The Summer We Lost Her

TISH COHEN

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Gallery Books, 2019.

How acquired: Library.

First line: It was one of those things that never should have happened – the kind you turn over, splay open with pins, and examine at intervals for the rest of your life because it will never, ever cease to matter.

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

My thoughts: A new to me author, I picked up this book while browsing the shelves at my local library. It's very engrossing, sucking me in quickly. The back cover copy says that while in the Adirondacks packing up a family cabin to sell, Matt and Elise's daughter Gracie “disappears without a trace”. So I thought that would be the book. It would be about this couple dealing with their young daughter's disappearance. Except Gracie didn't actually disappear until about halfway through the book. Until then, the book is an examination of Matt and Elise's lives, and their faltering marriage. And it was a wonderful character study.

Elise is an Olympic hopeful, whose whole life has revolved around horses and dressage competitions. She is away from her husband and daughter for months at a time, gone more than she is home. At one point, Gracie is trying to get her parents to let her have a turtle, and she argues to her dad that mom will help her clean the tank when she visits. Not comes home. Visits. It was a wounding moment for both parents. I can't imagine being driven the way Elise is. I can't imagine having a child and then never being home with that child. I certainly could not relate to Elise. I didn't dislike her, but I didn't admire love her drive and ambition.

Matt is an attorney, and has just been offered a partnership. He's been Gracie's primary caretaker all her life, and while he wants the partnership, it would mean hiring a nanny to help care for Gracie, which he does not want. It's a bit of a gender swap, and I did relate to him a bit, having worked full time while still being the parent who was the primary caretaker of our two daughters, though out of necessity they were in daycare all of their early childhood.

I very much liked Ms. Cohen's writing. The narrative switched back and forth between Elise's POV and Matt's, as well as between the present and the past, giving us glimpses of the couple's lives when they were kids, when they met, the early years of their marriage. The descriptions of the Adirondacks was often evocative. And I was kept in the dark – I had no idea what happened to Gracie until her parents found out, and I had no idea whether or not Matt and Elise would be able to salvage their marriage.

One more author to add to my ever growing list, with a handful of other books I now need to hunt down.

Goodreads synopsis: It’s been a busy—and expensive—few years for Matt and Elise Sorenson and their young daughter Gracie, whom they affectionately call Little Green. Matt, a Manhattan lawyer, has just been offered a partnership, and Elise’s equestrian ambitions as a competitive dressage rider may finally vault her into the Olympics. But her long absences from home and endless hours of training have strained their relationships nearly to the breaking point.

Now they’re up in the Adirondacks, preparing to sell the valuable lakefront cabin that’s been in Matt’s family for generations. Both he and Elise agree it’s time to let it go. But as they navigate the memories the cabin holds—and come face to face with Matt’s teenage crush, now an unnervingly attractive single mother living right next door—Gracie disappears without a trace.

Faced with the possibility that they’ll never see their daughter again, Elise and Matt struggle to come to terms with what their future may bring. The fate of the family property, the history of this not-so-tiny town, and the limits of Matt and Elise’s love for each other are inextricably bound up with Gracie’s disappearance. Everything for the Sorenson family is about to change—the messy tangle of their past, the harrowing truth of their present, and whether or not their love will survive a parent’s worst nightmare. 

Lethal Lies (Harlequin Romantic Suspense, No. 1830)

LARA LACOMBE

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Harlequin, 2014.

How acquired: Bought.

My thoughts: My first time reading this author, and I really enjoyed the book. Jillian is an ER doctor who is kidnapped from the hospital parking lot and forced to tend to the wounds of a young gang member. She's frightened much of the time, but dedicated to saving her patient, while also trying to find a way to escape. She's resourceful, and while her escape plan fails, she stays strong. Alex is an undercover agent who has been betrayed and is now on the run from not only the gang he infiltrated, but from the FBI.

I'm not generally a fan of quick romance, preferring to watch a relationship build up between the characters, but Ms. Lacombe wrote it very well here and it worked for me. The ending was a bit contrived, but certainly satisfying. A quick look through my book chart showed me that I have another of Ms. Lacombe's books, “Killer Season”, though since I recently moved and most of my books are still packed I've no idea where it is at the moment. But I look forward to it!


