Obsession (Natchez Trace Park Rangers, Book 2)

 

PATRICIA BRADLEY

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, 2021.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blogger Program.

First line: The January warm spell had definitely ended in South Mississippi.

(For Goodreads synopsis, scroll down.)

My thoughts: OBSESSION takes us back to the Natchez Trace Park, where Emma is an interpretive park ranger. Near a visitor’s center is an old slave cemetery, and Emma is about to begin a project using a ground penetrating radar machine to locate the individual graves and determine how many slaves were actually buried there, and hopefully give them recognition and provide closure to their descendants. One night she goes back to the visitor’s center after hours, having forgotten a file, and is nearly shot by a stranger who then flees. Enter Sam, her ex-fiance who has recently returned to the area and is a law enforcement district ranger. Not to mention her newly self-appointed bodyguard.

Along with the mystery of who took shots at Emma, a break comes up in an older case – Emma’s brother disappeared ten years ago, on the same night that a young woman was killed, and during the investigation at that time the then sheriff concluded that he had killed the woman and then gone into hiding. Emma has been trying to find her brother with no luck, and she’s always partly blamed Sam for not taking care of him. When a mysterious note is left on her doorstep with her favorite flowers, it becomes obvious she has a stalker. Sam and Emma don’t know if the three incidents – the shooting, her brother’s disappearance, and the stalking – are related, but it’s clear that she is in danger.

I loved the first book in this series, STANDOFF, and this second book was just as good. As with the first book, the writing flows, with plenty of action and suspense. Ms. Bradley’s characterization is wonderful, and I loved both Emma and Sam, although I sometimes agreed with Sam that Emma needed to let him protect her and not be so quick to rush in on her own. She’s tough and feisty and independent, and Sam quickly realizes his feelings for her haven’t changed since they’ve been apart, even though he still isn’t quite sure why she called off their engagement ten years ago.

While I enjoyed watching Emma and Sam get to know each other again and begin to repair their relationship, other relationships were brought forward, and the theme of forgiveness ran through the book. Sam’s parents, after being apart for years, are suddenly getting back together, and he struggles with his feelings, unable to comprehend why his mother would take back a man who who abused her and Sam when he was young. And frankly, I sided with Sam on that.

I did guess who the stalker was, though I wasn’t 100% positive until his identity was revealed to us. There were a lot of twists and turns, and I will be eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

Goodreads synopsis: Natchez Trace Ranger and historian Emma Winters hoped never to see Sam Ryker again after she broke off her engagement to him. But when shots are fired at her at a historical landmark just off the Natchez Trace, she's forced to work alongside Sam as the Natchez Trace law enforcement district ranger in the ensuing investigation. To complicate matters, Emma has acquired a delusional secret admirer who is determined to have her as his own. Sam is merely an obstruction, one which must be removed.

Sam knows that he has failed Emma in the past and he doesn't intend to let her down again. Especially since her life is on the line. As the threads of the investigation cross and tangle with their own personal history, Sam and Emma have a chance to discover the truth, not only about the victim but about what went wrong in their relationship.

Standoff (Natchez Trace Park Rangers, Book One)

PATRICIA BRADLEY

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, 2019.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blogger Program

First line: What had he gotten himself into?

(For the Goodreads synopsis, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

My thoughts:  I like finding books where the characters are in a profession I don't know much about, and this book definitely scratched that itch. As the story begins, Brooke is an interpretive park ranger, on the verge of being commissioned a law enforcement park ranger. I had no idea there was more than one kind of park ranger! I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series and reading more about park rangers.

Brooke's father is a law enforcement ranger, or was – in the first chapter he dies under mysterious circumstances. Ruled a suicide by the medical examiner, Brooke is convinced he was murdered and is determined to find his killer. She's surprised to learn that her childhood sweetheart, Luke, is in town, and had apparently been close to her father. When Luke left town after high school he broke Brooke's heart, and she's had no contact with him since then.

As the book started out, I got a little confused with all the characters being introduced, especially since one has not been identified and we, the reader, don't know who he is. But I quickly became swept up in Brooke's life as she deals with her father's death, her fledgling relationship with Jeremy, a local politician, and her feelings for Luke. Not to mention secrets coming to light that throw her for a loop. She and Luke's characters are well written, and my heart hurt for Brooke as her life kept getting turned upside down again and again. The action feels pretty non-stop, yet there is still characterization in between the action.

This is my first time reading Patricia Bradley, and her writing flows. Despite all the action and characterization there is still a lot of dialogue, natural and realistic, with no info dumping. Revell is a Christian publisher, but most of their romantic suspense titles will still appeal to non-religious readers – there's no beating you over the head with scripture or religious references here, while still being a clean read. (Unless you have issues with drug references – an undercover drug investigation plays pretty heavily in the narrative.)

Solid suspense, light romance, and a mystery that I did not figure out on my own. Revell has another winner.

Goodreads synopsis: The Natchez Trace National Parkway stretches 444 miles from Nashville to Natchez, the oldest town on the Mississippi River. It's the perfect road for a relaxed pleasure drive. Unfortunately for Luke Fereday, it's also perfect for moving drugs. 

Sent to Natchez to infiltrate the organization at the center of the drug ring, Luke arrives too late to a stakeout and discovers the body of his friend, park ranger John Danvers. John's daughter Brooke is determined to investigate her father's murder but soon finds herself the target of a killer who will do anything to silence her. 

Luke will have his hands full keeping her safe. But who's going to keep him safe when he realizes he's falling – hard – for the daughter of the man he failed to save?