This novel features a tall leggy woman with dirty blond hair who rides a motorbike, but is an ace detective, with a degree in forensic psychology, and yet still finds time to wear stilettos to impress clients. Need I say more?

The story is set in Sydney, where Mak, the tall leggy blond, has just moved after leaving her boyfriend, back in Canberra. This brings her back into the sphere of an old enemy, the wealthy family called the Cavanaghs, and in particularly their son Damien, all of whom appear to be above justice and are up to no good. Mak is asked to look into the disappearance of a missing boy, Adam, who is in his late teens, but still lives with his mother. Interleaved chapters show that he's run away to the circus, having fallen in love with one of the performers, Bijou.

To find Adam, Mak track down one of his friends, Tobias, who lives on the same street as Adam; Tobias happens to have been the street kid wrongly arrested for the crimes Mak suspects Damien of carrying out, bringing her to the attention once again of the Cavanaghs. They become worried by Mak's reappearance, and eventually decide to send a hit man after her. Meanwhile, Mak successfully tracks Adam to the circus, which has now moved back to France, but the hit man follows and kidnaps her. This is rather out of character for the hit man, who normally swiftly despatches his victims, without them even being aware of his existence. Why has he kidnapped her? Is it because she's an attractive woman? Will she be able to escape? Will Mak's new boyfriend from Sydney find her?

The storyline is a fairly predictable one, and the ending rather inevitable. Dirty blond, attractive tall woman triumphs over the bad guys. Given the cover on the book, I wasn't expecting too much out of this book, and unfortunately, I wasn't too far wrong. It's a fairly entertaining read, but just a bit too unbelievable.

Michelle Peckham, England
July 2011