Close Enough to Hurt

September 1, 2023
This debut is part thriller, but largely romance and sex. Dylan Truman is a Bay Area vigilante, although she prefers to be called ""a professional revenge artist."" Her alias is Lady Justice, and she doesn't go anywhere without Dark Sister (a knife) strapped to her leg. She goes after predatory men, annihilating them socially and professionally, with the help of her best friend Daniel Haas, a digital PI and hacktivist. When Daniel asks her to help a woman he knows who has been victimized, it turns out the offender is none other than the man who raped and disfigured Dylan's sister years before. Knives out! But Daniel wants out of their professional partnership for a more stable career. Romance develops when Dylan realizes that her feelings for him extend well beyond friendship, she is in over her head, and she must choose between the man she loves and the men she loathes. Short and brisk chapters make for a fast-paced, action-packed read, interspersed with Dylan's internal reflections. Her character will appeal to Janet Evanovich fans.

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October 2, 2023
Olson’s thin if diverting debut centers on plucky 32-year-old Dylan Truman, who runs a revenge-for-hire business called Dark Horse Consulting from her houseboat in Sausalito, Calif. Dylan, who keeps her identity a secret by operating under the name Lady Justice, slaps men who have wronged her female clients with reputation-ruining intelligence leaks. Her part-time collaborator in this enterprise is handsome, wealthy “digital P.I.” Daniel Haas, for whom Dylan harbors undisclosed feelings. The pair’s latest client, Dr. Evelyn Chang, comes to Dylan and Daniel hoping to expose her former employer, Prometheus Pharmaceuticals CEO Brent Wilder, for falsifying a series of drug trial results. Hearing Brent’s name stops Dylan cold: 16 years earlier, Brent brutally raped Dylan’s older sister, leaving her with a massive facial scar. Motivated by more than her traditional financial incentive, Dylan waives her fee, lightens her hair, gets a sexy new wardrobe, and moves into a house next to Brent’s, determined to seduce and expose him—even if the going gets dangerous. As a Promising Young Woman–style thriller, this is light on shocks and heavy on coincidences, but as an escapist romance between Dylan and Daniel, it delivers the requisite heat. This one’s best suited to romance fans. Agent: Eva Scalzo, Speilburg Literary.