Interesting and captivating Harlequin Nocturne about a couple (FBI Agent Alaina Paulsen and writer Trent Baines) who have been reincarnated as lovers throughout the years, but a murderer (who has also been reincarnated and obsessed with Alaina) keeps getting in the way.

This was a very fast and easy-to-read paranormal mystery. I liked Trent, who was sexy and mysterious. He was also an empath. He experienced the emotions of others. He also felt the murderer’s feelings and the victims’ feelings, which was taking its toll on him, so he lived far away in his own fortress-like home. Then he and Alaina met in this life and knew it was time to be together, and for them to try to catch the murderer. (Who, throughout the years loved Alaina, but she loved Trent, so the angry villain, knowing he would never win her love or her heart, would cut Alaina’s heart out so he would have it.) I also liked Alaina, who was a good heroine.

An entertaining story by Lisa Childs. ( )

Thirty years ago, a serial killer was preying on young, red-haired women around Detroit. The case was never solved, and the detective in charge of the investigation disappeared along with his wife. FBI agent Alaina Paulsen has been assigned to the cold case, and the latest suspect is horror writer Trent Baines. Trent's Thief of Hearts series is an exact duplicate of the murders committed decades ago, even specific details that were never released to the public. But at 29 years old, he couldn't possibly be the killer.

Could Trent Baines have been the killer in a past life? Alaina has experienced a sense of deja vu many times over the years. She believes certain memories and the scar she was born with were carried over from her former life. Alaina's gut reaction is that she and Trent were somehow connected when they lived as other people. But how? Was she one of his victims? How else could he know the classified details of a 30-year old cold case?

It's refreshing to find an author who takes a different approach to paranormal romance. In DEJA VU, there are no vampires, demons or shifters. Instead, Lisa Childs uses reincarnation as the paranormal element. This was a clever story about people from a past life being brought together again to solve the mystery of the Thief of Hearts. It was fun trying to figure out who was now occupying who's body. Deja vu is an eerie experience, and I enjoyed it being used in this story. I especially liked how Trent's fiction copied the secret details of the old cold case.

As much as I loved the premise of DEJA VU, I was not able to connect with the characters liked I'd hoped. At the end, I still didn't feel like I *knew* them, and I was left with some unanswered questions. For example, in this life Trent was an empath who kept himself secluded from society because he couldn't handle the painful emotions of others. This is a significant ability to have, but not a lot of detail was given about how and why he was an empath in this life. This certainly works as a stand alone story, but I'm wondering if the author will go further with these characters in future books.

DEJA VU was an enjoyable and unique combination of paranormal romance and suspense. I'd recommed it to romance fans looking for something a little different. ( )

One night, she felt the erotic touch of a handsome lover ignite her body into throes of passion and ecstasy. On another night, she saw a gleaming knife and heard terrified screams for help. That was all Alaina Paulsen remembered from her past life and the reason she became a FBI agent--so that she could investigate serial murders that included her own.

Recluse Trent Baines was an accomplished writer and her prime suspect. An empathy barricaded in a fortress of a home, Trent included details in his books that mirrored the murders--details that no one else could possibly know except the killer. But one look at Trent, and Alaina recalled their passionate embraces. And before long, the murders began all over again.

This is a wonderful and stunning tale of past lives and Lisa Childs takes her readers along for a wild ride of passion and murder. Excellent! ( )