Love With The Proper Stranger, by Suzanne Brockmann

Time for another reread (yeah, I reread a lot, so?). This time it's Love With The Proper Stranger, on of Suzanne Brockmann's old Silhouette romantic suspense categories.

NOTHING HE’D TOLD HER WAS THE TRUTH....
His name wasn’t Jonathan Mills, and he wasn’t vacationing on the idyllic island. FBI agent John Miller was on the trail of a notorious female serial killer, and he couldn’t blow his cover to anyone. Not even the beguiling Mariah Carver, who had unwittingly entangled herself in a web of deadly deceit.

John couldn’t deny that sweet, sensual Mariah was the woman he had been waiting for. Nor could he act on the passion that tormented them both. The daring lawman was poised to wed another woman: the ruthless Black Widow, who married -- then murdered -- her victims....

Wow! I love what Brockmann can do to a clichéd "tortured hero after serial killer" plot! An A-.

From the beginning, there were original, fresh touches to the typical serial killer plot. The serial killer in question is female and we know who she is almost from the beginning (so that wasn't a spoiler!).

John was a wonderful tortured hero, tortured to the point that he made himself physically ill. I loved the way he was attracted to Mariah from the beginning, and the way being with her helped his warmer, more human side show.

Mariah was fine, too. The "Oh, I'm so ugly, my tits are too big, my legs are too long" got old fast, but she was a reasonable, grown-up heroine, with a wonderfully healthy attitude towards sex. I liked the way she refused to tolerate what she saw as childish games on John's part.

Everything just came together beautifully.. the love scenes, the interesting suspense subplot, the secondary characters. Loved this!