Now, I don’t read a lot of romantic suspense, but I got an ARC of this book when I was at RT this year. We actually discussed one of the author’s earlier books in one of the sessions in my writing boot camp at RT, too, and it sounded good. This is a spinoff series. The book comes highly recommended, with recommendations from Charlaine Harris among others.
Theo is a small-town Colorado K9 officer whose partner has just died suddenly. He’s also inherited his partner’s dog and they’re not bonding very well. Theo is in general not coping very well—he’s just sort of going through the motions. Even his new K9 partner is suffering because of Theo’s partner’s death; he’s struggling to fulfill his K9 duties even as Theo tries to get him working again. Despite all this, the moment Theo sees the new server at the local diner, he’s intrigued. He knows she’s hiding something and that he should therefore stay away, but he doesn’t.
The secret that Jules is keeping is that she kidnapped her four siblings (taking them out of an abusive home situation), got five new identities, and brought them to Colorado to hide. So she’s a very young woman trying to take care of kids in junior high and high school, all while knowing that if they get caught, not only will she go to prison, but they’ll all go back to their crap home situation. Understandably, Theo makes her very, very nervous.
But of course they can’t resist each other. The attraction between them is clear and well-portrayed, even though I personally don’t find Theo that appealing. He is kind of jerk to everyone but Jules, because he is emotionally damaged by the death of his partner (and, not long before that, his own K9 partner). Jules, on the other hand, is definitely likable. She’s trying so hard to support herself and her siblings that you can’t help but feel for her.
One thing about the book that disappointed me was a distinct lack of strong resolution regarding the cop vs. kidnapper conflict, which I felt seriously detracted from a true HEA. But I don’t know, maybe this is acceptable in romantic suspense. After all, some things can’t realistically be reconciled. So if you enjoy romantic suspense, especially if you also like cops and/or dogs, you’d probably enjoy this book and the series. If I liked the subgenre more, I’d pick up the second book or even the original series that this one spun off of.