Romantic Road by Blair McDowell

When Lacy Telchev buries her husband she finds herself in treacherous waters. Igor, much older than Lacy, had secrets. Suddenly Lacy is being chased across Europe by men who believe she can lead them to those secrets. Evading her pursuers with the aid of a chance acquaintance, the handsome and mysterious Max Petersen, Lacy travels across Germany, Austria and Hungary, to a shattering discovery in Budapest.
Along the way, she meets three women from Igor's past. As Igor's story unfolds through them, Lacy is less and less certain who her husband really was. Who can Lacy trust? Will she survive to find out?

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The plot and idea of the story was intriguing and curious, with all the secrets, the past life of Igor that was revealed little by little, and the romance that developed between the attractive and helpful stranger Max and Lacy, and the seemingly endless groups of people, mafia and different governments, that didn't want all the devastating secrets to be revealed and were after Lucy and the manuscript.
There were lots of possible tourist interests pointed out and introduced in the story, as well as the interesting food culture of the central Europe and the different countries. Lots of cultural input drizzled into the tale.
The suspense and romance left me a bit cold. I felt detached of the characters, and didn't get the attraction between Max and Lacy. The dialog was stiff and odd at times, and the intensity of the suspense not really there.
 
~ Two spoons and a teaspoon on a side