Goodreads synopsis: Putting her faith in someone who lies for a living isn't the safest thing Dr. Jillian Mahoney has ever done. But to stay alive, she has to believe the undercover agent—who's kidnapped her to prove his innocence—isn't a traitor to the FBI. And to help him, she must deny their intense attraction as they run from two vengeful killers.

Her captor, Alex Malcom, has lived a life of lies—some worse than others. Still, there's one truth he's reluctant to disclose to Jillian, the woman of his dreams. One that could stop their relationship cold.

Desire's Captive (Harlequin Presents No. 609)

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT SOME MAY CONSIDER SPOILERS.

PENNY JORDAN

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Harlequin Books, 1983.

How acquired: Who knows. I registered it on BookCrossing in 2003 after retrieving some boxes of books that my husband had put in the attic when we moved into our house some seven or eight years previously.

First line: 'Saffron, my dear, you look wonderful – so like your mother!'

My thoughts: So many conflicting emotions. Saffron meets Nico, is entranced by him, he seems entranced by her. He takes her on a picnic. Next thing she knows three more people show up and she's taken hostage at gunpoint. And Nico is the leader of the gang of kidnappers.

So despite the kidnapping, and the ruthless way he treated her while she was held captive, I knew Nico was the hero. No other man is mentioned in the synopsis on the back cover. So he had to be. But I just couldn't see how. For the entire book I just couldn't figure out he could possibly redeem himself and not end up in jail. Because obviously if he repented for his deeds and went to jail in the end, there wouldn't be an HEA. Unless the book jumped forward to his release. But that just didn't seem plausible. If one of the other men had lured her to the remote area where she was kidnapped, then I could easily assume right off the bat that Nico was working with the kidnappers in an undercover capacity. Perfectly plausible. But he engineered the kidnapping.

Of course it all works out in the end. But after learning the truth, the whole truth, I was outraged on Saffron's behalf. Outraged that her father had allowed Nico to kidnap her. Outraged that Saffron seemed to harbor no anger at her father for allowing her to be put in that situation. In my head I wrote an epilogue in which, after the initial joy of being reunited with Nico and learning he was actually one of the good guys had worn off, Saffron would vent her anger on both Nico and her father. Oh, she'd still marry Nico, of course. But she would hold their actions over both their heads for awhile and make them both grovel for her forgiveness.

Whew. Ok. Now that I got that out of the way. I read the majority for this book in one day. I liked Saffron. She was strong. She was frightened but defiant. She was attracted to Nico and hated him for it. She was shrewd in her observations of Olivia, the female kidnapper who was jealous of her and the hold she seemed to have over Nico. And of course I liked Nico as well. I mean, I knew the anger he often took out on Saffron wasn't out of meanness, it was for show around the other members of the gang, and it was his own defense against the feelings he felt for her.

Ugh. I'm not a hundred percent sure I even liked the book. No, that's a lie. I did like it. But I'm not proud of that.

Goodreads synopsis: Her worst fears had come true. Being kidnapped by political terrorists was the realization of Saffron Wykeham's worst nightmares. And to be taken to an isolated primitive farmhouse and subjected to the volatile dangerous temperaments of her captors was worse than she ever could have imagined. For Nico Doranti, the man she loved, the one man to whom her whole being responded, had manipulated her descent into hell. Though calculating and callous, he was her only hope for escape-and for future happiness.

Lullaby

CLAIRE SEEBER

Synopsis from Goodreads: For Jess, the much-needed family outing with her wealthy husband and newborn Louis is a chance to get her troubled marriage back on track. But when Mickey takes Louis for a stroll, they don't come back. And the next time Jess sees her husband, he's in a hospital, his memory shattered…and he's the prime suspect in their son's disappearance. 

Amid a media frenzy and skeptical police, Jess is learning fast that disturbing secrets surround everyone she thinks she knows—her charming, unreliable brother; her envious sister; Louis's vivacious young nanny; and the elegant ex-wife Mickey won't discuss. The only thing Jess can trust is her desperate, determined instinct. For the clock is ticking down, and someone will do whatever it takes to make her precious baby boy their own…

Stats for my copy: Mass Market paperback, Worldwide Library Suspense, 2012.

How acquired: Borrowed from my mom.

First line: Later, I couldn't think whose idea it had been to visit the Tate that day.

