An Absence of Motive (Raising the Bar Brief, Bk 1) (Harlequin Intrigue, No 2018)
Author:
Genres: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Romance
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Author:
Genres: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Romance
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Good start to the new series. Marlee is a newly minted attorney who looks forward to finding a job in the city. She grew up in a small town where her father runs the town's most prominent business and the town. She knows he wants her and her brother to take over the company, but she wants nothing to do with it. When her brother dies, the pressure is on for Marlee to return home. That pressure increases when a second young man dies by suicide.
Marlee's brother Jeff's death was ruled a suicide, but Marlee believes he was murdered. That suspicion is reinforced when she unearths some suspicious land transactions in the company's files. Proving those suspicions means working with Ben, the town's new sheriff.
Ben took the job as sheriff after his career as a DEA agent came to a violent end. With Ben's undercover identity blown, Atlanta's drug kingpin vowed revenge if Ben showed his face there again. Since most of the town's law enforcement was caught up in a vast meth bust, Ben has to rebuild the community's trust. Not an easy task for an outsider. The last thing he needs is to get involved with Marlee.
I enjoyed seeing the relationship develop between Marlee and Ben. The sparks flew from the moment they met, but Ben tried to resist them. His past as an inner-city kid and undercover agent and her plans to leave town as soon as possible are strong deterrents to involvement. Marlee, on the other hand, is quite willing to see where the attraction takes them. I liked seeing them get to know each other, from sharing their pasts to sharing onion rings. I also enjoyed seeing Marlee stand up to her father when he had other ideas. When everything was all over, Ben and Marlee had to decide if they wanted to find a way to be together. I liked the hospital scene at the end as Ben laid it all on the line for her. Marlee's response was excellent.
The suspense of the story was good. The second suicide, whose details were disturbingly similar to Jeff's, roused Ben's suspicions. Marlee's questions about the land sales around the lake offered a possible link between the two. The difficulty was figuring out who pulled the strings and why. I found Marlee's deductions intriguing and the twist over the land ownership a surprise. Complicating matters, Marlee had a stalker who threatened retribution if they didn't stop investigating. I thought I had the stalker figured out, but even that had an unexpected twist. The showdown at the end didn't go the way I thought it would, but it was satisfying nonetheless.
#netgalley
Marlee's brother Jeff's death was ruled a suicide, but Marlee believes he was murdered. That suspicion is reinforced when she unearths some suspicious land transactions in the company's files. Proving those suspicions means working with Ben, the town's new sheriff.
Ben took the job as sheriff after his career as a DEA agent came to a violent end. With Ben's undercover identity blown, Atlanta's drug kingpin vowed revenge if Ben showed his face there again. Since most of the town's law enforcement was caught up in a vast meth bust, Ben has to rebuild the community's trust. Not an easy task for an outsider. The last thing he needs is to get involved with Marlee.
I enjoyed seeing the relationship develop between Marlee and Ben. The sparks flew from the moment they met, but Ben tried to resist them. His past as an inner-city kid and undercover agent and her plans to leave town as soon as possible are strong deterrents to involvement. Marlee, on the other hand, is quite willing to see where the attraction takes them. I liked seeing them get to know each other, from sharing their pasts to sharing onion rings. I also enjoyed seeing Marlee stand up to her father when he had other ideas. When everything was all over, Ben and Marlee had to decide if they wanted to find a way to be together. I liked the hospital scene at the end as Ben laid it all on the line for her. Marlee's response was excellent.
The suspense of the story was good. The second suicide, whose details were disturbingly similar to Jeff's, roused Ben's suspicions. Marlee's questions about the land sales around the lake offered a possible link between the two. The difficulty was figuring out who pulled the strings and why. I found Marlee's deductions intriguing and the twist over the land ownership a surprise. Complicating matters, Marlee had a stalker who threatened retribution if they didn't stop investigating. I thought I had the stalker figured out, but even that had an unexpected twist. The showdown at the end didn't go the way I thought it would, but it was satisfying nonetheless.
#netgalley
