As a native South Floridian who has since moved to a far colder climate, Christina Elliott’s In the Heat of the Tropics, took me back to the Florida of my teen years. One particular strength of the author’s writing is her ability to describe sensory experiences. The sultry city of Miami with her aromas and rhythms came alive. Ms. Elliott returned me to Calle Ocho, the cuisine, including the delicious empanadas, and then, later (spoiler) into the fecund darkness of the everglades. Elliott employs unexpected humor deftly. Ingrid, though beautiful, capable, and strong willed has a little bit of a younger Bridget Jones to her. I chuckled several times over lines like “Her move to the downtown Miami newsroom had suddenly imbued her with sex appeal.” Her counterpart, Rick, is impetuous, passionate and “Miami Vice” mysterious and compelling. The temperature and electricity between the protagonists reflect the sultry summer heat, the rising tension in the story, as well as the impending hurricane.
From the gripping opening sentence, “Miami in the summer was like swimming in blood,” to the thrilling, final pages, I could not put the novel down. It’s a sexy, hot, thriller with some clever, unexpected twists.
Available at Amazon.
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