Proving her innocence is the ultimate test
While on patrol, rookie cop Grace Colton pursues a
fleeing suspect, never thinking it could end her career -- or her life.
Suddenly, she's everyone's enemy. Enter Camden Kingsley from Internal Affairs,
who rubs Grace the wrong way and seems determined to believe the worst about
her. But during interrogations, their sizzling chemistry is obvious, turning
foe into unexpected defender, especially as one person desperately wants Grace
out of the picture -- permanently.
Good book. Things are heating up in Grave Gulch. The
police department is throwing everything it has at bringing in the department's
forensics specialist, whose manipulation of evidence put so many innocent
people behind bars and let others like serial killer Len Davison go free. They
also want to get Davison back behind bars and stop his killing spree.
Meanwhile, the town's growing distrust of the GGPD frustrates the officers who
do their best to protect those under their care, especially Police Chief
Melissa Colton and the other Coltons on the force.
As the book opens, Grace, a rookie cop and youngest of
the Colton family, is out on patrol when she spots a person acting suspiciously
and pursues him. When he draws a weapon on her, she is forced to defend
herself. But when backup arrives and the suspect is taken into custody, the gun
is nowhere to be found. Because she discharged her weapon, Grace is suspended
while the incident is investigated, and Internal Affairs is called in to do the
investigation.
Unfortunately, Internal Affairs departments are often
mistrusted, and Grace's family members warn her to be careful what she says.
Even though Camden Kingsley has an excellent reputation for integrity in his
investigations, he is still from IA. He impressed me with his determination to
find the truth, even though others pressured him for a quick resolution.
Camden's history shows he has a solid motivation to treat each case fairly, and
this one is no exception. However, he didn't expect the attraction and feelings
of protectiveness he felt toward this subject.
I enjoyed watching both the mystery and the romance
develop. The sparks between Camden and Grace are evident from the start, as is
their desire to ignore them. Camden knows that getting involved with the
subject of his investigation would affect his objectivity. Grace has been
warned about IA investigators' willingness to do anything to trip up the people
they investigate. But Grace instinctively feels that she can trust Camden, and
he quickly recognizes her innocence. I loved watching them work together while maintaining
their professional distance, but their connection was too strong. There are
some terrific scenes of them together. I liked how Grace stood up for Camden
when she took him to the family party, and the interaction between them on the
terrace that night was intense. I loved Camden's belief in Grace, her
innocence, and her professional abilities. Their relationship moves along quite
well despite everything that says they should stay away from each other. Then
Camden makes a grand gesture that doesn't go the way he envisioned, creating a
bit of a bump in their road. But Camden is there when she needs him, and a
life-threatening situation shows both the depth of their feelings. I liked the
ending and hope to see more of them in the final books of the series.
The suspense of the story was well done. We see the
situation through Grace's eyes and what she is confident she saw. The trouble
comes when the two witnesses flee the scene and can't be found. Neither can the
gun Grace knows the perp had, which puts her in a bad situation. All of the
Coltons expect trouble from the IA officer. Grace got lucky with Camden, who is
honest to the bone. The suspense was a slow build as Grace and Camden worked
together to uncover the truth. A few included scenes with the missing witnesses
allow the reader to see things that Grace and Camden don't know about, which
increased my investment in the story. I loved the plan to draw out the
witnesses and was glued to the pages to see if it worked. An unexpected twist
put Grace in danger. The final confrontation was a nail-biter that kept me
hooked until it was over.
The series storyline of Randall Bowe (forensics guy) and the
serial killer advanced somewhat. The good guys get outside help to track down
Bowe, and I can't wait to see how that works out. The conflict between the town
and the police continues as the GGPD deals with the fallout from the forensics
debacle and some things that have happened since then. A twist I never saw coming
involved the police chief, and I look forward to seeing the effects of that
event.
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