My thoughts: I was sucked into this book from the first few pages. I probably never would've picked this book up based on the title or the cover, so I am so glad my mom recommended it and loaned me her copy! Not far in I kept thinking why had I not heard of this book before, or seen any buzz about it? Then I realized it was first published some ten years ago.

Jess and her husband, Mickey, and their eight month old son are having a rare day out together, when they get separated in a crowd, and then the husband and son just vanish. Mickey eventually turns up in a hospital, beaten and bruised, and with no memory of what happened.

The narrative is told by Jess in first person point of view, and her fear and terror at losing her son are palpable. As the search and police investigation drags on she becomes more and more desperate and unraveled. As you would when you're child is missing.

I loved Silver, the lead detective. I loved how he always called her “kiddo”, until she snapped at him to stop, and then the word still kept trying to slip out of his mouth. Jess was often frustrated with the investigation, feeling that the coppers aren't doing enough quick enough, which might be a natural reaction to the situation, but she also already had a dislike for and distrust of police to begin with. As we learn more about her background and her childhood the reason for that is slowly revealed.

A tense and gripping book, while also being a good character study. I think this is going onto my list of all time favorites, and I will definitely be looking for more of this author. 

Sting

SANDRA BROWN

Synopsis from Goodreads: When Jordie Bennet and Shaw Kinnard lock eyes across a disreputable backwater bar, something definitely sparks. Shaw gives off a dangerous vibe that makes men wary and inspires women to sit up and take notice. None feel that undercurrent more strongly than savvy businesswoman Jordie, who doesn't belong in a seedy dive on the banks of a bayou. But here she is . . . and Shaw Kinnard is here to kill her.

As Shaw and his partner take aim, Jordie is certain her time has come. But Shaw has other plans and abducts Jordie, hoping to get his hands on the $30 million her brother has stolen and, presumably, hidden. However, Shaw is not the only one looking for the fortune. Her brother's ruthless boss and the FBI are after it as well. Now on the run from the feds and a notorious criminal, Jordie and Shaw must rely on their wits-and each other-to stay alive.

Miles away from civilization and surrounded by swampland, the two play each other against their common enemies. Jordie's only chance of survival is to outwit Shaw, but it soon becomes clear to Shaw that Jordie isn't entirely trustworthy, either. Was she in on her brother's scam, or is she an innocent pawn in a deadly vendetta? And just how valuable is her life to Shaw, her remorseless and manipulative captor? Burning for answers-and for each other-this unlikely pair ultimately make a desperate move that could be their last.

With nonstop plot twists and the tantalizing sexual tension that has made Sandra Brown one of the world's best-loved authors, STING will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final pages.

Stats for my copy: Hardback, Grand Central Publishing, 2016.

How acquired: Bought.

My thoughts:  One thing I love about Sandra Brown is her heroes. She is wonderful at writing men who often appear on the surface to be dangerous, threatening, villainous, but who in reality are good, honorable, charismatic men who love fiercely and take huge risks to protect others, to fight the real bad guys, to make justice prevail. Unfortunately, she failed at creating that type of man in STING, at least to me. I struggled to feel any sympathy for his character at all, and didn't really connect with the heroine either. That being said, the parts of the narrative about the two of them were the best parts of the book. The other parts, with the FBI agents trying to find the kidnapped heroine and track down her escaped from custody brother, were flat out boring. In fact, they often read more like a true crime step by step accounting of the events that occurred, rather than a novel. So, definitely not my favorite of her books.

And what's with the covers of her recent books all looking the same? 

Lovesong (Song, Book 1)

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT SOME MAY CONSIDER SPOILERS. 

VALERIE SHERWOOD

Synopsis from Goodreads: A sweet wild madness swept over Carolina Lightfoot at the sight of elegant Lord Thomas Angevine, reputed to be the most notorious rake in London. The proud Colonial beauty, graced with silvergold hair and flashing eyes, hoped to be his bride. Then, swept into a growing storm of scandal, she was banished to Virginia. Captured by buccaneers on the high seas, Carolina became the Silver Wench of the Caribbean...and the defiant prisoner of the infamous Kells, a brooding man with insolent charm andd a mysterious past.

On the island of Tortuga, where gentle winds caressed the perfumed nights and a lustrous moon whispered love's allure, Carolina must escape...to find Thomas again, and to flee Kells' passionate embrace, the rapturous temptation of his...LOVESONG.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Pocket Books, 1985.

