Fiona Brand is a new author for me and after reading her recent release, "Heart of Midnight," I have to say she's now a favorite! This is the New Zealander's second release for Silhouette and promises more wonderful works to come. 

Gray Lombard is a Special Air Service agent on the hunt for his brother's killer. Samantha Munro is the woman he couldn't forget, even after seven years. Sam left Gray years ago, keeping a secret from him all the while. Now that his brother's killer is stalking Sam, Gray protects her from the apparent danger -- but what will protect their hearts? 

We meet Gray's band of agents, hoping all the while they will have their own books, as Brand takes us to a ramshackle hotel in Auckland. The Lombard family company owns the hotel, Sam runs it and is fighting the scheduled destruction. Sam's honorary aunts, Sadie and Addie, are wonderful secondary characters who fight the stereotype that elderly ladies with plants aren't all batty. 

The hero's struggles with guilt and control are both heart wrenching and heartening, the passion between Sam and Gray nearly burns the pages and Brand's descriptions of both the city and the jungle make you want to board the plane for New Zealand. Some lines are a tad stale, but on the whole the dialogue is fresh and appealing. The way Brand chose to intersperse the flashbacks with the present doesn't break the movement of the book or leave the reader having to read back to understand what happened. 

Ms. Brand earned another faithful fan with "Heart of Midnight"  I'm running out to find her first book, "Cullen's Bride" (SIM 914)!