ONE SMALL TOUCH by Denise McGee is a wonderfully unique combination of paranormal romance and crime drama. For a debut novel, Ms. McGee demonstrates her own special gift of storytelling. I give ONE SMALL TOUCH 4 stars and highly recommend it to any lovers of the paranormal or crime drama genres.
In ONE SMALL TOUCH, noteworthy architect Nathan Edwards and his mistress du jour are murdered, and the murderer is still out for blood. Nathan's wife, famous romance writer Laurel Wentworth, is in danger, and Lieutenant Aaron March is also drawn into the fray while investigating the murder and the subsequent related crimes. Each of the main characters has some kind of extraordinary talent: Aaron can see the history of certain objects, and Laurel can taste others' emotions. Using their talents, and with a little help from the dead, the characters strive to determine why Nathan was killed and why someone is still after Laurel.
I enjoyed ONE SMALL TOUCH immensely, partly because of the novel's structure. Each chapter tells the story from the perspective of either Aaron or Laurel, and sometimes the chapters overlap giving the reader both perspectives of one scene. This writing method produces the character development effortlessly, leaving few questions regarding characters' motives or thoughts.
The supernatural element is also uniquely illustrated, adding to the mystery surrounding the attacks on Laurel and those around her. The supernatural isn't overly described; it is elegant in its subtlety. The flip side to that coin is that the characters' talents lack context. The reader has no idea whether the characters live in a world in which *every* person has a special talent, whether the characters' individual gifts somehow brought them together, or how it is that they can accept each others' gifts so easily. I have so many questions like this that I had to verify more than once that this book was Ms. McGee's first. For a moment I thought perhaps this was the second book in a series. Nope, this is the first one. If you can contain your curiosity, the book is easy to enjoy.
On the technical side of things, the novel is fairly well-edited, as there are only a few distracting typos or grammatical issues. The novel also has a nice pace, quick, but not hasty.
Overall, I really liked this book, and I look forward to reading more of Denise McGee's work when it is published.
*Review originally written for The Romance Reviews at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=9639
