"An easy reading book with palpable suspense and just the right amount of romance"
Reviewed by Betty Cox
Posted October 15, 2010
Romance
Kara Thistle left Lantern Cove, California to start her
dream job with the FBI. She left behind Neal, her
ex-fiancee, and Matthew, her childhood friend and
sweetheart. In the 10 years that have passed since then,
Kara has suffered guilt and remorse about leaving both of
the men in her life, particularly since, shortly after Kara
left home, Neal was killed in an auto accident everyone
believed was a suicide. Now the FBI is following a serial killer, a maniac who
abducts and tortures children before killing them. The
psychopath leaves them clues that lead Kara and her team to
her home town, where the most recent victim was found.
Matthew is now chief-of-police in Lantern Cove and is forced
to work with the Special Agents, though he doesn't like it
one bit. His obvious disdain for her forces Kara to come
face-to-face with her personal mistakes and the secrets she
has held for many years. This is an easy reading book with palpable suspense and
just the right amount of romance. Good characters and
remarkable story threads kept me turning the pages until the
end.
SUMMARY
Ten years ago Kara Thistle fled her sleepy California
town. She left behind bittersweet memories and a night
that changed her life. Now deadly business brings the FBI
special agent back home and face-to-face with her ex-lover—
Lantern Cove police chief Matthew Beauchamp.
Forced to work with the special agent to track down a
killer, Matt has to play nice with Kara, the last person
he expected to see again. The woman he's never forgotten.
Despite everything, he still wants her…even when he
discovers her secret. Now their daughter's in danger, and
Kara is stealing his heart all over again. This time they
have everything to lose….
ExcerptThe morning broke gray and dismal. Cloud cover drifted,
creeping among the trees of Wolfs Tooth ravine, overgrown
with 100-year-old cedars and western red hemlock. It was a
place Matthew Beauchamp would normally enjoy hiking to, but
today was no ordinary day.
A freelance photographer taking photos of the area had
stumbled upon the body of a little girl. Now, looking down
at the body, Matthew thought he had not come across a more
heart-rending scene in his entire law enforcement career.
Having grown up in the sleepy town of Lantern Cove, Matthew
was more accustomed to crimes of opportunity; petty theft,
vandalism, the usual pot smokers and growers. Nothing like
this.
Mud spattered her short-sleeve "Princess" shirt and pink
sweat pants; she was missing a shoe. Her small toes had the
remnants of pink polish and her flaxen hair was matted with
dirt and underbrush. Someone had tossed this child away
like garbage.
"Feds are on their way. Should be here any time," Sgt.
Oren Lawrence said, coming to stand next to Matthew. Wiping
his ruddy nose with the back of his glove, he sucked back
the rest of the snot before continuing, "You thinking what
I’m thinking?"
Cold seeping into his bones, Matthew nodded. "It’s that
Linney girl. Went missing a week ago in San Francisco."
"Far from home."
"Yeah," Matthew said grimly. "But only someone who’s
familiar with this area would’ve known about Wolfs Tooth.
It’s not like this place is popular with tourists. It’s
hard to get to and you risk a broken ankle coming down that
ridge." He shook his head.
"How about the shutterbug who found her?" Oren
speculated but Matthew shook his head.
"At this point he seems clean. Looked ready to puke. I
don’t blame him. Coming across a body like this might make
any normal person lose his lunch. But I’ve got Dinky
looking into his alibi."
The sound of cars pulling off the shoulder above them
drew their attention and Oren grimaced. "Feds." Then
clapped Matthew on the shoulder before returning to the
team who were canvassing the area. "Remember to play nice,"
he said.
Matthew looked up as two agents appeared over the ridge,
a man and a woman, and he waved them down.
At first there was nothing extraordinary about the two.
