Secrets in Texas (Carrie Weaver)**

I wouldn’t usually review a Mills and Boon. After all, they only seem to be available in the shops for a month or so, banished from the shelves once the new shipment comes in. But why not review it? They’re common enough in charity shops after all and the chance of finding this one will be marginally greater if I re-donate it.

Secrets in Texas comes from the Super Romance series. I haven’t read all that many of them, but as far as I can make out they form a series of books that place the hero and heroine in great danger, often with some sort of crime-based plot that to some extent takes precedence over the romance.

In this book, law enforcement officer Angel Harrison has to infiltrate a group of Mormons by marrying Matthew Stone, the son of the head Mormon who is returning to the fold out of concern for the family he left behind years ago, and pretending he wants to return to the Mormon ways. Angel comes with him as his wife – they’re legally married, but certainly to begin with neither of them are even thinking of consummation. Or that’s when they tell themselves anyway.

But Matt finds himself falling for Angel’s strength and free spirit, enjoying watching such a powerful woman and trained killer playing the role of the devoted, passive wife. And Angel discovers that, despite the abusive marriage that led her to train as a law enforcement officer in the first place, maybe it will be possible for her to love again.

The characters are rather nicely done. Angel is very funny, and she and Matt have a great rapport. Matt is often called Matthew (one of the common literary names for unfaithful wankers) in this book, but despite his Uncle Jonathon’s demands that he take a second wife, he is faithful to Angel. Jonathon himself is a real monster, but there is something vaguely sexy about him that probably attracted his many wives. His ‘favourite’ wife, Eleanor, is a fascinating character, such as is not often found in Mills & Boon. Carrie Weaver reveals her character gradually and cleverly.

But other parts of the book really bother me. I know a lot of people object to Mormons, and most readers will probably sympathise with Angel’s disgust – and certainly there is something very wrong in the particular sect she visits. But it is still a religion and a way of life which I’m sure makes some people very happy. If Weaver had written about an evil Catholic community, for example, I’m sure there would have been some very strong objections; if she had written about an evil Muslim community, she really would have been in trouble. So I don’t think she should be passing comments on Mormons like this. Just because the concepts are completely alien to our society, it doesn’t mean they are wrong in other people’s. It happens all the time in the Bible.

The plot is also a bit questionable. Weaver has some good ideas, and she certainly has a flair for creating tense drama, but I didn’t really understand what Jonathon was up to. He seemed to be committing so many crimes at once, it just became confusing. At best, he is completely and dangerously amoral, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be committing every possible crime on offer to him.

I think really, I’d like to give it three stars. There were parts of the book I really enjoyed, such as when Angel and Matt decided to rattle the headboard in order to fool the bitch sleeping next door into thinking they were having passionate, enthusiastic sex. It’s almost a disappointment when they start doing it for real. And any scene with Eleanor in is great. But my reservations about the book are so strong, I’ll give it two.