Books

What Reviewers Are Saying About A Guilty Affair

Maureen Smith does an excellent job of creating in-depth, well-developed characters in A Guilty Affair (4.5). One is deceased as the story begins, but his personality, conflicts and issues are integral to the book. Journalist Riley Kane is investigating the mysterious death of her police officer fiancé Trevor. She asks for help from private investigator Noah Roarke, who was Trevor’s best friend and who secretly loves Riley. Not only is he dead set against her plan, he’s battling his feelings toward Riley. The overwhelming guilt they feel for living their destiny and the surprising results surrounding Trevor’s life are revealed in splendid detail and precision.
—Debbie R. Sims, Romantic Times BOOKreviews, 4½ stars

Riley Kane suspects the death of her fiancé Trevor was not what it seemed. Trevor, a police officer, was gunned down in the line of duty. Riley, however, cannot come to terms with Trevor’s death and feels there is more than meets the eye to what went down that day. Riley confronts Trevor’s best friend Noah about what she thinks, and while reluctant to admit it, he begins to look into the case his friend was involved in during his death.

Noah Roarke has been in love with Riley since Trevor first started dating her, but suppressed his feelings for his best friend’s fiancée. When Riley comes looking for his help, it is all he can do to keep his hands to himself, but Trevor has been his best friend since childhood, and even after his death, he feels guilty for wanting Riley.

Maureen Smith’s second Kimani Romance is a treat! Filled with tension, drama, and enough lust to melt the pages, it is a fast read that will delight readers. Noah brings enough sex appeal to the table for any woman, and Riley fends him off and made this reader wish she had a gorgeous policeman knocking on her door! The interplay between these two make for a great tale but the secondary characters topped the bar. They stay in the background yet lend enough plot to A GUILTY AFFAIR to make readers want more.

This is a novel filled with emotional tension. While Riley and Noah both believe they knew the man Trevor was, finding his true path in life is a dramatic event that left this reader breathless. Trevor is deceased as the story begins, but he plays such an integral part, he comes alive. Learning about his last days is traumatic for Riley and Noah, and written with such detailed emotion that readers feel a connection to the main characters and their lives. This romance is one of the best written for Harlequin’s Kimani line, and should be cherished for a long time to come.
—5 Hearts, Love Romances and More

San Antonio, Texas - Present Day
Riley Kane has taken a two-month leave of absence from her job at the Washington Post. She has come home to San Antonio, Texas, to find out the truth about her fiancé Trevor, a cop killed in the line of duty. Riley has been having dreams, and something keeps nagging at her -- call it intuition -- that the incidents surrounding Trevor’s death are complicated. Needing help in investigating the circumstances surrounding Trevor’s death, upon her return home, Riley heads straight to Noah Roarke’s home. He was Trevor’s best friend and, before he opened a private investigation agency with his siblings, former partner. Will he help her find out the truth about Trevor?

Noah never believed in love at first sight until he met Riley five years ago. When he found out that she was the woman his best friend Trevor had been raving about, he immediately distanced himself from Riley, and continued to do so even after Trevor was killed. Now Riley is back and asking him to find information that might suggest that Trevor was a corrupt cop. Noah does not believe it, but Riley won’t take no for an answer. Noah, already feeling like he betrayed Trevor by falling in love and lusting after Riley, feels that this will be the ultimate betrayal. When Riley inserts herself more into his life, will Noah finally give in to the only woman he has ever loved?

A GUILTY AFFAIR is one of those books that does everything right. The characters are likeable, the story moves at a brisk pace, and the chemistry between the hero and heroine is red hot. The story is old-fashioned in the best sense; A GUILTY AFFAIR has good, solid writing that makes a familiar premise still interesting.

