Colleen Thompson

Good conclusion to this Colton series. Malcolm works on the family ranch and volunteers with the local search and rescue and his K9 companion, Pace. When he hears that the fugitive who terrorized his family is sighted on the mountain, he and Pace go out on their own to find him. However, the first person they found was Giselle, Malcom's almost sister-in-law. Malcolm and Giselle have avoided each other since the tragic death of his fiancée and her sister, Kate.

I enjoyed watching Malcolm and show more Giselle's relationship develop as they worked together to find the killer. Both are weighed down by their grief and survivor's guilt, determined to ignore the sparks that flare between them. The author did a terrific job of showing their conflicting emotions as attraction battled grief. I could feel both characters' pain when memories overcame them and rooted for them to find healing together. I loved Malcolm's support and encouragement of Giselle as she also battled to regain her confidence after a problematic professional setback. I also liked the resolution of that issue.

The suspense of the book was excellent. Two storylines run throughout the book. The first is Malcolm's ongoing search for those responsible for Kate's death. It has been three and a half years since the accident, but he hasn't given up. Things look up when he gets information that leads to the identity of the boat's driver.

The second storyline runs throughout the series as the Coltons and law enforcement pursue a cult leader and serial killer who has terrorized his family. His "off-the-record" search starts with encountering Giselle and their attempt to warn a neighbor about Markus Acker. The action intensifies throughout the book as Acker's attacks escalate. The occasional section from his point of view shows his growing desperation. The final confrontation was an intense, edge-of-the-seat scene that kept me glued to the pages until it was over.

Two of my favorite characters were Malcolm's dog, Pacer, and the puppy Giselle adopted. Besides being Malcolm's SAR partner, Pacer provides emotional support when Malcolm's grief overwhelms him. Scarlett is an enthusiastic beagle puppy that turns out to be unsuited for service dog training. I loved seeing her and Giselle connect and the effect Scarlett had on Giselle's grieving. There were some amusing scenes involving Scarlett, one of which was one in which she was instrumental in saving the day.

I loved the last chapter and how it wrapped up the series for all of the couples. show less

Excellent suspense combined with a second-chance love story. When the sheriff is called to the scene of a car crash that rapidly turns into a murder and missing persons scene, he knows he needs expert help. But calling in SAR expert Kate opens a whole raft of complications, as he and Kate have a turbulent personal and professional past. As high school sweethearts, tragedy tore them apart. Years later, they were fellow deputies until competition for the sheriff's job caused their work show more relationship to implode. Any interactions since then lean on the acrimonious side.

The story's suspense sucked me in from the start, and didn't let go until the end. The search scene had me on the edge of my seat as Hayden and Kate searched for the mother and two little girls, only to discover them in extreme danger. I could feel Hayden and Kate's determination to save the children and injured woman. I liked the realism of this encounter, as Hayden and Kate did not emerge injury-free. The effects of those injuries are also realistically portrayed and influence the rest of the story. Following the investigation kept me glued to the pages as changing information altered perceived suspects and motivations. Several twists led to an exciting ending.

I enjoyed seeing the rekindling of the relationship between Hayden and Kate. Eighteen years have passed since their high school romance, and neither has truly moved on. Memories of their time together and the circumstances that tore them apart are never far from the surface. It is evident that sparks of attraction still burn underneath the animosity they exhibit, but both try to ignore them. However, as they work together on the investigation and have a chance to get to know each other again, those sparks become harder to resist. Each also begins to see how youth and grief contributed to their parting. I ached for Hayden, the first to acknowledge his feelings, because Kate feared risking her heart again. It takes a deeply emotional revisiting of their past for them to be able to look to a future together. show less

Gripping suspense combined with a great romance. The beginning was intense as Callie and Jude are part of a medevac crew called out on a stormy night. Callie experiences a flashback to the flight four years earlier that killed the patient and all the crew except her, including her husband. When they discover the same wealthy family pulled strings for this non-life-threatening case, Callie lambasts the patient's entitled mother. Jude is furious when he finds out it's the same family he holds show more responsible for destroying his mother's life.

Jude recently moved to Texas from Arizona to take a job with LifeWings and investigate the Kingston family. He's worked with Callie multiple times and has a great deal of respect for her. Though she never talks about the crash that changed her life, Jude suspects she feels the same way he does about the Kingstons. When Jude explains his connection to the family and his desire for justice for his mom, Callie is all-in to help him.

