Guarded: A Tidewater Novel (Tidewater, #2)

by Mary Behre

She’s given up on finding love…

Veterinarian Shelley Morgan has always preferred animals to humans, and not simply because she can communicate with them psychically. Unlike most people she’s known, animals have never broken her heart. But after six months in her new town, some of her favorite four-legged companions begin disappearing from the local zoo. Determined to track down the animals and their thief, the telepathic vet decides to investigate, unknowingly delving into a deadly mystery…

He’s ready to make her heart go wild…

Although his bear-like physique has been an advantage in the Tidewater Police Department, Dev Jones’s size often intimidates people. Only Shelley has seen past his massive build to the intelligent man inside, but that was years ago. So when she contacts him requesting his help to solve a series of animal kidnappings, he’s eager to reconnect with her. But the thefts escalate to murder and all the evidence points to Shelley as the killer, and Dev faces a devastating choice: forsake his career or risk losing the woman he’s grown to love…

• ISBN10: 0425268624
• ISBN13: 9780425268629
• Publish Date: 5 August 2014
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 18 August 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 312
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425268629

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

I was excited to step back into the Tidewater series by Mary Behre and in Guarded, we get to meet Jules Scott’s sister, veterinarian Shelley Morgan and learn more about Seth’s yummy partner Dev Jones. Guarded was action packed, with the perfect balance of woo-woo, suspense and romance.

Caffeinated Dates with Guarded:

First Date: Detective Dev Jones, is Seth English’s partner, and when he realizes, Shelley is the same girl he had a crush on in college he offers to locate her. Imagine his surprise when Shelley contacts him asking for help in tracking down an exotic animal thief. Shelly has a grift (a gift or curse, depending on how you look at it) just like Jules. Call her Dr. Doolittle because she can talk to the animals, well except for dogs whom for some reason loathe her and want to attack! Loved how Dev and Shelley reunite, there is humor, and I love how they kept misreading each other’s signals. I quickly slipped into their story and was hooked.

Second date: Behre has a clever little mystery going on here, and it looks like there is a lot more going on than missing animals. Dev is called back to Tidewater when he and Seth snag a big case. Shelley reluctantly tags along to meet her sister Jules. Behre weaves in humor and family bonding between investigative moments and smooches making the tale well rounded. Shelley got on my nerves a little in her one-track mindedness, but I also love how she imitated things in the sexy department. Cannot fault a girl for going after what she wants.

Third date: Uh-oh clues are pointing to Shelley as the killer, and Dev needs to trust his instincts but protect his badge. The question is can he do both. The Tidewater case and missing animal case weave together and were well crafted. The romance built slowly until this point and then ooh-la-la. Yeah, professions of love may have been made but it did not feel insta-lovey since these two have a shared history. I love how Behre heats up the investigation and even reveals why the doggie population has an issue with Shelley.

I ended my dates with Guarded satisfied with the second installment of the Tidewater series. Behre does an excellent job of balances the paranormal, suspense and romance making this reader grin. While these novels will delightfully work as standalone why miss the fun? Read them in order!

Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review.This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer