Series: Cold Case Detectives (Book 6)
Sparks fly between a detective and the woman he’s driven to protect
Nomadic detective Roman Cooper struggled to carve out a life for himself. But when a suspicious death calls him home, he lets instinct lead him to Kendra Scott. Irresistibly confident, Kendra is certain that someone murdered her sister and insists on working the case with him. Tracking a killer puts them both in jeopardy, and Roman must confront a different threat: the temptation to stay.
Good conclusion to the series. We learned a little bit about this case during Runaway Heiress, as the hero in that book had a connection to the dead woman. However, that information was recapped here, so the reader is quickly brought up to speed. Kendra went to Dark Alley Investigations because she believed that her sister did not commit suicide, that she was murdered. The problem was that no one else agreed with her. DAI agreed to send a detective, though it hadn't happened fast enough for her. She wasn't impressed when he did finally show up.
Roman arrived in town already convinced that the investigation was a waste of time. All of the reports indicated that it was a suicide. It didn't help his mindset that this case took place in his hometown, a place that he avoided as much as possible. He just wanted to deliver his report and move on to a "real" case.
The first meeting between Kendra and Roman didn't go well. He had been watching her, which creeped her out. Then he had the nerve to tell her that she was wrong and that her sister's death was suicide, without bothering to find out why she believed it was murder. Once Kendra finally got him to listen to her, he agreed to do some digging. Kendra also refused to be left out and insisted on helping. It soon became clear that someone was not happy about their activities. The search for the truth was full of twists and turns. I also had some real concerns about the competence of some of the people involved. For example, I didn't think much of a coroner who missed signs that what appeared to be a suicide, wasn't, but an outside PI spotted them right away. I was intrigued throughout as clues pointed this way or that, keeping me guessing until nearly the end, with some unexpected revelations. The final confrontation was intense and had me on the edge of my seat until it was over. I especially enjoyed Kendra's part in it.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Roman and Kendra, though I was also frequently frustrated by them. Both of them had significant issues that kept them from believing in the feelings that grew between them. Roman judged Kendra from the moment he saw her, looking at her as far too cheerful and positive to have ever had anything bad happen to her while she grew up. He was dead wrong, and I enjoyed seeing her shoot him down over it. But she had chosen to have a positive outlook on life in spite of it. On the other hand, Roman had a terrific childhood, with parents who loved him, though he had a serious inferiority complex when it came to comparing himself to them. He was also an unrepentant pessimist, though he called it living in the "real world." Roman and Kendra thought that they were complete opposites, but as they spent time together discovered that they did have some things in common. I liked the effect that they had on each other. Kendra lightened some of Roman's pessimism, opening his eyes to his backward way of looking at his life. Roman's confidence in his feelings for Kendra started to work on her inability to trust that he would stick around. I liked the final scene in the book as it showed great promise for their future.
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