzanne Brockmann's mother. This is probably my favorite too. Loved the story, loved the characters, loved the flashback and especially loved the "conversation" between Jax and his main character.

[Angelic Zaizai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romen yang terdiri dari dua cerita, Letters for Kelly dan Love with A Proper Stranger.
Buat yang Kelly, sebenarnya sih bagus surat-suratnya, tapi ngebayangin orang dewasa (yah ga dewasa banget sih yak) naksir abg, kok rasanya idiih.. gak banget hahahaha

lebih suka yang kedua, tapiii sayang banget tokoh jahatnya ga banyak
diceritain, padahal POV-nya si pembunuh bagus
ya gitu deh, namanya juga buku romen, kalo fokus ke pembunuhnya bukan romen lagi dong ya namanya.. :p

[Martina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like the way Suzanne Brockmann writes, but I gotta say Love with the Proper Stranger just didn't sit with me. It lacks something. I had to go and re-read some parts again and again cause I lost interest mid reading. On the other hand, Letters to Kelly is a great book.

[Ann (Noumena12) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Letters to Kelly better than Love with the Proper Stranger.

[Mombo]

I added this because I haven't read Love With A Proper Stranger.

[Elli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The five star rating is for "Letters to Kelly" The first one was okay, but I adored T. Jax!

[Ellie]

Always a fan of Suzanne Brockmann's work. Enjoy reading her earlier stories. Her characters are so delightful, it's fun watching them fall in love.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved Letters to Kelly!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE

[Mery · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lebih suka yang Love with the Proper Stranger... tapi bakal lebih seru kalo ceritanya berpusat ke Serena.

Yang Letters to Kelly ceritanya sedih, tapi sebel sama kedua tokohnya.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two-haiku review:

Two older stories
Love with a touch of action
Very well written

Really liked them both
Even though dated, still great
Brockmann's excellent

[Danielles]

Ebook kobo

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars