A trilogy of novellas await readers in ST. VALENTINE'S DAY IS KILLING ME.  Popular authors Leslie Esdaile, MaryJanice Davidson, and Susanna Carr dish up Valentine's themed stories with a touch of murder thrown in for suspense.

The anthology begins with MaryJanice Davidson's "Cuffs & Coffee Breaks."  Julie Kay About is a greeting card writer who caves in and accepts a Valentine's Day blind date despite her reservations.  She's not prepared to find her "date" handcuffed to a body shortly before he is whisked off to jail.  Not about to let someone this good looking get away, Julie Kay decides to do a little snooping into the murder.

Leslie Esdaile's "A 'No Drama' Valentine's" finds Jocelyn Jefferson and her trio of friends deciding that they've had enough.  This year they are going to order some food, call a home-spa service, and spend the evening together.  When all three back out at the last minute, Jocelyn faces Valentine's Day alone.  Not being able to get her money back, Jocelyn accepts the home-spa service and lets the team pamper her.  Little does she know her evening is about to take a wild turn.  One that will bring her right into the arms of a gorgeous detective.

Finally, Susanna Carr offers a scintillating look at love gone awry.  "Valentine Survivor" introduces Shanna Murphy.  Shanna is determined to get over her past love, Calder Smith, and have the best Valentine's Day ever.  Shanna has her list of three items:  red roses, a romance dinner, and wild sex.  She has her date and reservations are made.  Things go awry when her date backs out and her pushy boss forces her to work on Valentine's night.  When that same boss is found dead, Shanna turns to Calder to help fix the evening.

One problem with anthologies is that the stories always seem so rushed.  In this case, I found the first two stories were rather disappointing because the climatic events did seem so rushed.  There isn't enough time to truly build a relationship between the characters.  Susanna Carr's story saves the day.  Though the storyline is still rushed along Shanna and Calder's past helped bypass the hurried feeling that the story has.  Their reunion is believable because of their past connection.

VALENTINE'S DAY IS KILLING ME is still an absorbing romance.  You just need to expect the stories, particularly the first two, to be rushed from start to finish.