Having just been jilted by her goal-driven fiancé, Lexie Cortese decides to turn over a new leaf; she’s going to start thinking for herself for a change, and the first thing she does is sell all the jewelry he gave her, use part of the money to go back to college, and spend the rest on a ticket to Italy to visit the village where her grandparents lived.  Sounds exciting enough, but the moment Lexie steps into the expensive leather goods shop in Rome, her life begins to spin out of control.  Some jewel thieves have mistaken her for their contact, a woman hired to courier a rare diamond to terrorists and without her knowledge, the precious gem is slipped into her handbag.  Also unknown to Lexie, Interpol agents have pinpointed her as the thieves’ contact and now, with the criminals realizing their mistake, she’d under surveillance by two entities for two reasons and in mortal danger from both.

When Lexie’s bag is snatched and a handsome banker retrieves it, she’s flattered and attracted and welcomes his offer to show her around the city.  Dominic Brioni is more than he seems, of course; he’s the Interpol agent assigned to get close to Lexie so he can keep an eye on her and find out when the diamond reaches its perspective owners.  A career officer, Dominic is currently working under a cloud because he botched his last case, resulting in a young woman involved getting killed.  His superiors are waiting for him to make another mistake since this case also involves a young and attractive woman.  Dominic doesn’t fail them in that respect.  In the space of a few days, he falls for Lexie as much as she’s falling for him though he tells himself he’s just being conscientious.  Soon, however, he admits to himself how he feels and with the death of a maid to whom Lexie gives her old purse and the killing of the thief she identifies as having seen in the shop before her purse was stolen, he finds he doesn’t believe she’s voluntarily involved. His boss refuses to agree and Dominic soon finds himself taken off the case and ordered not to see Lexie again.  Knowing she’s in danger not only from the thieves wanting their stolen diamond back but from the Italian authorities as well, Dominic is helpless to act unless he goes against orders and works on his own.  And he may have to do that, as the body toll begins to mount, and both police and criminals close in on the one person so visible in the case…

...Lexie.

MY OPINION:  Exciting romantic thriller with some landmark Italian scenery thrown in for authenticity.  Some interesting information as well, such as the fact that Interpol agents—TV and movies nonwithstanding—can’t make arrests but simply gather evidence to turn over to local authorities.  Lexie is depicted as courageous and determined in pursuit of her new life.  She’s attracted to Dominic but recognizes their affair will be brief because she’s returning to the States in a few days,  Dominic is carrying ghosts of his own in the memory of the young woman he couldn’t save and now has to work under the onus of being mistrusted by his superiors.  He’s torn between believing what they say and what his gut tells him about Lexie and when he decides to trust his own feelings, he separates himself completely from the job he loves and has worked at his whole life.

It’s an exciting story with its moments of thrills, and Dominic’s choices make the story bring about an ending which should satisfy any romance reader.

Murder Mi Amore is available from The Wild Rose Press www.thewidrosepress.com

This novel was supplied by the author and no remuneration was involved in the writing of the review.