COLTON'S LETHAL REUNION by Tara Taylor Quinn is the second in the Coltons of Mustang Valley series. Having read the first book in the series, written by a different author, I can safely say that each book stands on its own merit. The storyline has a continuing thread in this series that is the cohesive glue which make this series work. There is a drama gradually unfolding and, in each book, another facet is uncovered. As you get to know more about this group - which includes up a father, step-mothers, and siblings - both biological and adopted - you become enmeshed in their lives, and get a sense of their family dynamic.
The problem with the main characters in COLTON'S LETHAL REUNION is that they can’t get over the past and reconcile who they were then with who they are now. Emotionally and physically they were children. They shared a unique angst about family. Both families were broken in different, but somehow equal, ways. The thing they sought out most was care and support. Rafe and Kerry found that in each other as very young children. Their friendship grew with the years until it didn’t. Their emotional lives stalled at that moment twenty-three years ago. It would seem that the relationship never fully recovered. Kerry doesn’t trust in love. Rafe’s dismissal of all they shared was a brutal blow to a young ego and heart. Rafe knows he broke Kerry’s heart when he abruptly ended their friendship, but he felt he had a good reason at the time. With age comes awareness, and both Kerry and Rafe have to move on. Neither really considers that, until they are somewhat reunited. Rafe’s father Payne is in a coma since being shot by an intruder at his office. Kerry is the sheriff investigating the shooting and so far the only suspect is Rafe’s brother Ace. Revenge is supposedly the motive for being cast out of the family company when it is revealed that Ace is not biologically Payne’s son. Both Rafe and Kerry have an important role in getting this case solved. If, along the way, they are able to clear the air between them, all the better. Kerry has been unofficially investigating the death of her brother Tyler. Tyler had a sketchy past, but seemed to be getting his life back on track when he died. The official call was "accidental". Kerry has believed for the past two years that Tyler had been murdered and is privately following up any leads she uncovers. Now, in Mustang Valley, there seems to be an increased number of deaths and situations that have the entire sheriff department is investigating. Do these situations have any connection with Tyler’s death? That is the burning question. And as uncomfortable as it is, Kerry realizes that Rafe is the best person to be at her side.
COLTON'S LETHAL REUNION is about conflict - a conflict of emotions and common sense. Tara Taylor Quinn creates two rather messed-up characters that garner the reader’s sympathy. Quinn made them likeable and complex. In COLTON'S LETHAL REUNION, Tara Taylor Quinn connects the reader to her characters through their minds and hearts rather than conversation and it works. Her characters are smart yet insecure, tough and yet fragile, and realistically and completely human.
Rafe Colton and Kerry Wilder were inseparable as kids—until Rafe cut Kerry out of his life without explanation. Now a detective, Kerry unexpectedly crosses paths with Rafe again while investigating a deadly shooting. When Rafe discovers she’s also investigating a cold case that puts her in harm’s way, he vows to work overtime to protect her. But can Rafe redeem his betrayal…and keep her safe?
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