The Secret Life of Bryan (Visitation, North Carolina) [Paperback]

Bryan is masquerading as his brother, bruce, a preacher who runs a safe house for prostitutes. Bruce was attacked and Bryan is taking his place to find out why. Bryan meets Shay--a wealthy socialite who is posing as a prostitute so that she can get closer to the girls and help them. Shay and Bryan have instant chemistry but there are many lies that threaten their budding romance. Complicating things, is that someone is indeed after the preacher and now Shay as well. And it is someone they know and trust.

The story is fast paced, the ending is great- you never guess the identity of the stalker or the accomplice. It reintroduces characters from Foster's previous books- like Joe Winston, Luna, Jamie (the strange psychic). It also gives us new people to like and await their stories- like Bryan's brother bruce, Joe's sister etc.

This book has a little bit of everything- mystery, romance, suspence. Its a great summer read.

We met Bryan briefly in her story "Say No To Joe" and I was thrilled to find out that this was his story. Bryan is a twin that has decided that it's his job to protect his brother Bruce a preacher and who has just recently been attacked due to the work that he does regarding running a safe-house for ex-ladies of the night. This was a no brainer as far as Bryan was concerned he would step into his brothers shoes, do what he could for the ladies under his brothers care and most importantly find out who wants his brother dead. That is until he made the mistake of trying to "rescue" a damsel in distress by the name of Shay. Now his little world has been turned upside down because he should be acting like a preacher but his thoughts are anything but heavenly. In fact Shay has knocked him right off his feet. This is a big problem for the bounty-hunter that would never trust another woman again.

Shay can't believe her good fortune when Preacher saves her from a bad situation. Shay is a do-gooder but has been labled and branded a princess with too much money on her hands and not enough stength of conviction to really make a difference. Well, she has been given the perfect chance to prove all those that don't believe in her that they are totally wrong. Now she is working on the front line so to speak. She tells Bryan that she's not a hooker but does not want the other women at the safe house to know this. She then goes about the business of drawing everyone under her spell proving that she is serious about helping these women turn their lives around. Her main problem is trying to prove to Bryan that their attraction is not wrong. This is not easy since on top of all that was previously mentioned someone is trying to close down the safe house but who and why?

This was a fast quirky page turning read. Joe, Luna, and Willow and Austin make a return performance as well as Jamie Creed all living in Visitation. The relationship between Bryan and Shay is carefully constructed and as a result although peppered with Ms. Foster trademark sensuality this is not a read that dives right into an intimate relationship between the two main character but instead slowly lead to the admission that their relationship is more then lust. This is really a must read if you are a fan of Ms. Foster. If this is a first time read for you fear not this is a stand alone book and you will not be left scratching your head as to the various relationships that are presented. If anything this will drive you to pick up more of her titles. Always a good thing if you ask me.