How acquired: Through Book Mooch.

First line: Fitful shadows raced across the moon.

My thoughts: I was really excited to read this book after seeing some discussion about it on Facebook in a group I recently joined (Old School Romance Book Club, a wonderful group in case you’re interested!). Luckily I found a copy, and copies of the next two books in the trilogy, on Book Mooch (a wonderful book trading site, in case you’re interested!) and immediately requested all three books.

The beginning of LOVESONG was interesting, but nothing fantastic. I was even a little ho hum about it. But then Carolina is sent off to school in England, and it picked up. She meets Lord Thomas, a total wanker, and normally I’d be hating on their relationship and berating Carolina for being such a ninny. But, she was young, still a teenager, and young girls can’t always help but be ninnies about boys. And the author wrote her so well, her thoughts, her feelings, her actions, that very much liked her and felt for her.

But then again I knew from reading the back cover and from the FB group discussion that the real “hero” of this book would be Kells, the wild buccaneer who will capture her later in the book.

And then Carolina goes home with her roommate for the Christmas holidays, and meets Rye. And I REALLY liked him. And even though I knew that Kells is still to come along, I wanted her to forget about Lord Thomas and let Rye love her.

And then comes disgrace, and she is put on a ship back home to Virginia, only to run away and board another ship back to England, only to be captured by a Spanish ship, only to then be recaptured by the buccaneers. For a little while I even convinced myself that Kells was going to turn out to actually be Rye. But then Carolina, now calling herself Christabel, comes face to face with Kells, and the man wasn’t Rye, and there didn’t seem to be any chemistry between them, and he was not described physically or in any other manner the way the hero of a romance book should be described. And even though I knew Kells is the hero, I was very disappointed that, while she was certainly now safely away from the cad Thomas, she was also away from Rye.

But I sighed and pulled myself together, and settled in to see what would happen. And I became completely mesmerized and stayed up late two nights in a row to read, and at the end I was so frantic to find out what would happen next that my eyes kept trying to skip ahead of my brain, and when I finally finished the book, I had that wonderful sated and satisfied yet wanting more more more feeling that only a really good book (or a really good man) can give you.

More Than Fiends (Demon Duster, Book 1)

MAUREEN CHILD

Synopsis from back of book: “Today you are thirty-two years old,” the old woman went on, and just how the hell did she know it was my birthday? “Your time has come.” She smiled, but it wasn't a Grandma-type wanna-cookie? smile. Nope, this was more like the grin on the fake shark they built for the movie Jaws. “There is no time to waste,” she said. “The demons are here. And only you can kill them.”

There's great surf in La Sombra, California – along with a huge mental institution, where Cassidy Burke figures this old lady has escaped from. Especially after she claims that Cassie is next in a long line of demon-dusters – Burke women paired with a centuries-old cleaning solution to shine windows and spot demons. Sure, her Clean Sweep maid service is taking off, with a sexy new client promising to have her rolling in dough, not to mention keep her hormones happy. But wiping out supernatural bad guys? Sounds like a job for a size-two cheerleader.

Yet suddenly Cassie has got fighting instincts and fierce new strength, and she's going to need both. For one thing, her teenage daughter, Thea, thinks her dad is dead, but in truth he just never knew about her, and now he's moved back to town. For another, after many dateless years, Cassie finally has men lining up at her door. Unfortunately most of them aren't human...

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Signet Eclipse, published by New American Library, 2007.

How acquired: Bought.

My thoughts: After getting all caught up in the paranormal craze a few years ago, I eventually got a little burned out on vampires and demons and etc., and the last couple of years I've been more interested in contemporary romance novels. But I loved SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL by this same author, so when I saw her name on this book I snatched it up. And I'm glad I did.

There are quite a few characters, and since Cassidy narrates in first person point of view we see the other characters the way she does. Cassidy is a single mom, raising her teenage daughter in the same house where she herself grew up, and running a house cleaning service whose business is starting to pick up. On her 32nd birthday (a random number to say the least), Jasmine, an elderly woman who claims to be a friend of her grandmother, shows up and proceeds to tell Cassidy that there are demons everywhere and she is here to train Cassidy, the newest demon duster, so Cassidy can assume her birth right duties. Cassidy of course thinks the old lady is mental,until she talks to her grandmother on the phone and grandma confirms the story.

