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The Bahamas is supposed to be a place to get away from the real world. To most people, it’s a paradise. But to Alicia Kincade, it’s nothing but one hot, frustrating day after another—and the last place her two-year-old son, Shawn, had been before he and his father disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle. Alicia doesn’t put much stock in the far-fetched tales of the Triangle; she believes that her son and ex-husband probably crashed somewhere in the ocean. And if her son is still alive, she needs to find him fast, even if she has to put up with an uncouth pilot to help her search the never-ending sea of blue.
Jake Dawson looks more like a mercenary than a pilot, and he plays by his own rules—which is probably why Alicia doesn’t trust him or his devil-may-care attitude. Fine by him, because he sure as hell wouldn’t fit into Alicia’s fancy, politically-correct world, and
he doesn’t care to try. He’ll help her find her ex-husband’s plane, and that will be that. And if he can keep his hands off her, that will be good, too.
But things are never that simple. Several attempts on their lives make Jake wonder if Alicia is telling him everything about her ex-husband. Is this just a basic rescue mission—or is there more to it than Jake bargained for?
At first, as I read Deadly Paradise, I found it hard to like Alicia. She’s rude and snobbish—not only to Jake, but to everyone around her, as if she thinks she’s better than the people working and living in the Bahamas. She excuses it as being assertive to get what she needs, but I’ve never understood why women think they have to act that way in order to get what they want. My mom always taught me that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Guess what, ladies—it works. However, as the story
progresses, Alicia begins to see the error of her ways, and she grows as a person, making her a tad bit more pleasant.
Jake Dawson isn’t a particularly memorable hero, either—just a typical run-of-the-mill guy who flies below the radar, which probably makes him more realistic as a man. Since Alicia treats him like baggage—annoying, but a necessary part of her mission—I found it hard to understand why he was falling in love with her. Sure, she’s a strong, independent woman, which may seem attractive to a guy—but does he really want to be around a woman who keeps reminding him what an idiot he is?
Though the characters weren’t exactly to my liking, I still found Deadly Paradise to be an entertaining read. The mystery of Shawn and his father’s disappearance kept me hooked, and I wondered if either of them would be found alive. Since the plot turned out to be an attention-grabber, I’ll definitely look into reading more of Ms. Mix in the future, keeping my fingers crossed that her characters are more enjoyable the next time around.
