Paula Graves (1963–2017)

Good story. Nick is at loose ends because he's been temporarily suspended from his job at The Gates, suspected of leaking information about another agent (see Deception Lake). As he's wondering what he's going to do with his time, a wounded FBI agent shows up on his doorstep. And not just any agent, but one he has a history with.

McKenna Rigsby has been undercover in the Tennessee mountains, trying to get information on a local militia group suspected of domestic terrorism. But her cover was show more blown by someone in the FBI and now she's running for her life. She hasn't seen Nick in eight years, but he's the one person she knows she can trust.

Nick goes into protector mode, determined to keep McKenna safe. She doesn't know who she can trust in the FBI, so she is on her own. But with Nick's help she feels that they can find out who is responsible. Because he's on the outs with the people he works for, he doesn't have quite as many resources as he would usually have. But he hasn't been locked out entirely, and uses the contacts he has to help figure out who is behind the attacks on her.

There's a lot of off the record stuff going on in this story. Though Quinn suspended Nick, it's obvious that he still trusts him. He strongly suspects that McKenna is with Nick, and gives his unspoken support to Nick's plan to help her. However, being Quinn, he still attempts to keep an eye on what is going on, which doesn't always go over well with his agents. Because Nick and McKenna are wary of who they can trust, they find themselves frequently on the move. Each move brings them a little closer to finding the person responsible, until they finally decide on a plan to draw the person out. Again, because neither of them can do anything officially, they must depend on friends to make it happen. I loved seeing characters from previous books show up to help. Of course, the plan doesn't go quite as expected, and things get pretty intense for awhile. The resolution didn't go quite as I expected, and there are a few threads left hanging. I hope to see them tied up in the next book.

I enjoyed the romance between Nick and McKenna. Because they had known each other before, it didn't feel as if it happened too quickly. I liked the few flashbacks that were included, as they gave a good sense of how they got to know each other. There had obviously been an attraction and a connection back then, but because of their jobs they weren't able to do anything about it. The attraction they had then is still there, and is getting harder to resist. I also loved how their longstanding friendship showed in things like their Brit vs.hillbilly teasing. It wasn't until the end, when they were afraid of losing each other, that they could finally admit their feelings. show less

Excellent book. Dana has come to Bitterwood for a couple weeks to see her brother and meet his fiancee. When Doyle is involved in an accident that turns out to have been deliberate she is determined to help find the culprit. To do that she's going to have to work with Walker Nix, a man she finds incredibly attractive. Nix is just as taken with her, but getting involved with his boss's sister isn't a good idea, especially since she'll be leaving soon anyway.

I really liked both Dana and Nix. show more Dana is a US marshal and very good at what she does. She is also a workaholic, using her job as a way to fill her life. As the oldest in her family, after her parents were killed in an accident she took responsibility for her two younger brothers. She blames herself for the death of her youngest brother and has never been able to open herself up to emotional commitment to another person. Dana's first day in Bitterwood has her accompanying Nix as they look for her brother. She is attracted to him, but resists because she won't be there for long. Investigating the accident with Nix shows them both that there is something going on that involves her family. The deeper they delve into her mother's past the more it becomes obvious that someone is hiding something big and they'll stop at nothing to keep it that way. Dana is determined to get at the truth and working with Nix is the best way to do it. I loved seeing Dana start to open up to Nix and share her feelings with him. Her guilt has been overwhelming until Nix shows her that she couldn't have changed what happened. Her feelings for Nix are growing too, but she is afraid of loving and losing.

Nix has spent his whole life in Bitterwood except for a short time spent in the Marines. He loves his hometown and the mountains. Working as a detective gives him a bit of excitement in his life while keeping him close to home. He hasn't been happy about the problems in the police department and is fully on board with weeding out the corruption. I like the fact that he has respect and liking for his boss. He's the one who takes the initiative to go look for Doyle when he doesn't show up where he should be. I also enjoyed his reaction to Dana and how he realized early on that she was going to be very important to him. I loved his protectiveness toward her, even though he knew she was capable of taking care of herself. Working with Dana gave him the chance to get to know her even better and realize that he wanted her in his life permanently. And that meant he was actually going to have to talk about his feelings too. I loved the ending and what he offered to do and how it all worked out.