As for some of those other characters:

Devlin Cole is the owner of the hottest spot in a town, a nightclub that's also reputed to be a sex club. He needs a cleaning service for the upstairs rooms at his club, and Cassidy wants the job. It would be her first foray into commercial cleaning and could be just the boost her company needs. Devlin himself is probably the hottest bachelor in town, and from their first meeting the sparks start flying. Cassidy's been in a sexual drought, and Devlin has her panting.

Logan is Cassidy's high school boyfriend, who went off to college, leaving Cassidy to spend her senior year of high school pregnant. Although he never knew that. The day Cassidy planned to tell Logan about Thea, he introduced her to his fiance,and Cassidy went home broken hearted, without ever divulging her secret to him. Now he's a police officer, he's moved back to town,he's divorced, and he wants Cassidy back. And try as she might, Cassidy can't help but still be attracted to him also.

Thea is Cassidy's daughter, who's whip smart (she writes up the bid for the cleaning job, having a much better head for numbers than her mother) and who has always been told that her father died a hero, rescuing some kids from a fire. Or maybe it was a flood. Cassidy can never remember what lie she used.

When Thea meets Logan, she's furious with her mother for lying to her all those years. Logan is pretty angry himself, but he seemed to get over it pretty quick and was pretty forgiving. He got over it faster than Thea did, and I loved the interactions between Cassidy and Thea, with her grumblings and eye rolls and “I'm not talking to you!” and other typical teenage girl behavior.

One of my favorite scenes is at a block party, where Devlin and Logan face off against each other and verbally stake their claims on her, trading barbs regarding which of them belongs there with Cassidy. I liked both guys, but I did lean towards Devlin more than Logan.

Cassidy is shocked to learn about demons, but when she finally starts talking to others she discovers that practically everyone she knows already knew that demons lived within their community. From the outset she assumes all demons are evil, and she's shocked again to learn that some of them just want to live their lives in peace and have no interest in waging war on humans. Jasmine withholds information from her, and both Cassidy and I were put out about that. Doesn't Jasmine realize that by not telling Cassidy upfront that there are good demons and bad demons, Cassidy could have unwittingly killed some good ones? And it seemed pretty far fetched that everyone else in town is already aware of demons (and ghosts) living among them and just accepts it as a matter fact. Except Logan, who thinks Cassidy is making it all up, even after witnessing a dusting.

But despite those issues, I enjoyed Cassidy's humorous narration as she navigated this new world that had been opened up for her, and I'm eager to find the next book in the series.

Ransom

 LOIS DUNCAN 

Synopsis from back cover: The lives of five captives hang in the balance while their families gather the ransom.

Two brothers, their family frantic to find their sons. A loner whose uncle doesn't even know he’s missing. An army brat whose family will never be able to raise enough money. A cheerleader who can’t count on her stepdad but knows her father will come through.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1990. Previously published under the title “Five Were Missing”.

How acquired: Bought at a library sale in 2012.

First line: The kidnapping took place on a Thursday.

My thoughts: School lets out one afternoon and kids board the bus. A substitute driver is at the wheel, and he misses the first stop, making the boy who gets off there walk back an extra block. The driver apologizes and tells the kids he was called in at the last minute and didn’t get a copy of the route, so Bruce moves to the front to point out the stops. When they’re approaching the last stop, in one of the better neighborhoods, there are just five kids left. But the bus keeps going, picking up another man with a gun.

It’s a disparate group of kids. Bruce, a freshman, a little awkward, living in his brother’s shadow, who he looks up to and admires. His brother, Glenn, the golden boy, jock and all around high school star. Normally he drives to school, but his car is in the shop. Marianne, popular cheerleader who goes out with Glenn. Her stepfather tried to pick her up from school, but she rejected him, as she always does. She resents his presence in her family and thinks the her father hung the moon. Jesse, a quiet loner. Her family are military, and the only family who rent a house in their upscale neighborhood. Her mother thought living off base would be good for Jesse, that she’d have a better chance at a normal life and would make friends. Dexter, another loner who hides his disease misshapen body under long sleeved shirts. He moved from New York to live with his uncle after his parents died, but his uncle continues to live the single bachelor life as if Dexter weren’t there.

