This book has everything - murder, mystery, suspenseful thrills, excitement and sizzle and a good dose of romance too! If you're looking for a story to get lost in for a few hours, look no further than Beneath The Skin by Zara West.

Beneath the Skin is a Beauty and the Beast tale filled with suspense, action and good old fashioned lust.

Ari has come to New York to rescue his sister, Bella Bell (the name she uses as a tattooist) after he received a ransom note of sorts from someone in his past. Melissa is a college student doing her dissertation about traditional tattooing and has been interviewing Melissa. When Bella turns up missing, she sets out to find her. As she and Ari crash into each other's lives, both looking for the same person, yet completely mistrustful of each other, the lust they feel is as hot as the steam from the New York pavement, and yet seemingly out of nowhere, considering that when Melissa fist saw Ari she told her roommate that he was grotesque, "His face all flattened in like a cement block dropped on him or something." Yeah...that phrasing didn't endear me to Melissa at all. Eventually I got past it, though, as Melissa started to see "beneath the skin" and realized that Ari was a beautiful soul regardless of any outward scars.

I love all the action and twists and turns in Beneath the Skin, and the action and suspense. And the chemistry Ari and Melissa share is electric. But, my favorite part of Beneath the Skin has to be Ari. He was such a beautiful person, felt things so deeply, and had kindness ingrained in his heart. I felt so much for him, so badly for all that Tuccio had inflicted upon him, and all that had happened to him because of it. Bella and Melissa, quite frankly, irritated me to no end that they couldn't see him for the amazing guy he was, not until the end. Although, I'm not sure Bella ever came around. Thankfully Melissa did, though, otherwise Beneath the Skin would have ended on a sour note for me.

If you're looking for a romantic suspense with heart, I highly advise you to read Beneath the Skin.