REVIEWS

First time author, Valerie Clark scores a homerun with her novel, Tormented Without A Trace. This fast-paced, suspenseful and gripping book keeps the reader glued with the tale of Natalie Baylor and her twisted seduction by the man who raped her as a child.

Natalie is a child of privilege - intelligent, beautiful, and rich - everything a man could desire in a woman. And one man has desired Natalie since her childhood. A childhood he ended with a violent rape.

Years later, Natalie is a player on Wall Street. She is engaged and has the job of her dreams. She has it all or does she? On a routine business trip, she meets a man who wins her sexually and romantically. Who is this stranger?

Soon we are in a world of violence, steamy sex where morality and ethics end and abuse begins. Will Natalie break free and claim her life and who is this man that has a strange hold over her?

Clark in Tormented writes with a precision and clarity that is seldom seen in new authors. She develops a simple plot into one with twists and turns that keeps the reader entranced. If this is her first novel, one can only await her next.

Tormented Without A Trace is a must read for anyone who loves romance, sex, suspense, and mystery. Bravo Valerie Clark.
—Midwest Book Review

"Tormented Without A Trace is the story of high profile Wall Street investment banker Natalie Baylor who is on a fast track to disaster. A victim most of her life, she makes personal decisions that lead to disaster and appears unable to differentiate love from pain and abuse. Jeremy Dalton has all the makings of one of romance's greatest villains. Perhaps one of the best characters in the book is Peter, Natalie's boss. This is a book with something for everyone, romance, passion, greed, and coming to grips with reality.

Valerie Clark, a first time author uses good characterization, pacing, and symbolism to tell a gripping story which reads very rapidly. It is one of those books that you don't want to start late at night, because you'll never get any sleep until it's finished. Hopefully we can expect more great works from Clark. We scored this book four hearts."
—Heartland Review

"While I was cruising through a web listing for a publishing association, I came across a link for Tigress Entertainment. That caught my eye, so I clicked the link and was transported to the Tigress Entertainment web site. What I found there was a novel being promoted. This novel was written by the founder of Tigress Entertainment, Valerie Clark. This is a novel of obsession and sexual deviance. The title of the novel is Tormented Without A Trace. I decided that this novel might well be worth checking out. I wasnät disappointed.

The book opens up with us meeting Natalie. She is a teenager, having some ice cream at a local store. After she leaves the store, Natalie is brutally raped and left for dead.

Flash forward to the present time. Natalie is a rising star in a Wall Street firm. She is on top of her game, or so she thinks. Her boss, Peter, wants Natalie to go to France to help broker a deal with one of the firmäs clients. Natalie doesnät want to go as she will be getting married in a few weeks and still needed to do things for the wedding.

What we find out about Natalie is that this is a marriage of convenience. Her fianc¼, David, is a member of her fatheräs law firm. Daddy helped pick David out for his little girl. Only now Natalie isnät so sure that this is the right thing to do. Especially as David is so self absorbed and on power trips. Even during sex he is in control and spends himself on the outside of Natalieäs body as an example of his power over her. With this kind of graphic reference we get to see what the tone of this book is going to be.

Natalie meets a man named Jeremy Dalton at the airport. They end up sitting together on the plane. It is a very welcome surprise when Natalie finds Jeremy at the home of her client. The two of them end up getting together and have some wild sex.

When Natalie gets back to New York, the wheels come off. It seems that her perfect deal is in the toilet and Jeremy seems to be behind it. He is becoming obsessive over Natalie. He even offers up vague threats to her. Natalie is both scared and turned on by these threats. Our girl Natalie is one sick puppy and needs therapy, quick. The story seesaws back and forth between Natalie wanting to be with Jeremy, the deal she needs to broker for her firm and the impending marriage to David.

Natalie and David end up getting married. And then David is murdered. All things point to Jeremy as the killer. The police arrest him and he is put on trial.

As I was reading this book, I couldnät help but feel really uneasy. How could a woman let herself be so drawn into a destructive relationship that includes terror and murder? Was Natalie so messed up from her teenaged rape and her familyäs indifference that she was all too eager to jump off the deep end?

Tormented Without A Trace reminded me of a mixture of the storylines of films like Fatal Attraction and Endless Love. This novel shows just how far obsessive love and passion can go. This is not a mystery novel, nor is it a romance. It is a study in the way that obsession can destroy people."
—Bruce Von Stiers Reviews