Tangling with the wrong woman results in bodily injury and makes returning to the rodeo impossible for Billy Blue. When he receives word that his beloved grandmother is dying, he rushes to her side at the hospital. She tells him of painting, and with her dying breath, extracts a promise that Billy will retrieve the painting from his biological father, a man he's never met. Billy's quest leads him first to New York, where he learns of his father's name change to Van Biers, and then to the island of St. Margaret. Along the way, he coincidentally finds himself traveling with curator Zoe Marton, who eventually proves to be seeking the same destination. She doesn't confess, however, her own interest in the Van Gogh sunflower's nor her family's history with the painting.
Secrets kept and secrets revealed keep the plot of HOODWINKED by R.J. Kaiser moving smartly along. A hired hit man, and hit woman, a voodoo priestess, and corruption that lead to the door of the president of the island all stem from a painting by Vincent Van Gogh. But since there are actually two paintings, one an alleged copy almost impossible to tell from the original, and people willing to kill to keep both, Billy and Zoe find themselves in dangerous waters, despite the island's lush background. A fun ride that combines romance, drama, and murder, HOODWINKED is a real page-turner that comes highly recommended.
HOODWINKED is an enjoyable romantic suspense novel that centers on the Van Gogh ?Sunflower? paintings. The story line is fun to read once Billy and Zoe meet, as they become embroiled in a who-done-it, fake and authentic paintings, and the mystery of love. R.J. Kaiser always turns up the suspense along with the love with this powerful drama.
Harriet Klausner