Night Call by Radclyffe

Publisher:              Bold Strokes Books


Night Call is another Radclyffe novel based on an area that is familiar to her as a retired doctor, the medical profession. It reprises some familiar characters while introducing new ones.

Jett McNally is a helicopter pilot and a veteran of the Middle East war. She's having trouble getting over what she saw in combat, plus she's trying to mend from a broken love affair, so working the night call flying the medivac chopper at a local hospital suits her fine. Her social life is limited and so are her friendships, so she doesn't have to share anything about her past with anyone. She can live a shadow existence without attracting much attention, she thinks.

Dr. Tristan Holmes is highly respected for her skills as an anesthesiologist and is well known for her "love them and leave them" lifestyle. She's not looking for a relationship, but can't help being fascinated about the enigmatic Jett when they start working together. In fact, Tristan can't seem to get Jett out of her mind. She becomes determined to discover what makes this woman tick and finds, to her surprise, that she might be interested in more than just adding another notch to her bedpost.

Drs. Honor Blake and her partner, Quinn Maguire, introduced in earlier books, are central figures in this story. They provide a picture of wedded bliss and family ties that encourages Tristan to keep pursuing Jett, no matter how distant she seems.

Night Call is another romance written in the style that Radclyffe's fans have come to expect and enjoy. It tells a familiar story of two women who meet, overcome an obstacle and find each other, with some sex scenes to spice up the plot.

There was real potential in this story for Jett McNally's situation to be explored. The role of US women in a combat zone is a new one with many complications of adjusting to those duties while not really being considered battleground soldiers. This would have been a chance to examine the feelings of those women and the struggles they go through in a system that is confused about their status, but Radclyffe didn't choose to take that course except on a superficial level.

If the reader is looking for a predictable story that hits all of the expected buttons, then Night Call fits the requirements. It's easy escapism for a few hours of entertainment.