Juliana\'s Portrait

Duncan McGregor purchases a portrait of a beautiful woman at a sale. The portrait was inadvertently sold to him in a mistake that will change his life. The previous owner wanted the portrait destroyed but his wishes were not followed. Duncan is tormented by sexual fantasies and dreams of her. Juliana, the woman in the painting was murdered and will get what she wants through Duncan.

One of the two lead protagonists is dead, but Ms. Martin successfully develops both these characters fully. Duncan is a man on a mission. He wants to find out all he can about Juliana. Although she is a ghost, Juliana’s spirit is so forceful that she has totally invaded his entire life. She is a beautiful, enchanting and feisty ghost. It is safe to assume she was all these things when she was alive too. Juliana and Duncan experience some very heated and erotic moments. It is perfectly understandable why Duncan would prefer Juliana’s company, as these two just heat up the pages of this book. It is interesting to see Juliana still having all her human emotions as she feels love, jealousy as well as desire.

Ms. Martin has done a great job of setting up her premise. The reader can’t be helped but pulled into the story as Duncan starts to question his mental health as his dreams/fantasies seem to be so real. The question of what happened to Juliana is solved at the end but more importantly, Duncan’s relationship with her is nicely resolved. Juliana’s Portrait is a riveting tale that will transport the reader to another place -- suspend all your beliefs and just enjoy!!!

Reviewed by: Susan T