The plot felt realistic and the tension came through from beginning to end. The writing was descriptive, although some of the dialogue felt a little stilted. I enjoyed the story, and the way Marianne and her stepfather bonded and arrive a new place in their relationship. As the kids wait out their captivity in a remote cabin with one of the kidnappers and his wife, they get to know each other, and their strengths come out. Bruce and Glenn have some tense moments alone that open Bruce’s eyes to who his brother really is.

I did have one issue, and I guess this might be considered a spoiler by some so be warned -

The only parent reunited with one of the kids on the page was Marianne's stepfather, and I would have like to witness the reunions between the other kids and their families. The narrative occasionally left the kids to focus briefly on one or more of their families, including a passage about Dexter’s uncle, who was out of town and unaware of the kidnapping. There were hints that the uncle’s conscience over his lifestyle and his non-relationship with Dexter was getting to him, and I thought in the end this experience would draw them closer together, make them start to feel like family. But once the narrative left the uncle, it never went back to him, and I was very disappointed that Dexter and his uncle did not have any resolution to their relationship. 

Heaven to Betsy (Emily, Book 1)

PAMELA FAGAN HUTCHINS 

Synopsis from Goodreads: When a dead body swan-dives from a balcony into the pool at a wedding, gossip comes to a halt about disgraced paralegal and former rodeo queen Emily—whose husband left her for a woman who’s really a man. Enter Jack, a secretive attorney and sexy mix of cowboy and Indian. She refuses to work for him until she learns about the disappearance of the six-year old daughter of his notorious client Sofia, the wedding shooter, who is also an illegal immigrant. Emily feels a strange affinity with the girl and launches a desperate search for her. Bodies pile up in her wake across Texas and New Mexico as the walls around her own secrets begin to crumble, and the authorities question whether the child is anything but a figment of her imagination.

Stats for my copy: Kindle edition, Skipjack Publishing, 2015. 

How acquired: Gifted to me by the author. 

First line: I wedged myself up to the bar between an urban cowboy and a sequined octogenarian with a cigarette dangling from her lips. 

My thoughts: Emily has come back to her hometown after a special dinner date with her husband, wherein she was going to announce to him that she is pregnant, was interrupted by Stormy, his cross dressing boyfriend (girlfriend?). Now she’s back in her mom’s house, remembering what it’s like to live among small town gossips. That urban cowboy from the first line turns out to be a criminal attorney who just so happens to need a paralegal. Emily has never worked in criminal law before, and doesn't particularly want to, but grudgingly accepts the job. 

The story is told in first person point of view, and Emily is a self-deprecating and fun, and funny, narrator. Her life has basically fallen apart around her, and she’s struggling to hold it together. Jack is a somewhat strange but good looking laconic loner, who never seems to answer a direct question, insists that Emily loudly ring a bell each morning when she arrives at work, which makes Emily wonder just what he’s doing back in his office, and who has a little white poodle with a pink collar who comes to work with him.  

Emily and Jack are both standing by the pool when Sofia, a hotel janitorial worker, shoots the man who then falls over the balcony into the pool. Sofia becomes Jack’s newest client, but she won’t tell them why she shot the man, or answer any of their questions or do anything to help Jack come up with a defense for her – she just begs them to find her missing daughter. 

Of the secondary characters, Wallace, a CPS worker who is also trying to find the little girl, really stood out. Neat and fastidious, one of my favorite scenes was when Emily picks him up in her trashed out car for the first time. But there were lots of other scenes that also made me smile or even laugh. 

For the first half of the book, it was a very amusing and fluffy little story. And then suddenly it got a bit gritty, as Emily becomes more and more determined to find little Valentina. Somewhere in the second half I became so engrossed, and so invested in Emily and her search, that I stayed up reading much too late one night (so thanks for that book hangover headache I had the next day Ms. Hutchins!). And when I started reading again the next night it got really serious, with Emily in a pretty dangerous situation, and I was practically holding my breath until it was resolved. 

I’d put this more in the mystery genre than romance, with some adventure thrown in. Lively and lighthearted, yet ultimately dealing with some serious subject matter. I very much enjoyed this book, from a new to me author. 

