The Body Reader by Anne Frasier

The Body Reader is the latest novel by the popular romantic suspense author Anne Frasier, and so far a standalone.

I read everything I can put my hands on by this author, I’ve been one of her loyal fans from the time I’ve read Hush, back in early 2002 I think.

While I love romantic suspense books, I love mysteries and thrillers even more, and Anne Frasier is an author who puts the emphasis strongly on ‘suspense’ in her novels. There are no gratuitous steamy sex scenes taking center stage here. The suspense, the thrill and the chill are all too real. In fact I dare say she is an author who writes romantic thrillers like noone else.

The Body Reader starts with a bang. Jude Fontaine is a detective. And she’s been stashed away in a cage in a depressing basement by an abductor some 3 years ago, never seeing the light of day until now, when she got a chance to kill her captor and escape. During her time in captivity, she was subjected to some horrific torture – both physical and psychological, which left its mark deep in her soul. For all intents and purposes Jude is a now broken woman.

However that gruesome time away from the world also gave her a unique ability to read faces and body language like noone else. She knows instantly when someone lies and she knows that she can put her new abilities to good use once she’s back working full time to put monsters like her captor away.

Before she can return to the police and be a detective again, however, she knows she has to prove that she can do her job well without completely falling apart, especially considering that her new partner, Detective Uriah Ashby doesn’t trust her at all. Yet the next case of a young teen’s abduction could be her ticket back to the world of living. But what she finds during her investigation could put her life in serious danger again, because the kidnappers who target young girls do not want to end their shady business and will protect it at any cost, including her life.

The book is a roller-coaster from cover to cover. The story is totally engaging and Anne Frasier has her way with words that keeps you hooked non-stop. I knew when I picked this book from the Netgalley selection that I would be in good company, and I was not disappointed at the end.

I was on a constant adrenaline rush and my heart was racing pretty much all the time. Jude is a heck of a strong woman, slightly alienated from the world, but with good reason. She is cold, calculated and extremely efficient at her job. And she has only one goal in her life: to put bastards like her captor behind bars or worse. Because what she went through in those 3 years, no other woman should have to endure. Ever.

I do hope that Jude Fontaine will get her own series and will not be forgotten by featuring in only one book. Her body reading abilities intrigued me a lot and I’d love to see more stories where she puts her knew found instincts to good use.

Overall if you enjoy reading Anne Frasier books, grab this one, it’s maybe her best yet.