Quick Looks

You Don’t Know Jack
by Erin McCarthy

Contemporary Romance

The Premise: Jamie Peters has a history of dating losers. She knows this; in fact, she does it on purpose. Jamie is not interested in meeting Mr. Right or in falling in love, since she’s never really gotten over the fact that her father left her mother (and her.) Jamie knows that True Love only leads to heartache, and she’s not interested in more heartache. So when her psychic tells her she’s going to meet her soulmate (during an accident, involving food, no less) she’s not too happy. But months go by and she figures she’s safe, until she runs into Jack Davidson – literally – on the subway. Unbeknownst to Jamie, Jack is actually Jonathon, her roommate Caro’s older brother and former Wall Street boy wonder. Having made his millions, Jack has retired to help run a foundation. Jamie’s social service organization has applied for funds, and the financial wizard can see that her agency has some funny money transactions on its books. So Jack is investigating, and trying not to tip off Jamie, which is hard, since he falls madly in love with her at first sight. Jamie feels the same, but since Jack is far more together than her usual rehabilitation projects, she decides it can never work, and fights the attraction. The truth comes out eventually, as it always does, and Jamie leads Jack on a merry chase.

What I liked: The screwball characters make this a true romantic comedy caper. When the entire plot turns on the prediction of a recently paroled six-foot-four-inch cross dressing psychic, it’s hard to go wrong. The goofy in love relationship between Jack and Jamie is lots of fun too, with great chemistry and the kind of silly misunderstandings that keep the plot perking along.

What I didn’t like: I would have liked to see more of some of the secondary characters, and a little more background on Jack’s previous girlfriend. She seems like a real witch; always a nice way to ratchet up the tension.

Overall: This is a fast, fun read with engaging characters. I really enjoyed it. This is the first book I’ve read by Erin McCarthy, but I will be definitely read more.