She loved him, then hated him, but did she kill him?
Forensic psychology student Kadee Carlisle never believed in love at first sight. Beautiful and bold, with a flair for neurotic intellectualizing and internal banter, she thought she was destined to spend her life alone. A cynic at heart, her belief: “Romantic love is a delusion.”
An attractive stranger, a chance encounter… One morning, in line at a coffee shop, she meets tall, handsome, elusive Noah Donovan. The moment changes everything. Passion turns to obsession… A relationship burgeons. Taken in by Noah’s allure, his masterful listening, his attentiveness, Kadee lets her guard down and is swept away by their romance. But some subtle indications suggest that Noah is hiding something. Torn between her love for him and her growing sense that he isn’t being honest, Kadee finds herself in the throes of obsession, unraveling rapidly. She thinks of killing him. But does she?
Nothing is quite as it seems… Five women, one murder, a web of secrets, lies and betrayals, a quest for answers, a search for the truth, the intertwining of love and hate, and the larger looming question: What leads someone to commit murder?
A piercing look at the dark side of love and the contradictory nature of human emotion. The multiple point of view narration offers a wavy ride, with a harrowing glimpse into the lies we tell ourselves, in this erotic thriller exploring passion gone terribly wrong.
"Circle of Betrayal is a thriller novel by author Jacqueline Simon Gunn, and the first in the Close Enough to Kill series. Our heroine is Kadee Carlisle, a student of forensic psychology, and through her scientific and often neurotic lens we see that romance is dead and buried. That is, until she meets Noah Donovan, who embodies everything a lover should be, inside and out. Their passionate affair becomes too intense, and Kadee cannot control her overwhelming obsessions, both for Noah's love and for the truth about him. This breeds darkness within her, and when Noah ends up dead, Kadee can't be sure that she's innocent of the crime. Psychology and sex mix as the narrative of the women in Noah's life unfolds.
Fans of erotic fiction are sure to be thrilled by Jacqueline Simon Gunn's passionate telling of a torrid romance, and those who also enjoy the crime genre will find it suitably dark. The allusions to clinical psychology are superbly astute, revealing powerful and often sad truths about human nature. The explanations for the motives of each of the main suspects pull no punches, delving deep into the psyche to drag out all the hurt and pain they experience. This is expressed in eloquent prose, with shifting perspectives that allow real insight into more than just Kadee and Noah's experience. Circle of Betrayal is highly recommended for those seeking a more intellectual erotic read, with well crafted characters and a plot that takes plenty of unexpected twists and turns."
- Readers' Favorite