They had the look of Federal agents, complete with austere
coats, no-nonsense expressions and an air of arrogance that
seemed to come with being affiliated with a government
agency. But as they traversed the dangerous, uneven
terrain, and walked toward him, Matthew sucked in a sharp
breath as recognition hit him in a flash that knocked the
wind out of him. He hadn’t seen her in almost ten years but
he’d recognize that face anywhere.
Kara Thistle.
She had been the fiancée of his best friend—they had all
grown up together. Now she was a special agent for the
FBI. Kara was the last person he expected to see walking
back into his life, if even only professionally.
Time had treated her well enough, although she’d lost
the softness of youth. Cinnamon Hair scraped back in a no-
nonsense ponytail at the base of her neck, with no earrings
or makeup, her cheeks glowed from the salty sea air and
clear, marble green eyes stared back at him. A stunning
young woman had blossomed into a striking adult, not that
Matthew was surprised. Good looks had never been her
problem.
"Matthew." Her voice gave away nothing of what she may
have been feeling but there was something behind her eyes
that betrayed her for a split second. To her credit, she
recovered quickly. He acknowledged her with a stiff nod,
feeling awkward as hell at the unexpected reunion. She’d
never show it, but he suspected she was just as
uncomfortable so he wasn’t surprised when she didn’t waste
time chewing the fat over old times. And that was just fine
by him. The less time they had to spend in each other’s
company the better. "This is my partner Dillon McIntyre.
We’re part of the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team —
CARD for short — assigned to the Babysitter cases," she
explained as she handed Matthew a business card as a matter
of protocol.
"A pleasure," her partner Dillon said, his clipped tone
accentuated by the subtle British accent that only made his
pretty-boy good looks all the more suspect in Matthew’s
opinion. "It’s like tromping around in a meat locker. Worse
than San Francisco with its infernal fog," he commented
darkly, pulling the lapels of his black wool topcoat a
little closer around his neck before muttering. "I’m going
to freeze my bollocks off in this place. If I’d enjoyed
this kind of weather I’d have stayed in England."
Kara spared her partner a look that said shut it, and he
stalked off to talk with the officers canvassing the area.
"I apologize for my partner. He’s a little on edge," she
said. Then added, "He quit smoking a few days ago and feels
it’s only fair that everyone around him suffer as much as
he is."
Matthew offered a curt nod. He could really care less
about her partner. He was too busy wondering of all the
agents in the Bureau why it had to be her assigned to this
case. He’d rather eat nails than sit and play nice with
Kara. It wasn’t as if she’d left on the best of terms. But
even as anger banked over the years started to flare bright
again, he knew now was not the time for what he wanted to
say to her. Snuffing his feelings until he could talk
without snarling, he focused on the case. "What do you mean
by babysitter cases? Are you saying there’s been more than
one abduction?"
Kara paused, then answered with caution. "It’s possible
there have been other cases connected to this one. Has
anyone else been down here since you made the call to the
Bureau?"
"No. Just my team of investigators."
"Good. Hold on, guys. I want to take a look," she said,
gesturing to the officers who were preparing the body bag,
Matthew seemingly forgotten for the moment.
Oh, hell no. He didn’t like being dismissed. Not by her,
not by anyone. Matthew quickly followed. "What are you
looking for?" he asked, noting the way her stare slowly
perused the body, missing nothing and stopping for long
moments on the garish ligature marks marring the child’s
bone-white skin at her neck and wrists.
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she met her
partner’s stare and said in a grim tone, "Call the CARD
team. Let them know we found Linney. And then call the task
force. We need them here ASAP." She rose. To Matthew she
said, "Thanks for making the call. The Bureau appreciates
your diligence."
He didn’t need a pat on the head. "Thanks aren’t
necessary. Just doing my job."
"You have our appreciation, just the same." Kara flashed
a brief smile, devoid of anything aside from professional
courtesy and Matthew had to suppress a shiver that didn’t
come from the weather. Then, for a moment he could’ve sworn
he’d seen disappointment cross her features when she said
with a sigh. "We were hoping for a different outcome this
time." But it was gone in a heartbeat when she spoke
again. "This is a sensitive case. High profile. The press
is all over it. It won’t be long before they catch wind
that another body has been found. You might want to brief
your Public Information Officer on what is acceptable to
release and what is not — which is just about everything.
