Murder List

　　芝加哥警官布亞勵即將進入聯邦調查局，他必須先完成最後一項任務：保護連鎖旅館的女繼承人麥蕾涵。這位美麗的執行長捲入了致命的事件：有人把犯罪現場的照片寄給她，那是她參加成長課程時當遊戲寫下的「死亡名單」之一。當其他的人名也變成屍體、慾望與死亡交織而成的傷心探戈開始奏起時，驚嚇化為恐怖。然而，當危險逼近、這個連續殺人犯的圈套越收越緊時，蕾涵和亞勵必須找出是誰把她私底下的復仇幻想變成恐怖的現實。

　　There are few authors who can weave nail-biting thrills, edge-of-your-seat drama, and romantic suspense as masterfully as Julie Garwood. Now she ratchets up the tension with Murder List, in which evil is on the hunt– and proves to be methodically organized and chillingly successful.

　　When Chicago detective Alec Buchanan is offered a prime position with the FBI, it is the perfect opportunity to leave the Windy City and follow in his brothers’ footsteps to the top echelons of law enforcement. But first he must complete one last assignment (and one that he is not too happy about): acting as a glorified bodyguard to hotel heiress Regan Hamilton Madison. The gorgeous exec has become entangled in some potentially deadly business. Someone has e-mailed her a graphic crime-scene photo–and the victim is no stranger.

　　Regan suspects that the trouble started when she agreed to help a journalist friend expose a shady self-help guru who preys on lonely, vulnerable women. In fact, the smooth-as-an-oil-slick Dr. Lawrence Shields may be responsible for the death of one of his devotees, which was ruled a suicide. Hoping to find some damning evidence, Regan attends a Shields seminar.

　　At the gathering, the doctor persuades his guests to partake in an innocent little “cleansing” exercise. He asks them to make a list of the people who have hurt or deceived them over the years, posing the question: Would your world be a better place if these people ceased to exist? Treating the exercise as a game, Regan plays along. After ten minutes, Shields instructs the participants to bring their sheets of paper to the fireplace and throw them into the flames. But Regan misses this part of the program when she exits the room to take a call–and barely escapes a menacing individual in the parking lot.

　　The experience is all but forgotten–until the first person on Regan’s list turns up dead. Shock turns to horror when other bodies from the list start to surface, as a harrowing tango of desire and death is set into motion. Now brutal murders seem to stalk her every move–and a growing attraction to Alec may compromise her safety, while stirring up tender emotions she thought she could no longer feel. Yet as the danger intensifies and a serial killer circles ever closer, Regan must discover who has turned her private revenge fantasies into grisly reality.

　　★本書中譯版《意外的殺機》由果樹出版社出版。

作者簡介

茱麗．嘉伍德 (Julie Garwood)

　　會成為作家，似乎很名正言順。在愛爾蘭大家庭長大，她天生就會講故事。「愛爾蘭人天生喜歡把每個情況都弄得清清楚楚，」她解釋。「加上我又是七個小孩中的第六個。從小我便學到自我表達必須強而有力、充滿想像力，而且要快。」她的書已有超過三千五百萬本的印量，被翻譯成二十幾種語言。最暢銷之一的《玫瑰》（浪漫經典400）曾由CBS改拍成電視電影。不論背景是中世紀蘇格蘭、攝政期英格蘭、拓荒時期的蒙大拿，或現代的路易斯安那州，她的主題都很一致：家庭、忠誠、榮譽。眾多讀者宣稱是茱麗的幽默感使他們對她的書愛不釋手。作者這樣解釋：「我想要我的讀者又哭又笑，和墜入情網。基本上我想要他們暫時逃到另一個世界，而後覺得經歷了一場偉大的冒險。

　　With tens of millions of books in print and numerous New York Times bestsellers, Julie Garwood has clearly earned a position among America's favorite fiction writers. Her reputation as a masterful storyteller is solidly founded in her ability to deliver stories with appealing characters, powerful emotions, and surprising plot twists. Readers claim that it's the humor as well as the poignancy of her novels that keep them laughing, crying and thoroughly entertained. Ms. Garwood lives in Leawood, Kansas and is currently working on her next novel. When her schedule allows time away from family and career, she devotes her efforts to promoting literacy, and especially enjoys sharing her love of reading with student groups. For more information, visit Ms. Garwood's site at www.juliegarwood.com