If you are looking for a thoroughly enjoyable book with a hero who loves passionately, wildly, and intensely, pick up a copy of A GUILTY AFFAIR by Maureen Smith for your summer pleasure. You won’t regret it.
—Nickole Yarbrough, Romance Reviews Today

Three years ago Riley Kane left San Antonio, running away from the memories of her murdered fiancé, Trevor. Too much served of a reminder of their happy times together before he was gunned down by a criminal in a back alley, killed in the line of duty. But since his death, Riley has been niggled by a feeling that something wasn’t quite right. In order to find peace, Riley must find out whether Trevor was the man she thought he was, or whether he was a corrupt cop.

Riley turns to Noah Roarke, a PI and Trevor’s former partner on the force, as well as his best friend. Noah cannot believe what Riley is suggesting – and on the flimsiest of evidence! But even his anger and indignation are not enough to make him forget his own feelings for Riley. He has been in love with her since he first met her, before realising that she was the woman his best friend had been dating for a month: the woman he had met at the conference that Noah was supposed to have attended. Will Noah be able to ignore and resist his feelings for Riley during the two months that she is home? Will he help her investigate Trevor’s murder – and will they find anything suspect?

Maureen Smith’s A Guilty Affair is a wonderful African-American romance, which I have thoroughly enjoyed and retain very fond memories of. This tale is the sequel to A Legal Affair, which sadly I have not read but now desire to. Noah is an excellent male lead: hunky, strong, successful and a victim of unrequited love. Riley is a sexy woman, also successful in her chosen field, yet haunted by memories and dreams of her deceased fiancé. It was not hard to see how Noah could love her – nor hard to see how she could easily fall in love with him, along with the reader. Their romance is sweet and unfolds gently, with the chemistry between them fairly sizzling. There are sexual encounters, which are delicious in all of their detailed glory: nothing out of the ordinary, pretty much your usual vanilla sex, except perhaps for location. I found the pool lesson particularly riveting, especially the part regarding the ‘anatomy’ of the pool cue. A Guilty Affair is a thoroughly satisfying read and Maureen Smith is a memorable, delightful author!
—Elizabeth, Fallen Angel Reviews

Riley Kane had left San Antonio Texas 3 years ago in an attempt to get over her grief at the death of her fiancé Trevor Simmons just months before their wedding. Now she was back and asking a lot of questions, questions that only Trevor’s best friend Noah Roarke could answer. Having known Noah only through Trevor, she was not sure she could confide in him concerning her suspicions and after the way he had acted towards her since Trevor’s death, she had reason to believe that Noah did not like her. Seeking him out the minute she returned, she was not surprised at the chilly reception she had received but undaunted she told him of her fears anyway. Predictably he turned her down.

Noah Roarke owned his own private investigation business after working for The San Antonio Police Department for four years alongside his best friend Trevor Simmons. When he had initially met Trevor’s girlfriend, Riley Kane, he had fallen instantly in love with the chocolate beauty and had had to hide his feelings for her ever since. He had been crippled with grief over the loss of his best friend and in fact had distanced himself over his guilt at still loving Riley, so it had been a relief when she had fled to Washington D.C. Now she was back spouting suspicions about the man they had both loved and his feelings were still strong as ever. Could he ever exorcise the guilt he felt every time he was in her presence?

While visiting the Roarke Investigations office, Janie, Noah’s sister-in-law offered Riley a job helping with paperwork and other office duties. Accepting the position in hopes of wearing down Noah’s objections to investigating Trevor’s past, Riley had taken all of Noah’s assignments with grace and style, never complaining or grousing about the unusual amount of busy work he gave her. Trying to stay out of each others company became increasingly hard until, Noah decided to seduce Riley in hopes of scaring her back to D. C. What actually happened confused them both so much they could not contain their surprise. Will they ever be able to admit their growing love for one another or would they continue to beat themselves up over their so called guilty affair?

Ms. Maureen Smith has written a sweet love story with a criminal twist that will leave you guessing till the end. Riley is determined to find out what her dead fiancé was up to before his death while Noah tries to deny his feelings. Both are hard-headed individuals who are blind to the others feelings until the explosive night where all is revealed in a mind-blowing session of unbridled passion. Loved this book.
—Kathy, Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance