To Catch a Thief »

Adventure is more than a code word to USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Christina Skye. The globe-trotting China scholar has savored snake meat in Shanghai and tracked obscure folk art in Canton. She shoots firearms, treks off-road on her motorcycle and hikes mountains with equal passion. For her devoted readers she serves up a signature blend of action, high-tech adventure and romantic suspense with "snappy dialogue" and an unerring ability to keep "the narrative energy high and the pacing swift," according to Publishers Weekly.

Her twenty-two novels have earned impressive spots on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list, four weeks at number one on the Waldenbooks Romance Bestseller list, and repeated positions on USA Today's bestseller list. After Skye received her doctorate in classical Chinese literature, she wrote five internationally acclaimed art and cultural guides to China while also working as a consultant to the National Geographic Society and the American Museum of Natural History. In 1990 her first novel sold to a publisher in six days.

Skye's books always feature smart, stubborn women (yes, even in her historical romances!) and tough men. She has written nine contemporary works of romantic suspense with police/military themes, six historical romances and a series of seven wildly popular paranormal romances set at a haunted English abbey. Currently she is working on the sixth book in her acclaimed Code Name series, featuring tough, smart women teamed with white-hot Navy SEALs. Adventure, humor and sizzling passion are her trademarks. Two of her Code Name books have been chosenasCosmopolitan magazine Book Club Selections. Code Name: Princess was also a Borders Best Romance of 2004 and Readersread.com Best Book of 2004. Code Name: Blondie stayed on the USA Today list for three weeks. Her books have been translated into eight languages.

In addition to frequent standing-room-only appearances at writing conferences and workshops, Skye has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, including Geraldo! ABC Worldwide News, Travel News Network, the Arthur Frommer Show, Voice of America, Looking East, Good Morning, Arizona and Good Morning, San Diego.

While researching her latest Navy SEAL adventure, Code Name: Bikini, during the Authors at Sea cruise organized by Levy Entertainment, Skye scored an exclusive interview with the head pastry chef aboard a Carnival Cruise ship. She went behind the scenes, spending several hours in the galley learning the ins and outs of shipboard life. In addition to finding four great ways to kill her villain, she came away amazed by the staff's skill and dedication in a fast-paced profession.

When this bestselling author isn't testing her Jeep's transmission off-road, you'll find her at work on her next Code Name Navy SEAL adventure for HQN books.

Nell MacInnes can spot a forgery from a mile away. After all, she learned from the best—her father is one of the art world’s most notorious thieves. His brutal beating by the very authorities who claim to keep the world safe from harm taught her one more valuable lesson—trust no one.

The last thing rugged Navy SEAL Dakota Smith needs on his mission is a tempting woman he doesn’t trust. But a sketch by Leonardo da Vinci has gone missing, and the art conservator’s skill in detecting forgery would be invaluable, if only her ties to the criminal world are as dead as she says they are.

Soon an edgy partnership and white-hot attraction are forged between Nell and Dakota as they race to Draycott Abbey to track down a ruthless criminal with terrorist ties before time runs out—and the da Vinci is lost forever.