Monday, February 7, 2022

Cold Case Witness - Melinda Di Lorenzo (HRS #2154 - Oct 2021)

One shocking moment threatens two lives
 
What Warren Wright accidentally sees one night -- armed men exhuming a body -- could cost him his life. Worse, he inadvertently endangers his favorite barista, Jeannette Renfrew, in the process. Their only option? Go on the run and try to save themselves. As they become targets of a manhunt, they stumble upon a cold case with eerie connections to a murder…and Warren's past. Do Warren and Jeannette dare fall in love as a deadly force tries to silence them?

 
Good suspense story with a terrific romance. I enjoyed reading a book with slightly more "mature" characters. Warren is forty-one, a self-made man who put a troubled youth behind him and went from construction worker to owning his own contracting business. He lives alone and has never married. His longest "relationship" is his daily exchange of pleasantries with the barista at his favorite coffee shop.
 
Jeannette is thirty-six and in the midst of her own life-makeover. After a failed relationship, she moved to town, found a place to live, and went back to school to get her teaching degree. She works at the coffee shop with younger coworkers and often feels much older than they are. She looks forward to Warren's daily visits and has developed a crush on him.
 
The story opens with a rush as a disgruntled Warren returns to the latest construction site to retrieve his forgotten cell phone and discovers two men digging up a body on the property. In fleeing the two armed men, Warren takes refuge at Jeannette's coffee shop, unfortunately placing her in danger. This was a nail-biter of an opening, as Warren and Jeannette barely escaped with their lives. I was very impressed with Jeannette's calmness in the crisis and how she kept her head. The action is non-stop from here, as Jeannette and Warren struggle to stay ahead of their pursuers. Complicating matters, Warren discovers an unexpected link to his past - and the guilt that has weighed on him since the disappearance of his high school girlfriend.
 
I enjoyed the suspense of this story as Jeannette and Warren put their minds to finding out what was going on. Each new bit of information they uncovered led them closer to the truth and closer to danger. I was glued to the pages as the final confrontation pit Warren's protectiveness against Jeannette's stubbornness and both of them against a psychopathic killer. While I was happy to see them come out on top, I was a little disappointed that so little was said about what happened to the bad guy and his enablers.
 
I liked seeing the development of the relationship between Warren and Jeannette. They've known each other for a couple of years, so it isn't insta-love, but they haven't spent much time together either. Thanks to his past, Warren tends to hold himself back from getting too close to anyone, but he can't deny his fascination with Jeannette. He doesn't intend to do anything about it because he feels he isn't good for her. He spends a lot of time apologizing to her for getting her involved in the mess. I had fun watching Jeannette stand up to Warren's protectiveness (aka machismo or misplaced chivalry). She isn't a fragile flower and makes sure he knows it. I liked seeing them get to know each other and trust each other enough to share their pasts. The intensity of their situation also leads to a rapid escalation of their attraction and the deeper feelings that develop with it. I loved the ending and seeing them look forward to a future together.
 
I can't end the review without mentioning how much I loved Jeannette's neighbor, Rosie. The feisty octogenarian was a hoot. She was quick-witted and fearless in her protectiveness, and I laughed out loud at her antics. Warren and Jeannette owed their lives to her.


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