Series:
Shelter of Secrets (Book 2)
She protects those in need…with her K-9 by her side!
When a brutal homicide crosses her desk, K-9 cop Maisie
Murran is determined to find the culprit. Evidence points toward an unlikely
suspect, veterinarian Kyle Kornel. Maisie suspects that someone is framing the
compassionate doctor, and she offers to help him find the real killer. Working
together to prove his innocence puts them both at risk -- and makes the heat
between them impossible to ignore…
Good suspense combined with romance. This animal shelter
in Chance is a no-kill shelter that takes in abused and unwanted animals.
Unknown to the rest of the town, it is also a shelter for abused women. They
are taken in, given a chance to heal while working with the animals, then given
new lives elsewhere. The shelter's manager, Scott, is an undercover police
officer (
Her Undercover Refuge).
The newest employee at the shelter is Kyle, a former cop
turned veterinarian. He is on-site when K-9 cop Maisie brings her dog, Griffin,
in because of an injured paw while she was patrolling near the shelter. The
sparks between them were evident from the start, and they made plans to get
together.
While at the shelter, there is an altercation between
Kyle and a pair of women who bring a dog to the shelter. One woman is a local
pet supply store owner who displays dogs for adoption while encouraging adopters
to purchase supplies from the store. There is some question about the legality
and ethics of her actions, and Kyle is not very happy with the resolution of
the argument. He finds her body when he goes to the pet store later to talk to
the woman and check the situation. He calls the police but is considered the
number one person of interest in the murder because of the earlier argument.
This puts a crimp in the blossoming relationship between
Kyle and Maisie. As a police officer, getting involved with a murder suspect is
not a good idea. But they can't stay away from each other despite Maisie's
initial questioning of Kyle's guilt or innocence. Their attraction grows as
they work together to prove Kyle's innocence. I liked that, though their
chemistry was strong, they limited their involvement while the case was
ongoing. I liked Kyle's protectiveness toward Maisie after he received a threat
that included her, even though he respected her abilities as a police officer. I
wanted their chances for a future together after the case ended, and they were free
to explore their relationship.
The suspense was good. There were questions about the motives
and actions of the murdered woman from her first appearance at the shelter. Kyle
is a logical suspect even though the reader knows he is not guilty. Reading the
book requires some suspense of disbelief as Maisie, a K-9 cop only peripherally
involved in the investigation, decides to look into things on her own. She also
informs one of the suspects (Kyle) of what she finds. Putting these quibbles
aside, the search for the murderer kept my interest. In addition to Kyle, there
were other possible suspects in the murder, from the woman's ex-husbands to
employees of the store.
The intensity increased when Kyle received a threatening
text, indicating that the murderer was not happy with his pursuit of the truth.
As information about one of the other suspects came to light, the spotlight moved
away from Kyle but didn't decrease his desire to find the truth. The final
confrontation was a nail-biter as the murderer made their move on their actual
target. The face-off was intense as Kyle and Maisie faced a desperate killer
bent on revenge. The resolution was neatly done (I loved Griffin and Spike's
involvement), though I found the murderer's motive a bit far-fetched. I'm
looking forward to the next book.
No comments:
Post a Comment