Review: Good romantic suspense!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 27, 2014
**** 3.5 stars*****Laney Briggs was no damsel in distress heroine. As the deputy sheriff of a small town, she could handle herself and didn’t need a man to coddle her every step of the way.  The sexy and passionate Texas Ranger Gunner Wilson had broken her heart, but she’d started over and was doing well and getting ready to marry the good guy.  That is, until all hell broke loose in Pistol Rock and Laney was thrown into the middle of the investigation none other than her ex himself was working on.  What ensued was an action-packed and semi-steamy adventure with danger lurking around every corner.I’m always a fan of the tough heroines, so I took to Laney right away.  She has sass, pride, and a tough-as-nails exterior that was admirable and lovable.  There was a lot going on here, with an interwoven web of whodunits that keeps the reader guessing right up to the end.  Poisoned cows, dead bodies, drool-inducing males, threats on her life, and questionable locals had Laney spinning in circles while sweltering her way through her work days, but Gunner was there at every step of the way to attempt to steer her in the right direction…right to his arms.  Laney’s fiancé?  Well, yeah, she sees him as the safe bet sure thing, so he was a charmer.  I wasn’t a fan of his just because Gunner kind of stole the show with his macho ranger ways.  Their past was a painful one, and one that gave me pause when it came to Gunner being my choice for our heroine, but there’s something to be said for all that history.Laney really faced a lot of trauma as she and her crew waded their way through the evidence trails, and damn she was one tough cookie.  I wished she hadn’t been on the receiving end of so much of the fallout and had more opportunities to just kick some ass, because she went through some moments where she took things a little too well as far as I was concerned.  But I loved that she didn’t let anything get her down and I loved her attitude!As for the romance, there was really good chemistry between Laney and Gunner, but we don’t get to see much of it.  There are a few semi-steamy scenes with Laney’s relationships as the story plays out, but the story revolved mainly around the crime solving and the drama surrounding her as a result.  I did enjoy the humor that Laney and Gunner brought to the table though, as their banter and shared quips had me laughing quite a bit.  Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and a definite yes for fans of the romantic suspense genre!Quotes:“What’s so funny?”Dobbs hacked at the floor.  “Nothing.  We were just wondering, if Wagner calls you cutie, are you going to shoot him?”“Don’t hold your breath,” I said, pushing through the station door. ~p. 6His tight-assed Levi’s pretty much had my tall, smooth-talking, and handsome cowboy fantasy all wrapped up into one, neat denim package. ~p. 7This was what I’d wanted, right? To have Gunner Wilson lose interest in me.  But it hurt like the dickens. ~p. 86