"It's All About Looking Through Facades to See What's Hidden"
Reviewed by Sandra Wurman
Posted April 1, 2014
Romance
Needless to say the hero of this latest story by Diana
Palmer is a Texas Ranger. Palmer's rangers are addictive,you
never can get enough of them, and she obligingly provides
lots to love. Strong, silent types with equally strong
ethics and yet stubborn to a fault. LAWLESS introduces still
another amazing character to add to her repertoire. Judd Dunn shares ownership of a ranch with Christabel
Gaines. The two have a rather unique partnership driven more
by circumstances than affection, yet their relationship is
more complicated than most. Certainly more than it appears
on the surface. When it comes to the welfare of the ranch,
they are a good pair, but as far as their personal lives--
well it's pretty much in limbo. Judd did what he thought necessary to protect the future of
the ranch and Christabel, which amounts to a fairly sizable
sacrifice. Secretly they were married, but the difference in
their ages, fourteen years to be exact, is enough to keep
Judd from ever acting on any attraction he has for this
young filly. In his eyes, she's way too young and innocent for a man who
thinks himself hard and resigned. There is an end
approaching--Christabel's twenty first birthday, and at that
time, the marriage will be annulled and all that will remain
is their joint partnership and ownership of the ranch. Judd takes his responsibilities seriously and no amount of
temptation is going to sway him or weaken his resolve.
In the meantime, Christabel is beginning to feel more than
business-like to her partner. Sure they've known each other
for many years, so many years it was apparent that Judd
thinks of her as a child, one that he watched grow up,
rather than as a coming into age twenty year old. Christabel isn't averse to trying to ply her new-found
female wiles on Judd but she's a realist. She knows she
doesn't have the looks to attract a mature, virile man like
Judd. Soon their usually tame lives are going to be taken over
when a movie company rents their ranch to film on. The
company literally takes over the ranch, and much to
Christabel's dismay, the star Tippy has definitely caught
Judd's eye and attention. Pretty soon it becomes rather
obvious that the two are becoming a couple--and this is
where it becomes really interesting. You see it's obvious to
the movie star and Christabel, but Judd is just not aware of
the undercurrents of jealousy and spite. Pretty soon Christabel finds herself distracted by the
assistant police chief, Cash Grier, who finds himself at the
ranch looking after the security of the movie company.
Instead of being attracted to Tippy, Cash is enjoying time
spent with the young owner of the ranch. And so the game
begins. As a fan of Diana Palmer I've enjoyed many of her rustic
romances. I have to admit that the characters in LAWLESS
have definitely won a permanent place in my heart. Palmer
provides an enticing blend of characters that interact so
well with each other that they also appear real. Her dialog
makes you smile and at times laugh right out loud. LAWLESS
is a quick read that you won't want to put down.
Learn more about Lawless
SUMMARY
Five years ago, Judd Dunn, a hard-edged Texas Ranger, put
Christabel Gaines's father behind bars—where he belonged.
But Judd's involvement in Crissy's life was far from over.
With their jointly owned ranch on the verge of bankruptcy,
Judd wed her in name only, promising to save their land and
vowing to ignore the sexual tension between them. Now, just when Judd decides to release Crissy from their
sham of a marriage, he is blindsided by a bloodthirsty foe
who is setting the stage for unspeakable evil by preying
upon Judd's greatest weakness—his wife. No longer a
starry-eyed schoolgirl, Crissy's a smart, fearless woman
with unfulfilled desires. And she will do anything in the
name of love—including taking a bullet for her husband. With their very lives at stake, Crissy and Judd must
confront their darkest demons, their new rivals and their
deepest desires—and face up to a mutual destiny they cannot
outrun.
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