Get Lost in these RITA Nominee's for best Romantic Suspense

Today, all of us at Get Lost in a Story are thrilled to present the Romance Writers of America® RITA®Finalists in the Romantic Suspense category. 

And the nominees are…OMG! The thrills and suspense are killing us!

Hidden Away

Maya Banks

A man who shoots first and asks questions later…Most people would take an all-expenses-paid trip to the beach in a heartbeat. Garrett Kelly only accepts to keep tabs on Sarah Daniels, who’s in hiding after witnessing a murder by Marcus Lattimer, her half-brother—and a personal enemy of KGI. This gig may be beneath a disciplined soldier like Garrett, but if he gets a shot at Lattimer, it will all be worth it. 

…and the ultimate moving target. But Garrett hadn’t counted on falling for Sarah. He’d considered seduction as a tactical maneuver, but when he glimpses Sarah’s dark past, he feels an urgent desire to keep her safe—even after she disappears on him. Garrett doesn’t know exactly who, or what, Sarah’s running from, but whatever it is, she’s running for her life…

Maya Banks on Maya: I live in Texas with my husband and three children and our assortment of pets.When I’m not writing, I love to hunt and fish with my family. We all love the outdoors and go on family hunting trips every year. We also love to travel.

Hot Zone

Catherine Mann

Days full of danger… For Pararescueman Master Sergeant Hugh Franco, it’s all about saving other people’s lives. Then he moves on. But when he pulls beautiful Amelia Bailey and her adopted nephew from the rubble of a catastrophic earthquake, he finds himself entangled in their lives in ways he could never have imagined…

And desire-filled nights… Amelia’s trip to the Bahamas to help with an international adoption has been no vacation, but the hardest part is yet to come. As Amelia and Hugh are pulled unawares into a deadly smuggling scheme, simmering beneath their growing need to protect each other is a compelling attraction they’re both determined to deny…

USA Today bestseller Catherine Mann resides on a sunny Florida beach with her military flyboy husband and their four children. Although after nine moves in twenty years, she hasn’t given away her winter gear! Now a RITA Award winner, Catherine writes action-packed military suspense for Berkley and Sourcebooks, and steamy romances for Harlequin Desire.

Hush

Cherry Adair

A reckless adventure in a deadly paradise.  Thrill seekers Zakary and Gideon Stark travel the globe in search of extreme adventure, but a trip to Venezuela to jump off the world’s highest falls catapults them into a perilous game of life or death—where they don’t know the rules.

A one-night stand that will change his life forever.  Kidnapped with a woman Zak knows nothing about, the brothers are held prisoner deep in the jungle. A risky, deathdefying escape separates them and nearly claims Zak’s life . . . until his recovery reveals a baffling new sixth sense.

An unexpected diversion with lethal consequences.  Now, to find his missing brother, Zak and the mysterious Acadia Gray will have to out-smart, out-gun, and out-maneuver not just the brutal kidnappers but also a new player who joins the adrenaline game: a ruthless opponent who wants the Stark brothers dead—at any cost.

Always an adventurer in life as well as writing, New York Times best-selling author Cherry Adair moved halfway across the globe from Cape Town, South Africa to the United States in her early years to become a interior designer. Now a resident of the Pacific Northwest she shares the award- winning adventures of her fictional T-FLAC counter terrorism operatives with her readers. 

New York to Dallas

J. D. Robb

When an evil rapist manages to break out from prison, Eve knows that she has to capture him as soon as possible. Years ago Eve, when she was a rookie cop, was the reason Isaac McQueen was sent to prison. Now the man who once had 22 young, innocent girls in his capture wants revenge on the woman who ended his evil doing.

When McQueen appears in Dallas and abducts one of his former victims, Eve has to face her nightmares and go to Dallas herself. But she has no idea that there she will learn a shocking secret from her past. 

With a phenomenal career full of bestsellers, Nora Roberts was ready for a new writing challenge. As her agent put it, like Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and caffeine-free Pepsi, a pseudonym offered her the opportunity to reach a new and different group of readers. The first futuristic suspense J. D. Robb book, Naked in Death, was published in paperback in 1995, and readers were immediately drawn to Eve Dallas, a tough cop with a dark past, and her even more mysterious love interest, Roarke.

Secrets of Bella Terra

Christina Dodd

Dark, brooding, and sexy, Rafe Di Luca has returned to Bella Terra for one reason: to find out who attacked his beloved grandmother … and why. Owner of one of the world’s leading security firms, he has his prime suspect: the beautiful Brooke Petersson, manager of Bella Terra. Years ago, he and Brooke shared a powerful passion before he walked out of her life. She swore the affair was over forever, yet they find themselves drawn into an erotic web neither can escape. Now Rafe must decide if he should trust the desire Brooke ignites in him—or if seduction is her revenge…

It took ten years, two children and three completed manuscripts before Christina Dodd's first novel, CANDLE IN THE WINDOW, was published. In the twenty-two years since, her novels have been translated into 25 languages, won Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart and RITA Awards and been called the year’s best by Library Journal.

