DOUBLE DEALING appears to mark a shift for Ms. Krentz. DD appears to be the first of her mainstream contemporary romances done in the style that we have all come to enjoy. With this book one can readily appreciate the leap JAK as made from her series romances written for MacFadden, Candlelight, Harlequin and Silhouette under her various pen names. With this novel it becomes apparent that JAK is developing deeper levels within the framework of both the plot and the interactions of her characters, particularly for the hero and heroine and major secondary characters. Ms. Krentz stays true to her focus as an author of the romance genre, i.e. that the fabric of a relationship between the hero and heroine always be the central point of her writing.

The setting of DD is a dual location in Santa Barbara, CA and a small island in the Puget Sound accessible only by ferry service. The ferry service angle could have added to the story's atmosphere but didn't. Not to worry as JAK utilized this setting to better effect in the WAITING GAME (1985) where the ferry schedules were a crucial factor within that plot.

With DD the romantic relationship develops quickly after the hero has met the heroine sans her clothing in a life-styles of the rich and famous health spa. By the third chapter Samantha Maitland and Gabriel Sinclair (don't you just love that name!) have progressed to the bedroom and as hoped for Gabriel definitely has all the right stuff! But let's not get ahead of ourselves, a little background - if you please. Samantha Maitland is a typical JAK feisty heroine who having lost at love, is now seeking revenge through her expertise within the corporate world of high stakes real estate development. Due to her past emotional trauma, Samantha has had to establish her own sole proprietorship by successfully selling specialized information via her computer generated retrieval services. Again JAK is able to impart information within her story line of the challenges facing a sole proprietor. Samantha is impulsive but totally committed to her cause. She has selected Gabriel Sinclair as her venture capitalist after an extensive computer search. Sam bases her final decision on choosing Gabriel because he is named after an angel and this must surely be a good sign (its that good old gut reaction every time despite what the computer reveals). With Gabriel, Sam will need all her persistence to convince him to finance her scheme.

As for Gabriel, I can sum him up as a male who made my toes curl and heart melt. I ask you, who do you know that can cook gourmet meals (and not of the veggie variety) without any complaints while still hanging on to his virility? BE STILL MY HEART! Gabriel is an atypical alpha male who although described as substantial, head turning, lust evoking is none-the-less endearingly sensitive with his emotionally based SH stammer and self doubts about how to seduce Samantha. This is a departure from previous JAK's predictable alpha-to-the-death kind of guys.

On to the plot, which is built around Samantha's flash backs of her unconventional upbringing by a thoroughly feminist unwed mother and a wealthy capitalist father with his stuffy legitimate family. Eric, the younger half brother provides some much needed familial dependence and support for our do-it-my-way heroine. When all of this is combined with an unethical ex-boss/fiance' the motivation is ripe for Samantha's dire revenge scheme to back fire. But JAK exhibits her heroine's inherent integrity when Sam willingly abandons her revenge plans in order to save Gabriel's reputation. Gabriel comes through for Sam big time with a reverse rescue from her ex-boss. As always our grownup fairy tale has its happy ending without which we would be most disappointed.

All in all DD is a very enjoyable read for the true JAK fan. I for one will be planning a reread in the not too distance future so that I can again fantasize about Gabriel that virile stud-muffin who would willingly cook for me. He was certainly a delightful surprise. Although this book is currently out-of-print it was not difficult to obtain, however it was a little pricey but worth it to any JAK collector.