REVIEW: Unlawful Contact

Pamela Clare
Unlawful Contact (I-Team #3)
Berkley
ISBN-10: 0425217620
ISBN-13: 978-0425217627
Contemporary romance
April 1, 2008

See? Told ya this one would butt in on my Freak-ay-ness Challenge!.

You Can Has Summary? ‘Course You Can!

We’ll do the Scooby Doo version first, for kicks and giggles.

Girl meets boy. Boy and girl shnog and er… bleep, bleep, bleep. It was shiverlicious. Boy and girl part ways.

Boy and girl swell too adult proportions. Woman has promising career. Man not so much. Woman goes to see him in the pokey, and little does she know he’s her boy of long ago bliss. Kidnapping, much fighting of the law and doofus lame brain lawmen. But wait! I know you, she says. He’s gone. And he’s back again. Siblings in trouble, one doped up and baby packing, the other a horse docta with low fundage. Fefe, assualt, tears and laughter. Hot lurv, Jaguars and boocoo more snaffugaling of the law. Bam! Bam! Bam! A bumpy ride. Success, true love and HEA. And a ‘55 Chevy Bel Air.

What that all means is this here:

Sophie Alton is an investigative journalist hot on the trail of the disappearance of a young mother and her baby. Curiosity that might have been better left to the cat leads her to prison, where she’s kidnapped by a convicted killer, one Marc Hunter. It takes a bit, but soon Sophie realizes Marc is the boy who showed her the most incredible night of passion one star-filled night long ago, a precious memory she’s kept for twelve years. Now, she’s not sure exactly what side he’s on.

Marc’s carrying a life sentence and he’s got nothing left to lose, except his baby sister. When he finds out she’s once again in trouble with the law, he uses Sophie to bust out and begin his search for Megan. Knowing Sophie is better off as far from him as possible, Marc still can’t resist reinserting himself into her life. Together they work to unravel the mysteries surrounding Megan, Denver’s Department of Corrections and a host of other problems, the most disturbing probably being what’s going on at the juvenile girls’ devision of DOC. With the law hard on their trail, it’s one bumpy ride till the very last scene and Marc and Sophie will have their work cut out for them if they want to come out anywhere near alive let alone see justice done.

The Good

When I finally picked this one up at the store I practically rubbed my hands together in glee. Convict on the run, wrongly accused and kidnapping the heroine is one of my all-time fave romance plots. Talk about HAWT! Man’s hard up for it, ya know what I mean. Woman’s all fluttery soft remembering their lurvable past history. Usually makes for a pretty explosive set of scenes and this one fails not in the least. I’ve found the previous two books to be pretty hot as well, so was expecting no less anyway. YES, Sophie and Marc made for one scorching couple. YES, I was happy to be a voyeur in their bedroom scenes. Or living room scenes. Or garage scenes…there’s a lot of nice scenes. ;)

Sophie’s character is the noble, justice-infused element of the story, yet sweet and vulnerable at the same time. She’s determined to right any wrongs the proper and legal way. I have always admired Clare’s heroines and was not let down with Sophie. Well, there was a couple of things, see on down, but for the most part, she’s a tough, stands-her-ground type of woman and doesn’t back off when things get ugly. In reality, I doubt I could be as strong a person.

Marc was interesting. Gotta admire a man willing to go to any lengths to save his family. I loved his pursuit of Sophie, that he wanted time with her, even if it was fleeting.

The writing is very compact. There’s not one thing out of place and as a result, I was carried pretty quickly through the story and was eager to see what came after each twist and turn. I think Clare comes up with some great plots for her journalist heroines and liked this one immensely. My emotions were engaged and despite some big, very real issues amongst my escapism, I really appreciated the statement that Clare seems to be making with this romance. There’s an interesting dedication in the front of the book that lead me to know this was much more than the usual HEA. That it had touched her on a very deep level. I can appreciate a romance writer that will tackle some real life issues and Clare handles the ones in Unlawful Contact, abuse, drugs and a corrupt justice system, with grace and dignity.

I loved, loved and loved how characters from the previous books figured in. Clare manages to incorporate the entire I-Team family and their family without being overdone or taking away from the main couple. It was wonderful to see how the series is growing and solidly tying in together.

The Not Necessarily Bad, Just Urrrr???

Now, it’s going to sound like on the other hand that I didn’t care for Sophie and Marc. Which wasn’t the case at all. They were a great couple, perfect for each other as a matter of fact. I felt the pain and agony of their impossible circumstances. I wanted them to be able to have a life together so much, and man does Clare wring it out till the end. I wasn’t sure it was going to be a complete HEA for a while.

But Sophie, I’ve gotta say, being the smart woman she is, has a few TSTL type moments. Marc forgives her her mistakes, and points out more than once that this whole hostage/drug/assault/big ‘ole WTF situation is so new to her that it’s understandable she has them. But after a couple I just wanted to shake her and ask where her journalist smarts and skills had gone.

In turn, March can’t stop getting pissed after a while with Sophie and I was wanting to slap him up the back of the head because DUDE – you put her in the situation in the first place by kidnapping her! So, I was laughing my ass off at myself for being mad at both of them at the same time yet understanding each ones position too. Marc has this whole martyr complex too that, while noble and all at first, eventually descended into unbelievable and I couldn’t believe the extent of his sacrifices and bad choices. I don’t know that it could have been written any better than it was–and don’t get me wrong, despite the few irks, it was all very well written. BUT there again, the things mentioned riled me and almost threw me out of the story a time or two.

It was a very intense book. I think that Sophie and Marc both probably acted and reacted in realistic ways. It just grated when somewhat childish reactions ensued and I was eager to move on from those and get back into the story.

The End

In most ways this is another solid, entertaining and wonderful entry in the I-Team series. You might be able to start the series with it and be reasonably enlightened as to past books, but I would suggest starting at the beginning to get each main couple’s full effect. It would better explain why previous characters act the way they do in this installment too. Read Extreme Exposure first, then Hard Evidence. Sophie and Marc may not have ended up as my favorite I-Team couple to date, but they will definitely be going on my keeper shelf alongside the previous two books.

Next up for the I-Team is journalist Kat, titled Naked Edge, and there’s a great excerpt at the end of Unlawful Contact.

For more on this author and her books, visit her site.

Rating: Four Scoops