Series: Longview Ridge Ranch (Book 1)
Can a Texas lawman capture an escaped serial killer
after a witness's location is breached?
The serial killer Gemma Hanson narrowly escaped just
discovered her WITSEC location, and he's coming after her to finish what he
started. That's the message Sheriff Kellan Slater personally delivers. Although
Gemma and Kellan share an intense past, escaping the violence surrounding them
is all that matters. Especially once Gemma realizes there is no safe place --
not even protective custody…
Good start to the new series, with a good combination of
suspense and second chance romance. Gemma is in Witness Protection after
surviving a serial killer's attack. That protection disappears when the killer
discovers Gemma's location. The book opens with a bang as Gemma arrives home to
find that her house was broken into. Just as she's ready to call for help,
Sheriff Kellan Slater comes to deliver the news of her compromised location.
Gemma and Kellan have a troubled past, but she knows she can trust him to keep
her safe.
A year earlier, Gemma was a profiler working to identify
a serial killer. A confrontation with the killer resulted in the deaths of a
sheriff and deputy, and Gemma's wounding. She blames herself for the deaths, as
the serial killer turned out to be an intern working with her, and she never
connected him with the killer. To make matters worse, the sheriff who died was
Kellan's father. Gemma and Kellan were involved at the time, and Kellan is torn
between blaming her and blaming himself for not arriving in time to protect his
father or her.
I enjoyed the rekindling of the relationship between Gemma
and Kellan. They are wary around each other at first, as the past isn't far
from their minds, but it's also clear that the feelings between them are as
strong as ever. Kellan is determined to keep things professional since getting
distracted by Gemma could get them both killed. However, good intentions didn't
last long in the face of intense chemistry. The attraction between them built
even in the midst of the danger, with a few pretty steamy moments in the rare
downtimes. Both of them needed to overcome the events of the past before they
could look to a future, and facing down those who wished them harm gave them
the chance to do so. The ending was great as both admitted their feelings and
put the past behind them.
The suspense and action were intense and almost nonstop. The
opening pages had Gemma discovering her safe house was compromised, Kellan
arriving to tell her that the serial killer knew where she was, and the two of
them surviving being shot at and her house being blown up behind them. The
serial killer, Eric, spent a good part of the book taunting them with his
nearness and ability to attack them at will. There were also hints that the
deaths of Kellan's father and the deputy were not all that they seemed. Add in
a couple of Federal Marshals whose ethics were in doubt, and Kellan had trouble
knowing who he could trust. There were several situations when Kellan and Gemma
were in danger that could have been avoided if Kellan had listened to the
instincts that told him that he shouldn't do what he did. The resolution came
at the end of several twists and turns that kept them guessing. While most
questions were resolved, there is one thread that was left hanging. Presumably,
it will be answered either in the next book or will carry through the series
and be resolved at the end of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment