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Author: Brenda Novak | Website


Published Works & Book Reviews

Honor Bound

To some men honor is just a word….

Jeannette Boucher, a young French beauty from a family left penniless by the revolution, must marry against her will to save them all from ruin. But almost immediately after the vows are spoken, she learns that her old English husband is impotent—and in his desire for an heir, he plans to compromise her in the worst way.

Determined to escape such a fate, she stows away on one of His Majesty’s frigates. But a woman alone is in constant danger.

To Lieutenant Treynor, honor means everything….

Born a bastard to a wayward marquise, Lieutenant Crawford Treynor was given to a poor farmer to raise and was maltreated until he ran away to join the Royal Navy. Treynor is determined to prove he’s as good as any other man and rise to captain his own frigate. But once he finds Jeannette aboard The Tempest he must decide whether to return her to the man he knows would abuse her—or risk everything, even his life, to keep her safe.

NOTE: THIS STORY WAS PREVIOUSLY TITLED THE BASTARD


In Close

Claire O'Toole's mother, Alana, went missing fifteen years ago. That was big news in Pineview, Montana, the kind of town where nothing much ever happens. Then, last year, Claire's husband, David, died in a freak accident-after launching his own investigation into Alana's disappearance.

Is Alana dead? Or did she simply abandon her husband and daughters? Claire is determined to find out-and her former boyfriend, Isaac Morgan, wants to help. Although their relationship didn't end well, he still has feelings for her. And yet it isn't until he starts to suspect David's death wasn't an accident that he's drawn back into her life.

Together, Claire and Isaac search for answers to the questions that have haunted Pineview all this time. But as they soon discover, someone's prepared to kill so those answers won't be found..

Reviewer: Melinda
Review: Dec 28, 2011
Genre(s): Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Adventure / Action
It has been fifteen years since Claire O' Toole last saw her mother and even now it still feels odd. Years ago she was just a child and couldn't do anything to help her mother. Now as an adult Claire is determined to find her mother's killer. Everybody tells her to stop searching even her own sister, which proves someone is hiding a secret. Just when she thinks she has found something she learns her ex-husban

In Seconds

They're back.

Laurel Hodges has changed her identity twice. She's been on the run for the past four years, trying to outdistance the gang members who blame her for the death of one of their own. She's finally found peace and stability in the small town of Pineview, Montana. But just when Laurel thinks she and her children are safe.the nightmare starts all over again.

The Crew, a ruthless prison gang with ties to Laurel's brother, will never forget and they'll never forgive. And now that they've finally tracked her down, they'll stop at nothing.

Sheriff Myles King, who happens to live next door with his thirteenyearold daughter, appoints himself Laurel's personal guardian. His growing attraction to her could change his life-Myles is beginning to picture marriage and family. But it could also end his life. If he can't save her, everything he's built, everything he wants, could be destroyed. In seconds.

Reviewer: Melinda
Review: Feb 28, 2012
Genre(s): Romantic Suspense
All Laurel Hodges wants is peace. Yet gang members won’t let her get peace, but instead they want her afraid. Living in fear is not what she dreamed of her life being like. For four years she has been hiding always looking behind her back. She knows coming to Montana was a huge mistake but her kids deserves somewhat of a childhood place. She has tried to fight this by herself but Sheriff Myles King just won’t

Killer Heat

The bodies of seven women have been discovered in Skull Valley, Arizona. Jonah Young, a private security operative from Department 6, has been hired by the Yavapai County sheriff to assist in solving these murders. But Jonah's not prepared for the complications that arise when he's forced to work with a woman from his past, private investigator Francesca Moretti.

Jonah betrayed Francesca ten years ago. She hasn't forgiven him and she's pretty sure she never will. But the woman she was hired to find has been murdered in exactly the same way as the seven in Skull Valley, so, Francesca has to work with Jonah. They quickly zero in on the most likely suspect—but questions remain. Questions they have to answer. Because if they bet on the wrong man, it might be the last thing they ever do….


