Jade Devereaux is the manager of an exclusive club called Callahan's in California. The clientele were once the cream of the crop, rich, connected, and debonair men who wanted the company of a beautiful woman without the attachments. Jade, and her harem of sultry employees fit the bill, but there was nothing else on the table. Jade is neither a pimp, a madam, or a prostitute—much to the chagrin of her clientele. When Callahan's is purchased by a less discriminating proprietor, the membership takes a turn for the worse, and Jade's comfort zone is challenged. See, Jade is a woman who has everything that men want—brains, beauty, and sex appeal—but because of something in her past, she does not allow anyone to get close to her, let alone to let a man touch her. When one of the nouveau riche new members makes one pass too many, Jade threatens to cut his balls off and shove them down his throats. And accordingly, she's the first suspect when he's murdered in that exact manner.

Jase Vaughn is a hardened cop who is smart enough to know a brothel when he sees it. When he walks into Callahan's to investigate a murder, he can just tell that the manager is giving more than polite conversation to her customers, and the very idea burns him up. He wants a sexy, alluring woman like Jade, who exudes class and culture, to be more than just a whore. But she's the number one suspect in his investigation and he tries not to let his personal attraction get in the way of doing his job. The more time he spends at Callahan's—and in the company of the lovely Miss Devereaux—the more he begins to suspect that she's not what she seems. And when one member confronts her in the club, calling her Ruby Leigh and demanding that she submit to him, Jase knows that the woman has more layers than an artichoke, and he's determined to peel through them all until he finds the heart.

JADED is a combination of erotic romance, romantic suspense, and mystery, and suffers from a lack of clear distinction between the three genres. Jade, the heroine, is an anomaly not just to the men who frequent her club, but to readers as well. She exudes sex appeal, makes men want her with her very walk, yet she fears attraction and is wary of getting too close to anyone. Yet when she gets around Jase she's like a cat in heat, eager to snuggle up to him despite her fear. If the change had been more gradual, I might have been more accepting. As it stands, I was unable to suspend disbelief. And Jase isn't an easy hero to like. For most of the book he's convinced that Jade is a hooker, the lowest form of trash in his opinion, yet he's still willing to sleep with her despite his misgivings. At the same time, he knows she's a suspect in numerous murders and has a past that she's not being honest about. It just didn't sit well with me. Add that to the fact that their didn't seem to be any romantic tension between them, and I wasn't waiting or hoping for them to get together, and as a whole, I was disappointed. Jase and Jade were separately very appealing. I liked her caged sexuality and quick wit, and I loved his alpha demeanor and protective nature, but I just didn't think they worked well together. If you're a Tabke fan, maybe you will enjoy this book, but I'm not likely to read more from this series.

Book Summary

The author of Skin and Good Girl Gone Bad pens another sizzling tale of sex, scandal, and high-stakes corruption when a hard-hitting cop investigates the sultry, secretive hostess of an upscale "gentlemen's club" in the wake of a brutal murder...

It takes more than a red-hot body and stunning sex appeal to manage a club like Callahan's successfully. Jade Devereaux hides whip-sharp smarts and cold calculation behind her sleek facade. She's come a long way from the frightened teenage girl who was once prey to a brutal man. Now, in the cat-and-mouse game of sexual escapades, Jade makes sure that the men are her prey.

When a wealthy businessman is viciously murdered mere yards from Callahan's, cynical cop Jase Vaughn turns to the exclusive private club for answers. Luscious Jade Devereaux sends his masculine desires into overdrive the moment he sees her, but he has plenty of experience with both women and crime suspects, and he can tell Jade has secrets to hide -- secrets that are somehow connected to this twisted killing.

Jase is determined to strip away the pretense and expose the real Jade Devereaux, even if that means getting closer to her than the love-them-and-leave-them playboy has ever been to a woman. If she's guilty, Jase has sworn to see her behind bars. If she's innocent, then she could be the killer's next victim. But whether Jade is guilty or innocent, Jase realizes to his dismay that they are both falling victim to something neither has ever known -- the power of love.