I loved the mystery of Dana and Doyle's mother. Doyle had first gotten an idea that there was something going on during the last book and his investigation is what got him hurt at the beginning of this one. As Dana and Nix discovered more about what had happened the danger she was in increased. I loved the whole investigation and seeing Tallie come to life for Dana. The person behind the attacks wasn't a total surprise but there were some surprises leading up to it. I'm looking forward to the next book and seeing how it all comes together.

There wasn't much about the missing crime boss in this book, as it concentrated mostly on the mystery of Dana's mother. There were a few mentions of the ongoing search and investigation. I expect the next one will wrap it all up. show less

Very good conclusion to the Browning Sisters trilogy. Iris has arrived on the island to meet a friend, only to find that the friend signed them up for a conference about paranormal abilities and is now missing. While searching for her friend Iris meets Maddox who calls himself a beach bum but seems to have appointed himself her protector. Someone is after Iris and she doesn't know why.

I really liked both Iris and Maddox. Iris is a healing empath who is suffering from a bit of burnout. Every show more time she takes on someone's pain it exhausts her and it is taking her longer to recover. She's hoping that some time away will give her a break. Discovering that her friend is missing just adds to her worries. She meets Maddox when she asks him if he's seen her friend. She moves on when he hasn't but he worries about the way she looks and follows just in time to catch her when she collapses. She hesitates to accept his offered help, especially when she senses a darkness from him, but she also feels she can trust him. As they work together their attraction only grows stronger. Iris begins to feel more of Maddox's emotional pain and wants to help him, but he resists. When she finds out what is going on at the conference she insists on helping feeling a need to do something to stop what is happening. I really liked her attitude of wanting to help even though Maddox was telling her to leave. She had an amazing amount of strength of will to be able to do what she does even though she is also afraid. I loved the way she brought people together at the end to save the day.

Maddox is still recovering from things that happened in his past. He has terribly guilty feelings which prevent him from letting anyone else depend on him. When he meets Iris there is something about her that he just can't stay away from. I loved the way that he used his connections to help her find out what happened to her friend. He was also there to help her when she was attacked and insisted on continuing to protect her. He doesn't understand the "hoodoo" that she does but can't deny that it exists. The more time he spends with Iris the more he comes to care for her, but he feels that the things in his past make it impossible for him to have any kind of relationship. When parts of that past show up on the island he has to face them to get the future that's waiting for him. show less

I loved this book. In the previous two books, Deception Lake and Killshadow Road, it was discovered that there was a mole in The Gates security firm. Anson is one of two people who was suspected of being the leak because of his work as the IT director. He has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation takes place. Not being the type to sit back and wait, he's doing his own investigating, which leads him to Ginny.

Ginny is the payroll person at The Gates. She also has access show more to a lot of information, making her a possible suspect for the leak. Anson is watching her one night as she goes to the local bar to retrieve her inebriated brother. He witnesses her being accosted by four very large men and steps in to rescue her, getting beat up in the process. Ginny is accustomed to taking care of herself, and isn't sure what to make of Anson's interference. She feels guilty about his injuries, but also grateful for his help. When additional attacks take place, Anson is determined to keep her safe.

I loved Anson and Ginny. Neither one is the stereotypical superman/superwoman security agency operative. Ginny is an office worker, trying to keep her brother out of trouble. But she is stubborn and independent and very smart and tries to keep Anson out of her troubles. Anson isn't a field agent, and hasn't been trained as one. He is a computer nerd, working his magic on the Gates' computer systems. He's in good shape, but not musclebound, so when he tries to stop her assailants he doesn't come out on top, but does manage to hold them off until help arrives.

It quickly becomes obvious that the trouble Ginny is in has something to do with her brother. Anson is determined to keep her safe until they find out what the connection is, and also if there is a connection to the mole. There is a strong attraction between them that has them wanting to believe in each other, but both of them have some trust issues that stem from their own pasts. Those same issues have caused each of them to avoid relationships in the past, but with each other they want to believe that it's possible.

I really liked the buildup of the suspense, both from the previous books and in this one as the mystery continues. There are things that happen that make Anson and Ginny doubt each other's innocence even as their growing feelings insist that trust is possible. The emerging clues led me to bounce between a couple people as suspects, and I was glad to see that my initial suspicion turned out to be correct. The final confrontation was intense and I loved Ginny's quick thinking to help them save themselves.

As the investigation went on, I really enjoyed seeing how Quinn was always there to support his people. I also loved seeing his reactions as those same people don't always do as he wants or expects. There are a couple of pretty amusing places where his frustrations are obvious. I really hope that he ends up with his own story, with a woman that can stand up to him. show less