Against the Law (Against Series/Raines of Wind Canyon, Book 3)

KAT MARTIN

Synopsis from Goodreads: At thirty-two Dev is "mostly retired" from Raines Investigations, content to run operations from his sprawling Arizona home. But Dev has never been able to say no to a beautiful woman, so when Lark Delaney comes to him for help, the former U.S. Army Ranger from Wind Canyon gets back in the game.

Lark is sexy, successful and dedicated to tracking down the baby girl her sister gave up for adoption. It should be a straightforward case, but it's not long before Dev uncovers a shady adoption ring and worse—the child's parents have been murdered and the little girl has been taken.

As the case grows dangerous and Lark needs him more than ever, Dev can't ignore his growing attraction for her. He also can't trust his judgment with women or the emotions he's long-since buried. But there's a chance, if he gets this right and saves Lark's niece, that he'll end up saving himself, too.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Mira Books, 2011.

How acquired: Through Book Mooch.

First line: He had everything he ever wanted.

My thoughts: I went into this book with a little trepidation, knowing that the heroine was going to hire Dev to help her track down the child her sister had placed for adoption four years earlier. Knowing, from the synopsis, that the adoption probably was not conducted legally. This is one of my hangups. I work in the adoption field, and I hate seeing stories, on film or in print, that give adoption a bad name. And lines like this, nineteen pages in, did not help:

Once they located the adoption agency, the address of the adoptive parents should be easy enough to find. Assuming the agency people could be persuaded to give up the information.

The only thing that would persuade the staff at our agency to divulge a family's address would be a warrant. Well, maybe a gun to the head would do it for some of our staff. But we would never just hand that information over to anyone who wanted it.

Several pages later, after talking to another girl who also placed a child, and was currently pregnant and placing that child as well, albeit with a different agency, Lark wonders how much the girl earned, and Dev speculates:

“She's blonde and blue-eyed. Caucasian babies are in high demand. Twenty thousand, maybe more. It isn't against the law – not if the agency is licensed and following all the state mandates.”

Maybe that's not illegal in Arizona, but it sure is in my state. We can pay a birth mother's living expenses – within reason and with a judge's signature on a court order – but we can't give her money, and she does not get paid to place the child.

And now I'm probably just being a little nitpicky, but a few pages later they walk into a daycare center, and while Dev approaches the receptionist desk, Lark wanders around the play area, and then talks to a little boy. I cannot imagine any daycare in the country where a person can just walk in off the street and roam around among the children.

Anyway, after it was stressed a couple of times that Lark only wanted to be sure her sister's child was in a safe and loving home, and had no intention of disrupting that, I began to relax a little and enjoy the story. And then when they finally went to that home, just in time to see masked men fleeing after having gunned down the adoptive parents and the household staff, while terrified little Chrissy was hiding in a closet, I was completely hooked. And after that, it wasn't about adoption (other than Lark of course eventually adopting Chrissy). It was about drug cartels, and Mexican criminals, and lives being in danger, and me turning pages faster and faster.

I loved Dev and Lark together. Lark is a successful businesswoman, running her own company and making and selling designer handbags. Now that she has Chrissy to raise, the last thing she needs is a relationship. Dev is the youngest of the Raines brothers, and after his fiancee broke up with him days before their wedding several years ago, he doesn't trust women and is determined to never fall in love again. They may say they love you, but how can you know if they really mean it? The answer is to have fun with pretty women but never get serious with them. The attraction between Dev and Lark is palpable, but Lark is Dev's client, and he doesn't mix business with pleasure, so she's off limits as one of his flings. When they do finally give in to the chemistry between them, it was pretty sizzling.

We meet several men who work for Dev, or who served with him in the military and are called upon now to help out. The action never lets up as Dev, Lark, Chrissy, and other men are thrown into one intense situation after another. Of the three books about the Raines brothers, this one is definitely my favorite. The next three books in the Against Series feature three of the other men involved in this one, and I am eager to read all of them. So eager in fact, that I've already placed an order through Barnes & Noble for the next book, along with two other books in the Against series, and the first book in the Brodies of Alaska series.

So despite my initial misgivings, this was a very good suspenseful story with a complex plot. There were lots of scenes that made me either laugh out loud or grin like an idiot, and when the danger was over and Lark and Dev were coming to grips with their feelings for each other, there were some scenes that literally made me cry. I can't get the next book quick enough.