The tension is immediately apparent when Callie learns that Jude sent a letter to Beau Kingston detailing the proof of his claim. She believes that Jude is in danger because Beau won't want the truth to come out. Jude is skeptical but becomes a believer when he is forced off the road and nearly dies later that night. Thanks to a complaint by the woman the previous night, Callie is removed from flight duty pending an investigation. Because of his injuries, Jude is placed on medical leave, so the two of them come up with a plan to get the further proof they need. Complicating matters, Jude's apartment was trashed while he was in the hospital by someone who was clearly searching for something.

I could not put the book down as Callie and Jude fought to stay one step ahead of those determined to keep Jude from revealing the truth. Their deceptive entry into the Kingston home ended badly and sent them on the run. Every time it looked as though they were safe, their pursuers would find them again. A couple of plot twists caused me to rethink my initial suspicions, and I wondered how Jude's quest would turn out. The final confrontation revealed some new information and a change in perspective. There was also one last attempt on Jude's life. I loved the ending and the surprise waiting for Jude and Callie.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Jude and Callie. It began as coworkers only. Callie shut herself off from the people around her, still grieving her husband after four years. She refuses to let herself care for anyone again. Jude breaks through her walls a little when he pulls her out of her flashback and more when he invites her to join his quest for justice. Jude is attracted to Callie but backs off when she insists that she has nothing to give him. As they spend time together, Callie is dismayed to discover that she is no longer frozen with grief and that Jude stirs up feelings buried for four years. I got a little frustrated with her when she'd give in to the attraction then pull away because it was so unfair to Jude. He was aware of his feelings well before Callie was, and I ached for the way he hurt. It didn't stop him from caring or wanting to protect her, even though she didn't want to be protected. There were some harsh words exchanged when Jude's protectiveness took over. The catalyst for Callie's realization of her feelings created a nail-biting situation as she raced after Jude. What happened next was terrifying, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it would turn out. The scene at the hospital was deeply emotional, and I loved seeing Callie finally let go of the past.

There was a secondary storyline involving Callie's mother and her abusive husband. I ached for Callie, who'd been trying to help her mom for years. There were some twists in that story as Callie dealt with her mom's issues while she was running for her life. I loved how the similarities between their mothers' lives influenced Jude and Callie's plans. show less

An exciting and sometimes heart-wrenching book. Eight years earlier, Mac's wife drowned while she and their twins were visiting her parents in Argentina. When Mac flew there to attend the funeral and retrieve his children, he was severely beaten, and his life threatened. He spent the next eight years fighting to get his children back, using every financial resource he had and contacting every media source and government official he could. It wasn't until his wealthy and influential show more father-in-law died that officials were able to swoop in and remove the children.

One of those officials was social worker Sara Wakefield. Because the children don't speak English, she was tasked with judging Mac's fitness as a father while being a liaison between him and the kids. Complicating matters, Silvia and Cristo have been lied to about their father and believe that he abused their mother. I ached for Mac, who'd loved his wife very much and had no idea how to prove it to the kids.

I loved seeing Mac's patience as he slowly went about reintroducing Silvia and Cristo to their home. He was aided by his adorable lab, Roxy, who'd been a puppy when the kids were taken. Sara also did her best to get through the walls the children had built. The kids are understandably wary, and I felt some sympathy for them even when they were stubborn. I liked seeing the changes they went through and laughed at some of the surprises they provided for the unsuspecting adults.

I enjoyed seeing the relationship develop between Sara and Mac. The sparks of attraction were there from the start, but Sara was determined to keep things professional. That became a little more difficult when she broke her wrist and depended on Mac to help. The more time they spent together, the closer they grew. Mac could easily picture a future with Sara, but she refused to consider it. Sara has a tragedy in her past that has convinced her that she can never be a mother to any child. I ached for her because she came to love the twins but was afraid to believe in herself. It took nearly losing them and a lot of effort on Mac's part to finally break through those fears. I was a little disappointed by the ending, as I felt some of the joy of their coming together was left out. The epilogue helped.

The suspense of the story was a slow build with an intense finale. When the children arrived, they were confident their grandmother would find a way to get them back. Meanwhile, Sara had to ensure that they didn't have access to any forms of communication they could use to contact her. Their certainty that men would come to take them back made Sara very nervous and Mac quite vigilant. The tension increased when it became evident that someone was watching the house, and again when Mac found a stranger in his house, photographing the children's rooms. I was glued to the pages when men broke into the house, and Sara risked her life to save the kids. A last-minute twist added unexpected danger.

I liked the secondary characters of Amanda and Mac's brothers. There is some mystery surrounding Amanda's husband's death, and I wonder if it will go through all three books. There is tension between Mac and his brothers because of his part in the loss of the family ranch, but both Hayden and Ryan are there when needed. I hope to see more progress toward reconciliation in the brothers' books.

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