Series: Cavanaugh Justice (Book 36)
Playboy detective Luke Cavanaugh O'Bannon isn't excited
to be paired with his polar opposite, introverted Francesca "Frankie"
DeMarco, on a case. But when Frankie's cousin is found dead of a suspicious
drug overdose, she and Luke must work together to pursue a serial killer who's
struck again. And though they try to fight it, the two opposites
attract…passionately!
After several false leads, their investigation points
them to an online dating site where Frankie, despite Luke's objections, offers
herself up as virtual bait. Will the killer reply with dinner and a deadly
proposition? Will Luke realize he's met his match -- offline?
Good book with a mystery and an opposites attract romance
that had me hooked from the start. It started with workaholic detective Frankie
losing her only family member in a suspicious death. Certain that the drug
overdose was a setup, she took it to Luke who was working a serial killer case
with a similar MO. He's not exactly thrilled to have her added to his team, but
he'll take whatever help she can give.
I liked both Luke and Frankie. Luke has a reputation in
the department as a guy who works hard, but plays hard too, whereas Frankie
just works hard. Her cousin was her only family, and Frankie is determined to
do whatever she must to bring the killer to justice - even hide her connection
to the victim. Luke senses that she's hiding something and it doesn't take him
long to figure out what it is. I liked that he understood what it meant to her
and kept her involved.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between
Luke and Frankie. The sparks were there right from the start. Luke gives her a
bit of a hard time at first, and Frankie pushes right back. One of the things I
liked about Luke was that he had a good work/play/family balance in his life,
and it didn't take him long to see that Frankie didn't. The push and pull
between them were great as the attraction heated up. I especially enjoyed
seeing Luke "encourage" her to get away from work, from dragging her
to Malone's to getting her to one of Andrew's get-togethers. It's always an eye-opening
occasion for the non-family loners to experience one of those, and Frankie was
no exception. Her guard was down a bit by the time it was over, enabling the
attraction between her and Luke to flare up. I loved watching them grow closer
as the attraction continued to build. There were also some pretty sweet moments
as Luke worked his way past Frankie's walls. I especially loved the scene with
the cupcakes. Frankie still has some trouble believing in forever when it applies
to her, and she runs from her feelings for Luke. I liked his big moment at the
end as he finally broke through all her barriers.
The mystery was an intriguing one as they looked for the
serial killer. There was frustration at the beginning because of the lack of
leads in the case. I liked how the fresh eyes that Frankie brought helped come
up with some links between the victims. There was also good realism in the inclusion
of the more mundane tasks of pursuing leads that are the less glamorous side of
police work. Their frustration at the slowness of progress was evident,
especially whenever there was a new victim. When Frankie proposed that she set
herself up as bait, it was a desperate attempt to jumpstart their progress. I
ached for Luke, who wanted to protect Frankie, while he also recognized the
benefit of the plan. I was glued to the pages as it worked all too well,
putting Frankie in extreme danger. The final confrontation was intense and
scary, though I had to laugh a little at the way Frankie yelled at Luke at the
end of it. There was also a pretty funny scene at the hospital, as evidenced by
the head nurse's comment, "Oh, dear Lord, they've brought us another one."
I liked the secondary characters, especially Luke's
partner White Hawk. Sometimes I wasn't sure if he was referee or instigator
when he was with Luke and Frankie, but he was always fun. Various Cavanaughs
make guest appearances, and I always like seeing them. Valri plays an important
role with her computer skills as does Sean as CSI. I also had a great deal of
fun seeing Luke with his mother and their whole conversation about her dating.
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