Unmemorable

I’ve read Julie Garwood’s books over many years and have found many of them to be very enjoyable, but others have missed the mark. Unfortunately, Sweet Talk didn’t really work for this reader either, but it’s hard to put my finger on why.

Perhaps it’s the feeling I had throughout the book that it isn’t very realistic. Our heroine, Olivia MacKenzie, works for the IRS. She's on the trail of the perpetrator of a Ponzi scheme and plans to bring him down; the problem is that he’s her father. It is hard to feel full sympathy for a women who seems to be so ruthlessly gunning for her parent. Yes, he’s done wrong, but you would have felt that conflict of interest suggests that somebody else does that work. And his credulous family around him are rather unbelievable.

Be that as it may, when Olivia is endangered by stumbling into the middle of an FBI sting operation, the unfortunately named Grayson Kincaid joins forces with her to protect her and to fight corruption. Of course, put two attractive people together and you’re bound to get a romance. Indeed we do, even though Grayson isn’t really the sort of chap she’s after.

The problem for me with Sweet Talk is that the work-related situations seemed contrived and unlikely. I also found myself not caring overmuch about either of the main characters, who are too perfect for their own good. Its fairly mediocre plot and the lack of anything memorable about this book at all are its outstanding qualities. In fact, having waited a month to write the review, I find it quite difficult to remember what it was actually about!