My partner will go over the protocol with you, if you’re
unsure."
"That won’t be necessary," Matthew said, annoyed at what
he perceived was implied incompetence on their part. "We
know how to play with the press."
"This isn’t a game." She looked at him sharply. "I’d
prefer if you didn’t use analogies that belittle the
situation."
"Calm down," he said gruffly. "I’m not belittling
anything. I’m just saying we’re not idiots and I don’t
appreciate you coming here and implying that we are just
because we’re not overpaid government employees."
She stiffened and looked to her partner who had pulled
his North Face beanie down low to cover his ears and
flipped the collar of his jacket up to ward off the
wind. "I’m heading back to the car. Call in the troops. You
coming?" he asked, the look in his eyes plainly
communicating it was time to stop nettling the locals.
"In a minute," she said.
"Suit yourself," Agent McIntyre said and wasted little
time in returning to the heat of the car but Matthew
distinctly heard him say something about someone being a
stubborn ass and he wondered if he was referring to him or
Kara.
Kara turned, her eyes sparking with contained irritation
but before she could say whatever was on her mind, Oren
walked over.
"Doc wants to know if we can move her yet," Oren said,
giving Kara a short acknowledgment. "Kara. Been a long
time."
Kara nodded. "Good to see you, Oren," she said quietly.
"Go ahead and wrap things up," Matthew said to Oren
without waiting for Kara’s permission. The older man said
little and went to convey Matthew’s instructions.
Under most circumstances, he didn’t mind working with
other agencies, Feds included, but the idea of working
under Kara — well, it just rubbed him the wrong way and the
fact that he knew he shouldn’t let private matters intrude
on a case only frustrated him more. Needing to put some
space between them so he could clear his head, he started
to walk away, but she grabbed him by the arm, her grip
strong and unyielding.
"We need to get something straight, right now," she
said, low and firm. "We have to work together even if
neither of us like the idea. There is something bigger than
our problem with one another at stake here. A little girl
is dead. And she’s not the first one. If we don’t find a
way to stop this murderer there will be more dead little
girls and boys. Do you hear me? So drop the attitude or I
will have you replaced with someone else in your department
who isn’t handicapped by personal history. Are we clear?"
Matthew slowly pulled his arm free, his gaze hardening
on the woman he’d once thought he was falling in love with
and said, "Don’t do that again."
"Don’t make this more difficult than it already is."
"I’d say it’s too late for that, wouldn’t you?"
She straightened as if realigning her attitude. "Of
course not. I can treat you with professional courtesy. The
question is, can you do the same?"
Not to be outdone, Matthew smirked. "I’m just following
your lead Agent Thistle."
Kara smiled thinly. "If that’s the case, let’s start
over," she said, taking a deep breath for emphasis. "I’ll
want to speak to your medical examiner as soon as he’s had
a chance to look at the body. We’ll be setting up temporary
lodging at the Jackson Creek Motel in town but you can call
my cell when the ME is ready for me to come down."
"Fine."
She started to leave but stopped and turned. "And
Matthew, one more thing...I’d appreciate if you’d keep the
private details of my past here in Lantern Cove exactly
that. In the past."
She didn’t wait for his reply, which was probably a good
thing. Matthew wasn’t in the mood to agree with anything
Kara had to say. And that wasn’t professional.
Biting back the hot words dancing on his tongue, he
dialed back the response and turned on his heel in the
opposite direction, putting his mind back in gear when
seeing Kara had made him feel spun out.
They weren’t kids anymore. Kara was never the person
he’d grown up thinking she was and damn it, no matter what
she had to say, when this was all through, Matthew had a
few things to say to her. Whether she liked it or not.
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