Contemporary
Southern Lights
By Dottie
Feb 22, 2010 - 1:55:01 PM

Alexa Hamilton, at thirty-nine, is an assistant D.A.  She went to work at the District Attorney’s office straight out of law school and has been working there for seven years.  Her seventeen-year-old daughter Savannah is a senior in a New York private school and she has been sending applications to various colleges.  It has just been the two of them since Savannah was six and her parents divorced.  Bitter, Alexa and her ex-husband communicate by email.  Savannah has not been back to Charleston where her father lives since she and her mother left after the divorce.  Alexa had been deeply in love with her husband, so she was shocked at his actions.  After seven years of marriage, Tom’s ex-wife Luisa came back when her husband died.  She had deserted Tom and their two sons. Alexa had helped raise the two boys and loved them dearly.  Tom’s mother was Luisa’s biggest ally.  After Tom snuck around seeing Luisa and ended up getting her pregnant, he chose Luisa over Alexa, saying he wanted his child to be legitimate.

Luke Quentin, an ex-con, traveled from state to state and got work wherever he could.  He had been in prison, where he was known as Q, two times; for credit card fraud and robbery.  At thirty-four, he had spent ten years total in jail.  He has been back on the streets for two years.  Before getting out, he told a fellow inmate how he loved snuff films and that he planned to try it when he got out.

Charlie McCoy, a cop, had special permission from an interstate task force to track Luke.  It was a personal vendetta with him, since his twin sister was one of the victims.  Luke was being charged with rape and killing a dozen women or more in seven states.  Alexa’s job is to prosecute him for the four rapes and murders in New York.  They found mud and blood from Luke’s boots on his hotel carpet.  Running a DNA on that and the two hairs they also found in the carpet, they found it matched two of the victims who were found in the East River.  The number of women being linked to Luke as their murderer was steadily growing. 

Then Savannah started receiving notes, which were left under their door and Alexa was sure that Luke was sending them, though she didn’t know how.  When they received a note, indicating that Savannah was being watched, a cop was assigned to her.  Alexa was determined to put Luke away for life.

The defense attorney Judy thought someone with whom he had been in prison was framing him.  However, Alexa felt that Luke had blinded Judy to the truth, causing her to fall in love with him.  Judy refused to plead him guilty.

The day before Savannah was due back from a weeklong ski trip with her father, Alexa found a note slipped under her door.  She did not know how someone was getting into the building without the doorman’s knowledge and leaving the notes.  The note threatened Savannah’s life, so Alexa arranged for Tom to take her home with him to Charleston, though they both knew Luisa would have a fit.  Will she be safe in Charleston?  Did the notes come from Luke?  Will Alexa be able to convict him?

SOUTHERN LIGHTS is an intriguing, emotion-packed contemporary romance.  In Charleston, Savannah finds a much different life than she had in New York and she gets to meet her half siblings. Her time spent in Charleston has a major impact on her life. This gripping tale will grab you from the very first page and it won’t let go until the very end.  Author Danielle Steel keeps the tension high as the trial is nearing and throughout the trial.  I loved this story.  Brimming with mystery, intrigue, adventure, a riveting plot, well-drawn characters and a range of emotion, this story is one that you will remember long after the last page is read and the book is closed. The secondary characters add appeal to the story.  I highly recommend SOUTHERN LIGHTS to those who are looking for an unforgettable and well-written story.