Three years ago Riley Kane left San Antonio, running away from the memories of her murdered fiancé, Trevor. Too much served of a reminder of their happy times together before he was gunned down by a criminal in a back alley, killed in the line of duty. But since his death, Riley has been niggled by a feeling that something wasn’t quite right. In order to find peace, Riley must find out whether Trevor was the man she thought he was, or whether he was a corrupt cop.

Riley turns to Noah Roake, a PI and Trevor’s former partner on the force, as well as his best friend. Noah cannot believe what Riley is suggesting – and on the flimsiest of evidence! But even his anger and indignation are not enough to make him forget his own feelings for Riley. He has been in love with her since he first met her, before realising that she was the woman his best friend had been dating for a month: the woman he had met at the conference that Noah was supposed to have attended. Will Noah be able to ignore and resist his feelings for Riley during the two months that she is home? Will he help her investigate Trevor’s murder – and will they find anything suspect?

Maureen Smith’s A Guilty Affair is a wonderful African-American romance, which I have thoroughly enjoyed and retain very fond memories of. This tale is the sequel to A Legal Affair, which sadly I have not read but now desire to. Noah is an excellent male lead: hunky, strong, successful and a victim of unrequited love. Riley is a sexy woman, also successful in her chosen field, yet haunted by memories and dreams of her deceased fiancé. It was not hard to see how Noah could love her – nor hard to see how she could easily fall in love with him, along with the reader. Their romance is sweet and unfolds gently, with the chemistry between them fairly sizzling. There are sexual encounters, which are delicious in all of their detailed glory: nothing out of the ordinary, pretty much your usual vanilla sex, except perhaps for location. I found the pool lesson particularly riveting, especially the part regarding the ‘anatomy’ of the pool cue. A Guilty Affair is a thoroughly satisfying read and Maureen Smith is a memorable, delightful author!

Reviewed by: Elizabeth