Series:
Kansas City Crime Lab (Book 3)
This wounded warrior
Is willing to protect her with his life
Grayson Malone started working as a criminalist after
leaving the Marine Corps, but he's still recovering from the trauma of losing
his men and his legs. When a stalker starts menacing his neighbor, Allie Tate,
he doubts that he can keep her safe -- until her trust in him makes him trust
himself. They might even have a chance at love…if they can stay alive.
Another outstanding book from Julie Miller. I've been
intrigued by Gray, the quiet, intense criminalist, since the first book in the
series. He's one of my favorite kind of heroes - a US Marine who has gone on to
further serve after leaving the Corps. He earned my respect with his resilience
in dealing with his injuries from the war, though he still has some confidence
issues thanks to his ex-fiancée.
The story opens as he works with his physical therapist,
Allie. Former military herself, she has a talent for knowing when to push him
and when to back off. She also has some unique exercises for him. Gray and
Allie are friends and neighbors, as well as patient and therapist, and
frequently carpool going to or from therapy. Neither is ready to admit the
sparks of attraction are becoming more obvious by the day. On this day, Gray
backs her up when she has issues with a pushy coworker. They head home with
plans to share some takeout. But when Allie enters her apartment, she's
horrified to find it vandalized with the words PAYBACK painted in blood on the
walls. Gray immediately takes charge, calling in his friends at the KCPD Crime
Lab.
This begins a terrifying roller coaster of attacks that
bring back memories of one of the worst times in Allie's life - the gaslighting
and eventual attempted murder by a scorned boyfriend. But how is this possible
if Noah is still locked up in the brig in South Carolina? Each new attack
raises more questions about who is behind the terrorizing actions. By about 75%
of the way through, I was sure I knew who the culprit was, only to have the
author add an unexpected twist that proved me wrong. The final confrontation
had me glued to the pages until it was over. I especially loved seeing how
Allie's confidence that Gray had her back enabled her to participate in her own
rescue.
I loved watching the development of the relationship between
Gray and Allie. They started as patient/therapist and neighbors, gradually
moving on to friends. Gray recognizes his attraction to her but resists doing
anything about it because of his ex-fiancée's reaction to his injuries. Allie hesitates
to get involved in another relationship after the disaster of her last one.
Gray's protective instincts are aroused when the attacks on Allie begin, and I
loved seeing his sensitivity as he took care of her. Staying in Gray's
apartment with him allows Allie to show him how she feels. I loved how she saw
the whole man, whether he used a wheelchair, prosthetics, or nothing.
Seeing both admit to their trust issues and realize they
are rusty in reading signals was encouraging. This brings forth the acknowledgment
of their growing feelings for each other and that they must articulate them to
prevent confusion or misunderstandings. I enjoyed seeing the respect they had
for each other and their abilities. I loved Allie's strength and independence
and her occasional need to lean on Gray's strength - "He seemed to
understand that just because she could handle almost anything on her own, she
didn’t always want to." The ending was fantastic, and I look forward to
seeing more of them in future books.
I loved seeing more of the previous characters from the
series. The crime lab team and their teamwork and support are a big part of
this series. I especially enjoyed seeing how Gray's coworkers saw, commented on
and teased him about the changes they see in him after he gets to know Allie. I
also loved how they all had his back during the attacks and investigation. I loved seeing an appearance by Aidan and his K-9 Blue, who I loved in
their book (
K-9 Patrol).
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