I'd been putting this one off because, in general, I'm not a fan of Linda Howard's writing style. Add to it that it's a 10-year-old reissue of a 16-year-old category romance, and I'd have been content to let it just stay in the TBR pile forever.

But it pushed my guilty pleasures buttons, and I'm glad I read it.

Jay is a divorced woman (yes, it was written in 1988, and this book follows the convention of giving the heroine's masculine names. I think the idea was to show how manly... er... strong and independent they are. I've always found it irritating.), on the verge of losing her job to nepotism, when government agents approach her regarding her ex-husband Steve.

Seems Steve and one of their agents were in an explosion. One died, and the other's in a coma. Both bodies are too damaged for the agents to identify them, so they ask Jay to help. The injured and unconsious man responds to Jay's presence, and she gives them a tentative "well, it might be Steve" and they're very eager to accept that as a positive identification.

The agents are also eager to keep Jay by his side, and the doctor agrees, as her presence positively affects his vital signs (lowers his blood pressure, I'm guessing). They give her an offer she can't refuse: they'll provide an apartment for her and pay her a salary so she can quit her job and devote her time to "Steve."

When he wakes up, he has amnesia.

I think that's as far as I'll go--there are more developments, but we're getting into spoiler territory here, and even though the developments are pretty obvious, I don't want to ruin them.

White Lies is in some ways a quintessential romance, especially of its time period. The situations are unbelievable even to the most credulous, and border on the ridiculous, and the romance itself is rather naive, fairy-tale-ish. For example, Jay's willing to ditch her entire life based on the fact that she's been told that the injured man's eyes are brown underneath the bandages, and she's unwilling to peek under the sheets even once, because that would be violating his privacy (???).

But here's why I enjoyed reading it: I'm a sucker for secret agent intrigue, and for amnesia stories. I think it's the mystery about it that grabs me. I got sucked in wondering why the agents were so eager to have her identify the man as Steve, and of course the falling in love with someone you can't see is hugely romantic, like the story Gwen tells about herself and Newton in House Sitter.

Even more fun is when... okay, it's a spoiler, but if you didn't see this coming, I worry about you... both of them realize that he's not Steve, but each decides to keep the truth a secret to protect the other.

I had so much fun, I didn't even notice the problem I've had with Howard's writing style--maybe it wasn't there, or isn't present in all her books, or it developed later. Anyway, I'm glad I read this, but it's not going to convince me to look for more.
( )

Jay Granger is handed a pink slip from her her high-flying job and arrives home in a foul mood. A knock on the door reveals two FBI agents with news that her ex-husband has been involved in an accident and they need her to identify the only survivor as being him. The man they're talking about has been seriously injured in an explosion and is covered with casts and bandages and is in a coma, so there's little to see in order to make a visual identification. Jan believes he is her ex-husband, Steve. She spends weeks at his bedside gradually bringing him out of his coma and learning to communicate with him by tapping on his arm.

She falls in love with Steve again and he reciprocates. Once he starts to talk they realise he has amnesia so she has to describe their life - how they met - why they divorced. Steve doesn't recognise anything familiar in what she tells him - but knows he loves her. Trouble is - whoever tried to kill him is still out there - and if he finds out about Jay she could be in danger too.

I picked this book up on Saturday and sat all afternoon and read it - I really enjoyed it. ( )