Inside

Dangerous to know...

Virgil Skinner served fourteen years for a murder he didn’t commit. He’s finally been exonerated, but he can’t escape the gang he joined in order to survive. They’ll do anything to keep him from telling what he knows. And if they can’t get to Virgil they’ll go after his sister and her kids.

The California Department of Corrections needs someone to infiltrate another gang, one that’s taking control of the state’s most notorious supermax. Virgil agrees to do it under an alias—in exchange for his sister’s protection.

Chief Deputy Warden Peyton Adams is opposed to having Virgil in her prison. How will she protect him if things go bad? Besides, she’s far too attracted to him; she might even be falling in love with him. That makes her all the more desperate to keep him safe—and it gives him someone else to lose.

The Bulletproof Series:

Book I: Inside (July 2011)

Book II: In Seconds (September 2011)

Book III: In Close (November 2011)

Reviewer: Valerie
Review: Jun 21, 2011
Genre(s): Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
Brenda Novak’s newest novel INSIDE is a thrill ride. Inspired by Fox’s Prison Break, Ms. Novak has taken the idea to the next level. Virgil Skinner served several years for a murder he didn’t commit, now finally exonerated he is haunted by ties to the prison gang he joined to survive. California Department of Corrections has offered him a way out. It’s a huge risk, and he ma

Body Heat

Twelve people have been shot at point-blank range and left to rot in the desert sun. It's Sophia St. Claire's job to do something about it. She's Bordertown, Arizona's new chief of police—and she's out of her depth.
Help arrives in the form of Department 6 hired gun Roderick Guerrero. As far as Sophia's concerned, his involvement only makes things worse. Maybe he's managed to turn his life around. And maybe he's a good investigator. But as the bastard son of a wealthy local rancher, he has a history he can't get past. A history that includes her.

Rod refuses to leave town until the killer is caught. He's not worried about the danger posed by some vigilante. It's Sophia who threatens him. Because he's used to risking his life—but his heart is another story.

 

Reviewer: Melinda
Review: Jan 31, 2011
Genre(s): Romantic Suspense
Sophia St. Claire has never made it a secret that she came from a low life and that Bordertown was her home. Yet even though it was a home to her it was also a home of memories that don’t stay in the past. The thing is she has seen so many times people crossing over from Mexico for a better life yet they end up killed. Now as an adult she is seeing more executions from illegals than she can count to ten

White Heat

Paradise? In name only…

Nate Ferrentino and Rachel Jessop are operatives for Department 6, a private security company, and they’re going undercover to expose a new and dangerous cult.

This group has taken up residence in the Arizona desert, in a ghost town called Paradise. Members worship at the feet—and in the bed--of its charismatic leader, Ethan Wycliff. On his orders, they tried to stone a woman to death. And they’re implicated in the disappearance of a teenage girl.

To expose the Church of the Covenant, with its arcane rituals and debauched practices, Nate and Rachel must pretend to be married. That’s the only way they can get in—but being Nate’s “wife” is the last thing Rachel wants. She and Nate have a one-night history that’s just an embarrassment to her now. But they don’t have a choice. Wycliff has to be stopped.

Reviewer: Jen719
Review: Jul 23, 2010
Genre(s): Romantic Suspense
Nate Ferrentino and Rachel Jessop are private investigators for the secretive Department 6, a private security company, and they are sent on a special mission to infiltrate the religious group, The Church of the Covenant. Their objective is to locate a missing teenage girl and investigate the Church's charismatic, yet manipulative leader, Ethan Wycliff, and his possible involvement in her disappearance.

Reviewer: Melinda
Review: Sep 24, 2010
Genre(s): Romantic Suspense
Rachel Jessop had one night with the man of her dreams. A night she has not forgotten since then.but she must go on. Now her job is requiring she work with her boss. The same guy she gave her heart and soul to that night. Rachel knows it is just a job but pretending to be with Nate is wreaking havoc in her life. She wants him more than ever but this mission must be completed no matter what the cost. An evil m

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