I heard this is a good book; however, until the Kindle price is $9.99 or less, I will pass.

When Hope Dunne, a well-known photographer and a wealthy woman, is given an assignment to fly to Ireland to photograph Finn O'Neill, a famous Irish-American author noted for his tales of darkness and treachery, she isn't sure she wants the job. Hope has suffered a great mamy losses in her life, including the death of her young daughter, and the end of her marriage, and is content with her life in New York. She isn't looking for love or excitement, but she takes the job, almost on a whim, and is immediately swept off her feet by Finn O'Neill, a handsome, charismatic man who literally oozes charm from every pore.

Finn takes her to his palatial estate in Ireland,which he claims is his ancestral home, and woos her unrelentingly. They make passionate love and seem to have everything going for them. Finn is kind, generous, and sweet and swears he loves her, and soon succumbing to his charm, Hope happily accepts his proposal of marriage. But before long cracks begin to appear in the perfect facade. Hope catches Finn in several lies, small at first, but increasingly serious that leave her shaken. She begins to wonder if for all his boyish charm and professions of undying love Finn is really sincere, and when she questions him he gets angry and belligerent. But it isn't until he demands that she give him an unspeakable amount of money, in the millions, that he really gets nasty and threatens her when she refuses. Before long Hope, alone in a desolate part of Ireland, with no friends nearby, becomes terrified and is afraid for her life as she realizes,almost too late, that Finn is a dangerous sociopath who will stop at nothing. The suspense is thrilling and never lets up, and proves once again that Danielle Steele is a top-notch story teller.

Ever since MOMA showed an exhibit of her photography when she was thirty-eight, Hope Dunne has become famous. She was recently in India and Tibet, but now is back in her Manhattan Soho loft just before Christmas. Hope enjoys her lifestyle though at times misses the intimacy she once had when she was married for over two decades to sexagenarian Paul who suffers from Parkinson's disease; but Hope especially misses her late daughter. She captures that combination of serenity and passion though a camera lens.

Her agent Mark Webber asks if she would like to do a shoot of popular Irish-American author Finn O'Neill; she agrees. She meets her assistant on the job Fiona Casey and they travel to Ireland together. Hope finds the bodacious warm Finn a delightfully charming opposite of her quiet manner. He seems attracted to her and overtly displays his feelings as he tries to sweep her off her feet. At his remote estate, she falls in love only to begin to unravel his tale of omissions and lies, but mostly it is his jealous rage when there is no remote reason bothers her. She realizes she is acting schizoid as her heart tells her to trust Finn, but her brain tells her to flee back to Manhattan before it is too late. She wonders if he is an overly concerned somewhat possessive lover, a sociopath, or worse.

This is a typical Danielle Steele contemporary character driven thriller that fans of the author will devour once Finn enters the picture as the audience will wonder if he is a villain or hero; if he is a hero than Hope is paranoid. The story line is filled with angst, perhaps too much as everyone carries tons of baggage even secondary players like Robert. Yet readers will relish Hope's dilemmas she believes she has found love but fears she has found obsessive love; either way she understands it is MATTERS OF THE HEART dictating to the mind how to feel and act.

Harriet Klausner