Book Review: Mr. Perfect

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Mr. Perfect     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Linda Howard
Class/Genre:   Romance   Amateur Sleuth   Romantic Suspense   Adult Content
Pocket, Aug 2000, $24.95, 343 pp.

Every Friday after working all week at Hammerstead Technology, Jaine, T.J. Luna, and Marci meet at the local watering hole for some wine, food, and talk. Jaine, the leader and most outspoken of the friends, discusses what she feels are the most desirable traits in a man. Her three buddies join in and soon they create the MR. PERFECT list. The first five requirements are serious, but the remainder deteriorates into a farce to include penis size.

Marci gives the list to a friend who manages to place it in the company newsletter. Soon, the list becomes a media event as TV and newspaper reporters bombard the quartet of women requesting interviews. However, the satirical list triggers a murderous response by a peer who decides in a rage that all four women must die. Jaine’s lover and neighbor, detective Sam Donovan is in a race against a psychopathic killing machine ultimately targeting his cherished significant other.

MR. PERFECT starts off humorously, but quickly combines elements from romantic suspense with a thriller that gives the book a cross genre appeal. The romance between the hero and heroine is hot and sensually explicit. The friendship between the women is special and adds to the overall feel of the taut story line as it juxtaposes against the ravings of a solitary lunatic. With her perfect list, Linda Howard is destined to be on the New York Times best-selling list.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner