Book Review: The Devil and Ms. Moody by Suzanne Forster

The Devil and Ms. Moody by Suzanne Forster is a contemporary romance just released as an e-book by Open Road Integrated Media, but was originally published in 1990. This is a story that seems to be the simply good girl falling for a bad boy, but there is more involved in this tale. Edwina Moody is the quintessential good girl. She has given up her dreams, her future, her education in order to save her family from financial difficulties when her father runs off leaving nothing but debt and hurt behind. To earn the much needed money Edwina works to find heirs to let them know of the death and the inheritance that will affect them. In desperation for a larger amount of money Edwina gets a tough assignment, finding an heir that seems to have become a biker. Her search puts Edwin in danger, and directly in the path of the dangerously attractive Diablo. His honor drives Diablo to protect Edwina, but he cannot risk his place in the Warlord biker gang. The pair strikes a precarious partnership, and set off on a journey neither will forget.

The Devil and Ms. Moody has a lot going for it. I enjoyed the characters, aside from one minor thing which I will talk about later. In general Edwina is a intelligent and independent woman; although she is occasionally lost in fear of the unknown, which is realistic. Diablo is a well done bad boy with an inner honor that could charm any woman. He displays gentleness with Edwina that overrides any doubt that he is a good man at heart. The crew of additional characters is well fleshed out, and adds much to the story. It is the side characters that offer the suspense, sense of obligation, and sense of urgency throughout the novel. There is more to this novel that just the good girl meets bad boy that draws us in and hooks us. There is some mystery, some suspense, and some very good writing. Now, my one distraction while reading might just be due o the trends in romance when this story was originally published. Edwina's propensity to get over stimulated by Diablo, sometimes from the simplest thing, just seemed a little much to me. I know that there was a trend of such characters in romance, but it never felt real to me. Diablo's apparent knowledge of women getting over stimulated at the slightest touch did not give it credibility to me. It felt a little like the assumptions about women and hysterics or nervous tendencies that kept women under the thumbs of their husband or families throughout history. While that all sounds horrible now that I type it all out, it was no more than a mere annoyance as I read, because of the rest of the character building that was done to get them together.

Overall, it was still a good read, entertaining and full of sexual tension. The mystery and action aspects of The Devil and Ms. Moody are also well done, though I will admit to having figured out one of the twists before it was revealed. I recommend this book to fans of romance involving bikers, the good girl and bad boy dynamic, and repressed heroines finding themselves. I also recommend the book to fans of Suzanne Forster. It was the perfect read for me on a night after fighting with a dead hard drive and just needing to get lost in a story.