Stolen in the Storm
By Melissa S. James

      Karissa Carpenter, travel nurse, is working at the nursery in a hospital in Corpus Christie when a baby is missing. When the detectives find her watch in the missing baby's crib, Karissa becomes the prime suspect, especially when they find out that babies had disappeared in three other places where she was working.

     Karissa has many skeletons in her closet, including a husband whose suicide attempt turned him into a vegetable, a baby of her own who died under suspicious circumstances, and strange clues that keep turning up. All of the catastrophes involving babies took place during storms, including her own baby's death.

     Dr. Braden Marcison comes to Karissa's rescue, first convincing her that he believes in her innocence, and then convincing her that she is still capable of loving and feeling. He eventually recruits his parents, who are top-notch lawyers, to help her in her pursuit of the truth.

     The problem is that Karissa is not sure that she is innocent. Could she have had some form of amnesia and have actually taken the babies? If so, what did she do with them?

    This book is an on-the-edge-of-your-seat read from page one. While Melissa James is a new writer, she could give Mary Higgins Clark a real run for her money. She keeps you guessing, through numerous twists and turns and a variety of secondary characters that are as endearing as the primary ones. There are more suspects than there are chapters in the book.

    This is one of the most engaging mysteries I have read in a long time, and the end has a definite twist. You will fall in love with Karissa and Braden, and you will be as supportive of her as Braden was. Highly recommended.