Series:
West Investigations (Book 5)
A body has washed ashore
Along with her past.
There was no quiet homecoming for Nikki King. Not with a
body discovered on her lakefront property and Terrence Sutton's unexpected
arrival. The police detective is convinced his sister's disappearance and the
threats Nikki has been receiving are connected. Nikki would rather avoid the
man who once let a family feud tear them apart, but can she afford to refuse
his protection? Not with danger lurking in the dark water just beyond her
doorstep.
Gripping suspense mixed with a second chance romance. Nikki
grew up in Carling Lake but hasn't been back since her grandfather's death.
With her political career in turmoil, she returns to Lakewood House. She's
barely there an hour when a body is found washed up on the shore. Then her high
school sweetheart shows up along with the sheriff. She hasn't seen Terrence in
fifteen years.
Police detective Terrence has come to Carling Lake
looking for his younger sister, Jill. An investigative journalist, Jill hasn't
returned his calls in more than a week, and he's worried. He believes she is
investigating something there, but no one has seen or talked to her. He's not
going to let anything stop him from looking for her.
Terrence is a man who has little use for tact and social
niceties when he's on the job. He does an excellent job of ticking off the
local sheriff when he refuses to back off from doing his own investigation. He
also butts into the investigation into the body at Lakewood House, convinced it
has something to do with Jill's disappearance. Nikki isn't too happy to have
him there, as he still carries the grudge that tore them apart. But when
threats and strange happenings occur, she isn't going to say no to his
protection.
Let me say that I wanted to shake some sense into Terrence.
How he could allow the old feud between his uncle and her grandfather still eat
away at him made no sense. Both men are gone, and the event that drove them
apart is over and done with. But he couldn't let it go, ending the friendship and
more that he and Nikki shared. Seeing Nikki again brings it all back. Despite
those feelings, he can't deny the need to ensure she is safe.
Nikki is no frail flower. She is easily as stubborn as
Terrence and makes it clear that any investigating he does will include her.
Not only is Jill her friend, but it also appears that her property may be at
the center of whatever is going on. I loved seeing Nikki stand her ground and
not let Terrence push her into the background. She has it right when she tells
him that he may have investigative experience, but she has the people skills to
get people to talk.
I loved watching these two work together. It's a cautious
partnership at first, with neither one entirely trusting the other. But their
old friendship reasserts itself once they've cleared the air (thank you, Aunt
Charity). And along with the cessation of hostilities, so do the sparks of
attraction. I loved their teamwork and seeing them grow closer amid the
increasing danger. I loved the ending and seeing them realize they belonged
together.
The suspense of the story was fantastic. It began
immediately with Terrence's missing sister and the body found at Nikki's. The graffiti
on Nikki's garage door bears out Terrence's suspicion that the body is linked
to Jill's disappearance. Terrence isn't about to back off his investigation, no
matter what the sheriff says. He and Nikki continue to seek out those they
think have answers and find themselves in risky situations. The tension ramps
up when they get caught snooping and end up at the mercy of the bad guys. The
final confrontation was a nail-biter, and I loved seeing the teamwork that
saved the day.
I liked seeing James and Erika
(Shielding Her Son) again. James has embraced his artistic side, and he is still involved with the family business. West Investigations plays a significant role in resolving the mystery.
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