The Perfect Lover by Stephanie Laurens

"The Perfect Lover" - which was perfect. :) I really like the way Laurens combines romance & mystery without overdoing one and neglecting the other - so you don't feel cheated on either. I love mysteries & I love romance. In this book it's a classic drawing room murder - the jerk(in this case it's a woman) who is awful to everyone is murdered at a house party on a great estate. Everybody has a motive. The suspects are great, and the main characters are interesting. I also like the detective who is called down to investigate - he's not adversarial toward any character, he listens, and he's smart. The hero & heroine have known each other all their lives and sparks develop at this little gathering. I like this relationship because they have great chemistry, and in spite of their clash of wills at times, they are not mean toward each other and don't try to push each other away with cruel or cold words. After reading this story I found myself wishing Henry could get a happy ending perhaps in another book.