Guess who by Nesly Clerge and Joyce L. Shafer is a sultry romance beautifully wrapped up in a crime thriller. A pleasant read for these cozy winter nights.
At the center of it all is Tessa, a woman with a tumultuous past full of contradictions. She becomes entangled in a chain of bank robberies. After her intuition is unexpectedly triggered by reading a newspaper article about the crimes, she decides to fully immerse herself in the case to help unravel its mysteries. But the task she has set herself is not easy. Her first big hurdle turns out to be the lead detective working the case, Max Walker. He seems impervious to his intentions and explanations, and hangs up on Tessa’s numerous calls. So what’s a girl to do? Catch the next flight to New York, of course, and make the detective listen by any means necessary.
While the pretense of the plot would label the novel a thriller, the bank robberies and police setting serve more as a backdrop for the romance. In hectic New York City, and amid the even greater turmoil of her personal life, Tessa finds herself the object of desire for many potential suitors. Though she tries to keep her focus on the work she went to do there, her temptations prove overwhelming; especially when it comes to Detective Walker, who is playing an intense and frustrating game of tug of war. But to what end?
Guess who is a major departure in the literary genre for Nesly Clerge, who had previously focused on science fiction to critical acclaim, while Joyce L. Shafer has switched from editing to writing. The end result of their collaboration is undoubtedly an intriguing piece of work. They take the reader on a suspenseful ride through the streets of New York. What makes reading particularly exciting is that the chapters alternate narrative perspective. Thus, the reader moves back and forth between different points of view in the hope of finding out what is what. It plays a trick on the mind.
In general, there is some spicy language and images within the pages of the book that do not make it an appropriate read for all ages. Also, if you are familiar with the work of Nesly Clerge, Guess who It’s not something one can necessarily expect, but it reveals a new dimension to the author.