The Ideal Man

　　蘇雅莉醫師剛結束創傷科的工作，她在公園跑步時，目睹了聯邦調查局的探員被槍擊中。因為只有她看見了嫌犯的臉，雅莉成為調查案的中心。杜邁斯探員負責本案，這個一絲不苟的執法人員完全不是雅莉的「理想男人」，但她卻無法解釋地深深被他吸引。雅莉返鄉參加妹妹的婚禮，邁斯隨即跟至。槍擊案中的主嫌落網了，她必須出庭作證。但相關的證人以前若非遭恐嚇而不敢出聲，就是已人間蒸發。而雅莉還有一個自小對她著魔的跟蹤狂，陰魂不散地纏著她。邁斯發誓要變成雅莉的影子，直到審判之日，火花無可避免地迸了出來……

　　Julie Garwood is among the most critically acclaimed — and popular — romance authors around, with thirty-six million copies of her books in print. And now, with The Ideal Man, Garwood is poised to expand that already huge audience. Dr. Ellie Sullivan has just completed her residency at a large urban hospital. While jogging in a park nearby, she witnesses the shooting of an FBI agent in pursuit of wanted criminals, a couple identified as the Landrys. The only person to see the shooter’s face, Ellie is suddenly at the center of a criminal investigation. Agent Max Daniels takes over the Landry case. A no-nonsense lawman, he’s definitely not the ideal man that Ellie has always imagined, yet she’s attracted to him in a way she can’t explain. Ellie heads home to Winston Falls, South Carolina, to attend her sister’s wedding. Shortly after she arrives, though, she receives a surprise visitor: Max Daniels. The Landrys have been captured, and she’ll be called to testify. But they’ve been captured before, and each time the witnesses are scared into silence—or disappear before they can take the stand. Max vows to be Ellie’s shadow until the trial, and it isn’t long before sparks fly. . . .

　　★本書中譯版《理想男人》由果樹出版社出版。

作者簡介

茱麗．嘉伍德 (Julie Garwood)

　　會成為作家，似乎很名正言順。在愛爾蘭大家庭長大，她天生就會講故事。「愛爾蘭人天生喜歡把每個情況都弄得清清楚楚，」她解釋。「加上我又是七個小孩中的第六個。從小我便學到自我表達必須強而有力、充滿想像力，而且要快。」她的書已有超過三千五百萬本的印量，被翻譯成二十幾種語言。最暢銷之一的《玫瑰》（浪漫經典400）曾由CBS改拍成電視電影。不論背景是中世紀蘇格蘭、攝政期英格蘭、拓荒時期的蒙大拿，或現代的路易斯安那州，她的主題都很一致：家庭、忠誠、榮譽。眾多讀者宣稱是茱麗的幽默感使他們對她的書愛不釋手。作者這樣解釋：「我想要我的讀者又哭又笑，和墜入情網。基本上我想要他們暫時逃到另一個世界，而後覺得經歷了一場偉大的冒險。

　　With tens of millions of books in print and numerous New York Times bestsellers, Julie Garwood has clearly earned a position among America's favorite fiction writers. Her reputation as a masterful storyteller is solidly founded in her ability to deliver stories with appealing characters, powerful emotions, and surprising plot twists. Readers claim that it's the humor as well as the poignancy of her novels that keep them laughing, crying and thoroughly entertained. Ms. Garwood lives in Leawood, Kansas and is currently working on her next novel. When her schedule allows time away from family and career, she devotes her efforts to promoting literacy, and especially enjoys sharing her love of reading with student groups. For more information, visit Ms. Garwood's site at www.juliegarwood.com