Kim Aldrich, the daughter of an FBI agent, is working as a secretary for WALCO insurance agency. One day commissioner Saunders of Neadham shows up to talk to the company about a lawsuit his town is undergoing.
It seems that down on the beach there is a large area of rocks where children like to play. The rocks are suppose to be sprayed weekly with a chemical to keep algae from growing and causing the rocks to be slippery and dangerous. But the rocks have not been sprayed for some time which resulted in a small boy named Peter Madden falling and getting seriously injured. The boy is in a wheelchair now and his parents are suing the town for $500,000. Since the towns insurance policy is only for $100,000 the commissioner desperately needs to win this case. However he refuses to try and reach a settlement with the Maddens. He insists doing so would cause others to falsely sue the town.
Kim, interested in the case, visits the beach location where she ends up meeting a handsome young man. His name is Andy Hill and he is the Madden's lawyer. Instantly drawn to each other the two start working on the case together to discover who is at fault for the accident.
All signs point to the town being liable as the rocks had not been sprayed. The chief life guard, Bill Jones, reportedly wrote in his work log that he had repeatedly requested for them to be sprayed but that his requests were denied and the money allotted for it went missing. This evidence would seal the case for Andy but unfortunately Bill, and his logs, are missing.
Strange things soon begin to happen such as Andy constantly being followed by a dark Sudan and Kim suddenly being offered a fabulously paying secretary job in Puerto Rico. After a visit to the Maddens Kim learns that Bill has been writing to Peter. She asks to see a letter so she can get his address to track him down. It is a general delivery address in Santa Elena, California and the letter reveals that Bill was suddenly offered a year long fellowship from the Dier Foundation, an alleged foundation for artists. But an investigation soon proves the foundation doesn't exist.
Andy sends a letter to Bill in the hopes Bill can make it back to New York to testify in court but when the case is suspiciously moved way up on the docket and no word has come from Bill, Kim and Andy fly to California over the weekend to bring him back themselves.
Once on the west coast they are briefly delayed when someone crashes into their rented car but they continue their journey to Santa Elena where they learn from a local that Bill is staying at the "Saunders shack". Commissioner Saunders shack.
They find the shack empty but while looking around Kim opens the wardrobe door and the body of Bill Jones falls out. Andy finds a typed paper in the trash where Bill had written what he knew regarding the lawsuit and Saunders guilt. Pocketing the paper the two rush to the car where Andy says they have to call in the murder as an anonymous tip otherwise they will be held for the inquiry and miss the court date in New York. However as they begin to leave they hear a car driving up, it's a sheriff's car which indicates someone else had tipped off the police in an attempt to frame Andy and Kim.
They are able to drive away undetected and get to a payphone where Andy phones his boss to tell him he will have to take over the Madden case. Andy is then informed the Maddens have suddenly insisted on dropping the case. Knowing the family wouldn't drop the was case willingly the two need to return to New York right away so they head to the airport, anxious they will be arrested at any moment.
They successfully make it back to the East Coast and, realizing they are being followed through the airport, Andy instructs Kim to go into the ladies room and phone her father. Unfortunately he is away on a case until the next morning. Kim tells her housekeeper that she is coming straight home. Leaving the ladies room she finds Andy gone. She decides to get her car from the parking lot and go straight home but is drugged and kidnapped outside her car.
Kim awakes in a small rustic shack. There is an older woman there who Kim soon learns is Mrs. Casey, the wife of the judge handling the case. She informs Kim that Peter Madden and Andy are also there. They have all been kidnapped to stop the case from proceeding. Kim soon learns they are being held on an island. Her and Andy manage to find some scuba suits in a shed and decide to swim for shore in the icy water.
Beginning to grow tired and struggling to keep an eye on each other in the pitch black they begin to feel hopeless when they hear the sound of a boat approaching. They dive under water but without airtanks they soon are forced to surface and are pulled into the boat where Dan Aldrich, Kim's father, greets them.
After Kim's call home the housekeeper had called the FBI and a kidnapping case was immediately opened for her. Two teenagers had reported seeing some suspicious men loading a boat on the shore hours before which lead the FBI there to search.
After everyone is rescued they are all put under guard and escorted to court the next morning. Kim is called to testify, her appearance shocking Saunders. When she mentions the murder of Bill Jones Saunders yells out that he did not order a hit on the man, just instructed to have him silenced. Soon the commissioner is telling his story; he had been stealing funds to use to campaign for mayor, this is what had become of the money that was suppose to be used to have the rocks sprayed. Saunders believed if he beat the Maddens in court it would help his public image and get the voters on his side. He had hired people in the "syndicate", aka organized crime, to keep Andy, Kim, Bill, etc. away. With all this out before the judge the commissioner is arrested and a settlement of $10,000 is agreed upon by the Maddens and WALCO.
With all that settled Kim and Andy decide to take some time to figure out if their world wind romance was due to genuine feelings or from being thrust into a dangerous situation together.
- Kim and Andy instantly feel bonded over their upbringings; Kim grew up in Puerto Rico due to her father being stationed there for FBI work and Andy was born and raised in Hawaii. It doesn't say if Andy is pacific islander but I pictured him as so.
- I think Kim is a good feminist example. I know some people disagree but I think they are confused on what feminism is. Kim is able to take care of herself but she is also able to accept help from Andy if and when she needs it. After their car is crashed into in California Kim starts to change the flat tire when Andy takes over and tells her to rest. Kim was just unconscious and needed to rest. She thinks how she likes feeling protected by Andy but how if it was her brother, for example, she would be offended and furious.
Kim and Andy have a romantic relationship and therefor Andy can do and say things to Kim that would be offensive if another man did it. Andy respects Kim and knows she is capable of taking care of herself. But he also cares and loves her which makes him worry about her wellbeing and want to protect her. It is because Kim knows he respects and loves her that she does not find these things offensive.
Kim is also very well balanced. She likes to look pretty and often acts silly but also is skilled in Taekwondo, sky diving, scuba diving, and is a sports car enthusiast.
- I did not like how Kim and Andy suddenly realize their romance was superficial. I liked them together and would have liked them to be a couple throughout the series, even though I knew from experience that wouldn't happen. If I am being honest I must admit I think the ending did make the most sense as they really didn't know each other before falling for each other.
- When Kim phones her housekeeper at the airport she gives a description of what she is wearing since it would be useful information if she went missing and a search was made for her. I thought this was really smart.
Overall I enjoyed this book. I read it in one sitting which is something I have not been able to do in awhile. Lately it seems every book bores me so this was a nice change.
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