True Colors

Joyce Lamb

Alex Trudeau has everything she ever wanted. She takes pictures for the local paper, she’s rescued a family of mutts, and hot police detective John Logan has finally asked her out. But then a near-death experience unearths an intense psychic ability she never knew she had…

John Logan moved to Lake Avalon, Florida, to escape a lifetime of hardship. When his darkest secret comes to town with revenge in mind, Logan lands the woman of his dreams in a serial killer’s crosshairs…

With their lives on the line and Alex’s hallucinatory flashes dragging her deeper into the twisted mind of a maniac, Logan and Alex face the ultimate test.  The tension is electric, but to survive they’ll have to look more than skin-deep—they just might not like everything they find …

True Shot

Joyce Lamb

Samantha Trudeau has spent the past ten years using her intense psychic abilities to put bad guys behind bars. She's always believed she’s one of the good guys, until fellow spy and best friend Zoe reveals a shocking secret about who they've really been working for. When Zoe's gunned down, Sam goes on the run, because now her employer is coming after her. With no one to turn to for help, she flees to the only place she thinks she’ll be safe.

Journalist Mac Hunter has had a rough year. At the insistence of his good friends, sisters Charlie and Alex Trudeau, he’s going to crash at their family cabin for some much-needed rest and relaxation. But when he arrives he’s stunned to find the third Trudeau sister, Sam, wounded and unconscious on the cabin floor. Things go from bizarre to dangerous when men with guns show up.

Now, Sam and Mac are on the run together, trying to outsmart a demented government agent who has sadistic plans for Sam. As the heat builds between them, her past threatens their very survival. This unlikely duo -- a man who uses words to fight his battles and a woman who'd rather use a Glock -- are in for the fight of their lives. And in their growing partnership, perhaps they'll have a true shot at love.

Joyce Lamb is an award-winning author of romantic suspense novels, including True Vision, True Colors and the recently released True Shot (True Colors and True Shot are both 2012 RITA finalists). Also the curator of USA Today's Happy Ever After blog about all things romance novels. (happyeverafter.usatoday.com).

Where All the Dead Lie

J. T. Ellison

The headshot didn't kill Taylor Jackson. But it will haunt. In her showdown with the murderous Pretender, a bullet taken at close range severed the connection between Taylor’s thoughts and speech. Effectively mute, there’s no telling if her voice will ever come back. Trapped in silence, she is surrounded by ghosts— of the past, of friendships and trusts lost—of the specter of a lost faith in herself and her motives that night. When Memphis Highsmythe offers Taylor his home in the Scottish highlands to recuperate, her fiancé John Baldwin can’t refuse her excitement, no matter his distrust of the man. At first, Memphis’s drafty and singularly romantic castle seems the perfect place for healing. But shortly the house itself surrounds her like a menacing presence. As Taylor’s sense of isolation and vulnerability grows, so, too, does her grip on reality. PTSD. Pills. Ghosts. Grudges. Someone or something is coming after Taylor. But is she being haunted by the dead...or hunted by the living?

J.T. Ellison's novel The Cold Room won the Thriller award for Best Paperback Original of 2010 from the International Thriller Writers (ITW). Her novel Where All the Dead Lie has been nominated for a 2012 RITA® Award from Romance Writers of America (RWA). She lives in Nashville with her husband and the ghost of a poorly trained cat, and is hard at work on her next novel.

Congratulations to all the RITA Romantic Suspense nominees! Check back in for an update on the winners, including the two commenters who won their choice of a RITA nominated romantic suspense novel! 

Question for commenters: 

What's your favorite romantic suspense movie, novel, TV series?

 RITA ROMANCE  GIVEAWAYS!

COMMENTS left today will only be applied to the Romantic Suspense drawing. These winners may be announced separately by Jillian Stone.

JOIN THE RITA® CELEBRATION by leaving a comment for each category (with the exception of Romantic Suspense) between July 11th and 28th (multiple comments = multiple entries). GLIAS will be drawing for winners on Sunday, July 29th and posting along with all the RITA® winners announced Saturday evening in Anaheim, California. Two commenters will win "your choice" of a RITA nominated romantic suspense novel.

JOIN US tomorrow as RITA® week finished up with the best Young Adult category. Don’t forget to FOLLOW us on Twitter https://twitter.com/getlostinastory #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook. http://facebook.com/getlostinastory

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. If an INTERNATIONAL name is drawn, mailing the book or supplying an electronic version will be the decision of the donator. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.