Crusie's Irresistible Temptation

A town with a name like Temptation is bound to be a hotbed of trouble, and Jennifer Crusie knows the perfect way to expose it.

Welcome to Temptation is a deliciously titillating and outlandish mix of scandal, gossip, and small-town politics. Crusie throws in some really hot sex and a dead body or two just for fun, then pits a family of Temptation bluebloods against a family of outsiders whose heritage includes generations of con artists.

When Sophie Dempsey and her sister Amy head to the small town of Temptation, Ohio, to shoot a video with their friend and onetime porn star, the still gorgeous but aging Clea Whipple, Sophie has a premonition of disaster. It's a premonition that grows when Sophie and Amy literally collide with the town's most righteous and outspoken politician before they even get into town. But this car accident, which occurs just below a sign advertising Temptation's commitment to family values, is just the beginning of Sophie's troubles.

When a rumor circulates through Temptation that the women are shooting a porn video, it prompts visits from several townsfolk, including Temptation's very sexy mayor, Phineas Tucker. Sophie finds the mayor's charms irresistible and succumbs to a bit of indulgent sex she figures will be a one-night stand. But that one night leads to another...and another...and another...with some mornings and afternoons thrown in for good measure. And despite their best intentions, neither Sophie nor Phin seems able to give up their sessions of mind-blowing, "headbanging" sex.

With an election right around the corner and a Tucker family legacy that includes many generations of mayors, the pressure is on Phin to keep Temptation on an even keel and his own reputation unsullied. But his biggest opponent, Stephen Garvey, is determined to bring Phin down, by hook or crook. And Phin's mother, who will stop at nothing to see the family legacy carried on, inadvertently aids Garvey through her attempts to keep Sophie and Phin apart.

Meanwhile, a Hollywood porn king comes to town and woos Garvey's young daughter. Clea's sleazy ex-husband, a nosy, blackmailing onetime newscaster, shows up armed with some very interesting facts about several people in town. And Sophie's brother, whose talents as a scam artist are unparalleled, shows up to defend his sister's honor. As if things aren't crazy enough, when a dead body turns up on a riverside dock, the finger of suspicion points in several directions at once. And suddenly Sophie realizes her premonition is about to come true in a very deadly way.

What with the gossip, the politics, and the healthy sexual appetites, Temptation is one busy little town. Crusie populates it with some of the most intriguingly quirky characters ever to walk the pages of a book. The repartee between Sophie and Phin is quick-witted and bawdy, the sex deliciously kinky. Crusie keeps the action zipping, the sex sizzling, and the laughs plentiful. She has all the eccentricities of a small town down pat, right down to the stunningly brilliant punishment delivered to the town's killer.

Temptation, whether it be the town or the sin, is perverse, pernicious, and one heck of a lot of fun.

-Beth Amos

Genre: Romance