Product Description

In eloquent and lush language, Sharon Bowers paints a dazzling portrait of a woman driven to the darkest extremes of the human condition--and the journey she makes to cross to the other side.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #653742 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 326 pages

From the Back Cover
Lucifer Rising is a novel about love and fear. It is the story of fallen DEA angel Jude Lucien and the Miami Herald reporter determined to unearth Jude's secrets. When an apparently happenstance meeting introduces Jude to reporter Liz Gardener, the dark ex-agent is both intrigued and aroused by the young woman. A sniper shot intended for Jude strikes Liz, and the two women are thrown together in a race to discover who is intent on killing her. As their lives become more and more intertwined, Jude finds herself unexpected falling for the reporter, and Liz discovers that the agent-turned-drug-dealer is both more and less than she seems.

In eloquent and spare language, author Sharon Bowers paints a dazzling portrait of a woman driven to the darkest extremes of the human condition-and the journey she makes to cross to the other side.

About the Author
Sharon Bowers lives, breathes, and sweats in the Deep South. Aided and abetted by a small brown dog, she is currently at work on her second novel.

Excerpted from Lucifer Rising by Sharon
There was one advantage to wearing the black hat in the government's modern dress version of cowboys and Indians, Jude Lucien thought as she smoothly shifted her new Porsche Boxster and slid easily out of the congested Miami traffic. You get all the cool toys. The car was right off the lot, paid for with the hard-earned dollars of some Colombian drug dealers that she had shanghaied a few weeks ago. They were amateurs anyway, a group of yahoos just off the plane, trying to hustle their way into the business with a few kilos of blow and some Glock 9mms. Obviously they didn't understand the organized part of organized crime. Jude snorted in memory of the men who first thought they could bluster their way through a meeting with her, and then- when that didn't work- bully her into making a deal with them by waving their guns around. One man choked to death after she crushed his larynx with a well-placed jab; the other had fallen to his knees in appeal when he saw his friend's fate. A swift bullet to the head had ended his pleas for mercy. Fortunately for him, the Colombians' supplier was a man of greater vision who had smoothly transferred his allegiance- and his product- to Jude's operation.

It's some bizarre Darwinian mutation, she mused as she hit the long stretch of ocean highway on her way home. Survival of the most ruthless. Worthiness no longer has a place... it all comes down to ability to do what has to be done. And those bastards weren't able to. Her roiling thoughts were at odds with the panoramic vista to her right- long stretches of exotic houses bordering an impossibly blue ocean- and more in line with the bloody demise of the sun on her left. Jagged, red-gold tendrils streaked the twilight sky, giving way on the evening's stage to the unnatural vibrancy of the Neon City. Her Miami only really came alive once the night had ascended, when people seemed mistakenly to believe that their transgressions were, if not invalid, then at least invisible. In a way, Jude was like the gatekeeper of their debauchery. Certainly whenever she entered a room, her presence evoked primal memories of the seven deadly sins in those who watched her.

Jude Lucien was barely past her thirtieth birthday, but there was a timeless sense of assurance in the way she moved. She was tall and sleek, with a polished veneer of civility that still couldn't conceal the truculent energy that was her essence. Confronted with the hard planes of her cheekbones, the inky fullness of her black hair, and the seductive indigo of her eyes; most people were generally rendered speechless. The smart ones, however, never forgot about the cunning mind that whirred incessantly behind those baby blues.

"Presentation is everything..." Jude vaguely remembered her mother once saying. Although time had rendered both her mother and most of her pronouncements meaningless, whenever Jude rose to a social occasion, she was inevitably reminded of her mother's incessant harangues on the subject. Shalimar, incense, and the relentless cadence of her mother's voice raised in anger or prayer were pretty much the only remembrances remaining from Jude's childhood. They were also the very things that she left far behind when she had last walked out of the ramshackle slum her mother called a boardinghouse. Fifteen years later, the lectures on manners, breeding, and appearance that she had done her best to ignore now served the dark woman well. Jude could sit a table with royal elegance, discuss fine art and literature knowledgeably, and wear couture gowns so well it would make a model weep with jealousy. Unfortunately it was all in the service of a bloody and dark business that would have chilled her mother's unknowing soul.

To call Jude just a drug dealer would be about as accurate and all-encompassing as calling da Vinci just a painter. Her long fingers reached all over the world, and they were dipped not just in the honey pots of the drug trade, but also in gun running and gambling as well as assorted other legitimate businesses. For reasons baffling to her competitors, Jude drew the line at peddling human flesh. "I don't begrudge anyone his or her pleasures," she said on the subject. "But quite frankly the idea of my people providing a girl to some fat, old man so he can shove his dick up her ass does not appeal to me."

Once the dark, golden prodigy of the Drug Enforcement Agency, Jude was now biting with a vengeance the hand that used to feed her. They had plucked her from the streets, where she was a wild child rapidly making a name for herself in murky corridors, and submerged her in a world of liquid decadence and powdered highs. They had changed her name and given her a badge that wouldn't protect her in the circles where she traveled. However, the unique skills that Jude brought to her new life could not be taught in any academy. Something in her had always responded to the maleficent call of those she was obligated to hunt, making her the perfect undercover agent. In a world where one misstep meant an instant and irreversible retribution, she had thrived- snaring increasingly larger prizes and turning them obediently over to her DEA masters. Somewhere along the line, something went complexly-horrifically-wrong.

Customer Reviews

I couldn't put it down - excellent story.
This author gives us two remarkable characters that are as different as
day and night. Jude, the dark and brooding rogue DEA agent and Elizabeth,
the reporter assigned the task of writing a story about Jude's turbulent life. Along the way, both women discover things about each other and themselves. This is, at its heart, a love story. Ms. Bowers gives the
reader a little bit of everything here; drama, romance and intrigue.
I couldn't help but feel compassion for Jude when she describes in
flashblacks her unsettling childhood and the loss of her DEA partner.
Even so, her dark side is a bit disturbing. She talks of killing an
adversary as though it's second nature. Elizabeth is unfazed; she is
relentless in her pursuit to find the real Jude under all those layers.
The loves scenes between the two characters are well-written; it is
obvious these two women truly care for one another. Their love is
tested by a betrayal and Jude must decide whether she can allow someone
into her heart again. The ending is filled with twists and turns; I
wasn't sure what would happen to these two. You must read for yourself
to see what the future holds for Jude and Elizabeth. This was a great
read. I highly recommend it. Even though the two main characters are lesbians, it can be enjoyed by anyone. The story is about self-discovery, acceptance, and ultimately forgiveness. I hope Ms. Bowers
gives us a sequel.

On my top 3 list
This book was an inspiring book. It was dark, romantic, compelling, and treacherous. Actually, both the book and the characters were. The plot is brilliant though more of the book is focused on the sizzling and soulful romance than the plot itself. Nevertheless, the plot gets enough light shed on it for you to wonder what's going to happen not only to the relationship but to the beautiful protaganists. You'll love this book and the characters in it from beginning to end.

Absolutely Amazing
There aren't words to explain how good this book is. Bowers delivers a basic Uber Xena and Gabrielle story in a surprisingly eloquent and original way. Of course, there is the dark, raven-haired and blue-eyed character with a dangerous past (Jude). Of course, there is the light, blonde-haired and green-eyed character who sees the good in everyone (Liz). Of course, they meet and immediately fall for one another. But this book is so much more. This is certainly one of the best books I've read in this genre. Where has Bowers been since 1999?