Deveraux alternates between her two main characters telling the story in first person. Ford Newcombe is a writer who has lost his wife of 21 years, and both his beloved in-laws, as well as the will to write. Enter Jackie Maxwell, half his age, health conscious and feisty; a very unlikely couple.

Ford and Jackie grope their way toward a working relationship at first, without any of the usual "falling in lust" of a typical romance novel. They find ways of making their differences mesh instead of working against each other.

What brings them together in the beginning is Jackie's devil story, which Ford wants to research and write. They soon discover that there is something much more sinister behind the story, and that it may be more than just a tale told by her mother to scare her.

The paranormal in this book is more chilling than horror and is very well done. I didn't like Deveraux's other attempt at paranormal, the Forever trilogy. This one is quite different and gave me goosebumps without giving me nightmares.

To give you an indication of how much I liked this book, I read the paperback, and as soon as I finished reading, I bought the e-book for my Kindle.

Jude Deveraux books are usually feel good romances with a lot of wit and humor. The kind you will stay up reading until 4AM. That's what I expected when I started this one but this one was different than the mindless romance read I was expecting. Different in this case is not bad, just unexpected. The book had me from the beginning and kept me guessing until the end, which is rare. I feel for those who were disappointed because it was not her regular style but it does not deserve the bad marks some of her long time fans gave it. Wild Orchids is a very high caliber writing style that could have easily competed for book of the month in the more snobish literary circles were Deveraux not already established as a romance writer. I wasn't sure I liked the 1st person writing style and I know I did not care for rehasing the same events from competing perspectives but the book still held me captive to the end. It had an excellent story line and still had Deveraux's imagination, wit and humor. What Deveraux needs to do is write this style under a pseudonym, so she doesn't blind side her unsuspecting romance fans.

In summmary: I highly recommend Wild Orchids, just know that it is not going to be one of her feel good romps. You really need to read this book when you don't need one of her "chocolate Sunday for the romance reader's soul" books to fully appreciate it. I give it high marks and hopes she continues with this style under a pseudonym.

This was a real winner for me. It is word for word captivating from beginning to end. I felt Jude Deveraux must have known the Devil personally to write this piece. Not meaning it in a bad way, just that it felt so real. Everything flowed so well. I can't say enough about it. Thank you Jude Deveraux for a book that inspired me. I hope and pray you never stop writing, you definently have a gift for it. I have to say this is a fantastic read. Thank you Jude.

Wild Orchids was extremely well written for how complex it was. I truly have to commend Jude Deveraux on this novel. She portrayed the devil differently and I liked the way she portrayed him, he was more real, more a man, and a human being. I also like what she had him say, that he only gave a slight push to people, that he didn't put the evil deeds into their minds. People came up with their own horrific ideas, the devil only encouraged them.

It's a fantastic read and keeps you on your toes, leaving you to want to know more and more. There are so many twists and turns, theories that add to the mystery, you are literally holding your breath in anticipation wanting to know how it ends. This happens to be one of my favorite Deveraux novels, I read it not too long ago(about a couple of weeks to be exact) and will read it again in the near future. Wild Orchids is a book you'll want to own so you can read it over and over again.

Jackie and Ford are an explosive couple and are perfect to solve this mystery in the town of Cold Creek. The mystery being, why was this woman stoned to death for falling in love with the devil? Jackie was told the story by her mother one night, and that same night her dad stole her away. Jackie is left with a lot of questions, and for that reason she goes to Cold Creek to help Ford Newcombe, a writer who wants to research this particular story more. Deveraux provides interesting insight with this novel.

Don't be fooled, Wild Orchids is not Deveraux's typical romance novel. I would'nt even consider this a romance, its more of a mystery/suspense. If you have read Someone to Love and First Impressions and liked/loved them; Wild Orchids is the next Deveraux novel you should read. There is love in it, but it does not play a major part in the book.

I've recently discovered Jude Deveraux. I would have rated the book a 4 based on the first 300 pages, meaning it's a book worth reading word for word and rereading, but not worth buying. (I read so much public-library, light fiction these days that I usually read the first half or two thirds, then skim the rest. Reading a book word for word is saying something.) However, eight of the the last forty or so pages portray one of the most low key, chilling, succinct examples of evil and cruelty I could imagine. And its wrapped up in a romance novel with a sassy heroine and a hero like a roasted marshmallow -- crusty on the outside, but melted on the inside. I would have concluded this review with a rating of 4 3/4 -- until I read the 1 rating reviews of the book. Frankly, sweet and light romance books written about sweet and simple people facing nothing more than the lack of a love life bore me. That's the standard, apparently, of that group of folks giving such negative reviews of this book. Ignore 'em!