Fatal Charm is the newest mystery romance from Blair McDowell. Release date was 8th September 2017 from The Wild Rose Press, available in ebook and paperback formats.

I read this book in one sitting. The action is non-stop. There are murders and double-crosses and international jewel thievery. The plot rotates around a baroque pearl dragon amulet once owned by Marie Antoinette which eventually wound up stolen from the Louvre. Two of the thieves were caught but the third got away with the amulet.

The main character (a beautiful art jeweler named Caitlin) gets trapped into the action almost randomly and the plot hinges on her attempts to safely return the dragon to the Louvre. The original thieves haven't forgotten about getting caught years ago and they're out for revenge, even if that includes murdering Caitlin and anyone else who stands in their way.

The mystery and thriller elements are well written. Romance writing in general isn't the top of my reading list, but the sex and romance scenes were not 'cringe worthy' and seemed naturally written and advanced the narrative, so they weren't at all gratuitous.

I enjoyed reading about Paris and the French countryside and coast. The author is very talented and the ending was clean and satisfying. The almost-epilogue at the very end caused a little internal eye rolling, but honestly, it's a romance mystery. I would recommend this one to any of my romance loving friends who like a little mystery/thriller with their romances.

Three and a half stars rounded up.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.