Stella Cameron returns to Pointe Judah in her latest venture into the Louisiana Bayou. From the first page when we see two teenage boys lost in the swamps until its satisfying Christmas Eve conclusion, _A Cold Day in Hell_ is worth the sleepless night you'll spend reading it.
Eileen Moggeridge and Angel DeAngelo have warily approached a relationship with one another since they met. Eileen is scarred from an abusive marriage, while Angel is trying to forget his past as a CIA field operative and ATF agent. But both want more than the friendship they now share.
Eileen's son, Aaron, and Angel's nephew, Sonny, are fast friends who lead each other into temptation. The boys are lost in the swamps in their search for the root doctor Chuzah when Aaron is shot by an unseen gunman. Chuzah rescues the boys and he heals Aaron's wound. Angel doesn't know if the shot was intended for Aaron or Sonny, the lone witness to a gruesome mob hit. But he knows there's more to Chuzah than the other man's unique lifestyle.
Things become more complicated when Eileen's pregnant sister-in-law is attacked, a construction worker is murdered, and yet another attempt is made on Aaron's life. How are these crimes connected? When Eileen's ex-husband returns seeking reconciliation, Angel has the perfect suspect. But where is the evidence?
Angel tries to keep a very independent Eileen safe, while also working to protect Sonny and Aaron. None of them make it easy for him, and he discovers the premonitions and visions he used so effectively in the CIA have returned, warning him of growing danger to the woman he loves. For her part, Eileen must learn that Angel is a man she can lean on, a man she can trust, before she can admit her love for him.
Its colorful characters make Pointe Judah a town you want to return to, and the unfinished stories of a few of its characters make you hope for more of Cameron's Bayou books.
The romance between Angel and Eileen is satisfying and believable and it's easy to imagine them creating a family with their two boys.
This is definitely a Christmas Eileen and Angel, and the people of Point Judah, will remember.