Eager to Please

Julie Parsons exploded onto the literary suspense scene with her debut novel, Mary, Mary, and continued to gain critical acclaim and readers with her follow-up, The Courtship Gift. Now, in this haunting tale of seduction and revenge, Parsons introduces another strong and resourceful heroine. Eager to Please again proves why Jeffery Deaver called Parsons "one of those rare authors who can successfully combine psychological insight, literary style, and heart-stopping suspense."

After spending twelve years of a life sentence in prison for the murder of her husband — a murder she swears she didn't commit — Rachel Beckett has been released on parole. In addition to the grief she feels from the loss of her husband, she has been denied the love of her only daughter, Amy, forced to stand by as another woman raised her child and enjoyed her affections. Amy, now seventeen, insists she never wants to see her real mother again. Rachel's attempts to reach out to her are rejected.

As Rachel starts to become accustomed to life outside of prison, she suffers another loss. Her dearest friend from jail, Judith, is brutally murdered. Detective Jack Donnelly, one of the policemen who arrived at Rachel's house the night of her husband's murder, is assigned this new case. Once again their lives are intertwined as Jack starts keeping tabs on Rachel, as she plots vengeance on Daniel Beckett — her past lover, her husband's brother, the man who should have gone to prison for his murder. Rachel cleverly insinuates herself into Daniel's life by making friends with his wife and children. Then she seduces him and sets the stage for the nail-biting climax.

Who will survive? Daniel, Rachel, or neither?