Seventh Key by Evelyn Vaughn
The final story in the Madonna Key series chronicles the final battle between the Marians and the Adrianos. Unlike the other books, all of the heroines from the previous book were present in this story and all played a significant role in the final outcome. It was very interesting watching the women interact, while each kept their own personality traits intact. A challenging task at best and one that can only be pulled off by a great storyteller. My only complaint is that the story ended too quickly, but we can always hope that another Adriano will arise to challenge the Marians The Madonna Key is the Bombshell line at its best. If you haven’t read the collection, I highly recommend it as stories like this are few and far between.
Details: Bombshell #121, January 2007 (The Madonna Key #7)
Excellence Rating: Great
Steaminess Factor: Sensual
Warning: Topics depicted in this book may offend members of some religions
Warning: This book deals with graphic violence and death
Nadia Bishop looked at herself in a magazine photograph, but the accompanying article described the life and death of someone else. Realizing that the talented photographer was the twin sister she’d been seeking for years, Nadia decided to use her MI-6 training to find twin’s killer. But soon, Nadia discovered her killer was a member of the Adriano family – the same family as her ex- lover. Now can Nadia avoid the Adriano’s wrath and discover her sister’s hidden secrets before the Adriano’s can or will her ex-lover use their former relationship to seal her doom.
Tru Palmer gift for finding things hidden in the ground led her to the middle east where her company was looking for oil. There she met an old woman named Efra who was the first person who truly understood Tru’s gift. Efra assumed the role of teacher and Tru began to learn the story of the people now known as Marians. Then a member of the Adriano family attacked Efra and stole the tiles she had sworn to protect. Efra explained that the village was doomed to die in seven days unless the tiles where returned. Knowing that she has no other choice, Tru sets out on an impossible quest to find where the thief had hidden the tiles, retrieve them and return them within next seven days. Will Tru succeed or will an entire village die, including the one person who can explain the true meaning of her gift.
Dr. Eve St. Giles has a gift for healing. Instead of working in a research lab, she uses her gift in the field to help identify strange diseases that are threatening the population at large. So when a deadly flu virus decimates the population of a small Swiss town, Eve is dispatched to the scene. She’s surprised when her ex-boyfriend, Nick Petter, shows up representing the firm that was researching the virus. He explains that the chief scientist on the project disappeared, so they join forces to track down the rogue researcher. Their search uncovers that the scientist has some powerful allies and everywhere he goes death follows, leaving only Eve and Nick stop the scientist before he strikes again.
While Aubrey de Lune aka Dr. Ginny Moon stole priceless treasures from all over the world for the Adriano family, she secretly searched for an item that was stolen from her years ago - an item that documented her heritage. Though her last assignment nearly killed her a dozen times over, Aubrey knew the price of failure and managed to acquire the latest treasure for Simon Adriano despite the odds. What she didn’t realize was that object she acquired for Simon was the one he who stole from her years ago and now Simon plans to destroy it. Can Aubrey find the strength to recover the item or will Simon destroy her heritage along with her life.
When the phone call interrupted Ana Reisner’s visit to the Opera, she was amazed that her boss assigned her to a case involving attempted murder and theft. Even though Ana is an police officer with Interpol, her job is cataloging catalog art treasures not solving crimes. When she protested the assignment, her boss said she was specifically requested by the President of France. After meeting the victim, Ana accepted the job and dropped her protests. While searching for the for the missing object, she bumps into Robert Fraser, a convicted art thief. Soon, the couple are running for their lives. While gathering clues, they learn the object is tied to the Black Madonna cult and if the object falls into the wrong hands, France may be destroyed. Now can Ana find the object and save France, or will she die trying?
After falling into a hole opened up by an earthquake, Catrina Dauvergne, a curator for the Musée Cluny in Paris, finds a some old artifacts, including a mysterious key that she’s compelled to recover. With assistance from her associate, Rhys Pritchard, she manages to recover most of the artifacts, but soon she finds herself part of a ancient struggle. Driven to protect the artifacts, Catrina and Rhys begin their research and learn that the key is tied to the legacy of the Marian priestesses, also known as the Black Madonnas. The Black Madonnas represent an ancient force who’s power rivals anything available to mankind today. But the Black Madonnas have an enemy who craves that power and is willing stop at nothing to control it. Now can Catrina protect the Madonna legacy or is Paris and the world doomed to complete destruction.
Whitney “Pink” Pearl was in charge of an audit of Marvel Energy, when she found a conspiracy to defraud Marvel’s stockholders. So she blew the whistle on the Marvel and her own bosses and became persona non grata to both companies. Desperate for a job, Pink went to work for her mother’s accounting firm and was assigned to work with Sam Weston, who investigates financial fraud. Her mother also introduces her to a lawyer known as Ed to represent her. Unfortunately for Pink both men are fighting for her attention, though neither one is doing a lot to help her solve her problems, especially finding the person responsible for sending her threats accompanied by bags of dog waste. Will the men cooperate in order to save her from the Doo Doo Stalker and which one will Pink pick? 
When Isabella Torres joined the Air Force, she never realized she would become a member of the first all-female Special Operations unit. As a member of Medusa, they got the assignments that took advantage of their special skills. So when an Olympic ice skater found herself on the wrong end of an Islamic Jihad, the Medusa’s were called to protect her. Because of her Middle Eastern background, Isabella found herself being both protector and advisor to the young skater. Isabella came prepared to defend herself against guns, knives and explosives, but she the one thing she found herself wholly unprepared for was her sexy boss 
Stella Valocchi left her cheating boyfriend in Florida and moved back to her hometown in Pennsylvania. There she formed a private investigation company with her former fiancé, Jake Carpenter – the man who was responsible for her moving to Florida in the first place. In order to make ends meet, they do odd jobs, even reposing a Santa’s sleigh with all its reindeer. Then one day, a client walks through their door and offers them big money to locate her brother. But big money is not necessarily easy money and Stella finds herself in the middle of car chases, gunshots, kidnapping and even a dead body or two. Can Stella avoid getting killed long enough to unravel the case, or will she end up floating in the river? 
Kate turned to evil to save herself from the man that left her sister lying bloody and beaten on the floor of her living room. The curse she placed on her attacker condemned Ben Fisher to a life of pain and suffering. As with all dark magic, the curse exacted a toll on her too, but it was worth it to see her sister’s killer suffer for the rest of his life. When the police finally caught up with the killer, Kate learned the killer wasn’t Ben Fisher, but his twin brother Victor. Now her curse was split between the two men – one good and one evil, leaving Kate with no other option but to embark on a quest to find a way to undo her curse.