With Good Behavior (Conduct, #1)

by Jennifer Lane

In the midst of organized crime and dim hopes of redemption, can love persevere? For Sophie Taylor, a psychologist who lost everything when she violated an ethical boundary, and Grant Madsen, a naval officer who sacrificed himself to protect his uncle, finding that love seems unlikely.

As they start their lives over in Chicago, both fight family influences and run as fast as they can to escape the past. When their paths cross outside their parole officer's door, attraction sparks. Too bad a hidden connection may not only shatter their fledgling love, but prove deadly to them both.

Re-Release in 2017! We have re-edited With Good Behavior (Conduct #1), book one of a complete romantic suspense trilogy.

• ISBN10: 1936305267
• ISBN13: 9781936305261
• Publish Date: 16 July 2010 (first published 13 July 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Omnific Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 410
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amanda]

I read With Good Behavior in a single day, and for a nearly 400 page book, I think that says something about the quality of the book. With Good Behavior was exactly the kind of book I wanted: engrossing, entertaining, and thought-provoking (without being too heavy on the thinking part). I loved how the psychology aspect was woven into this book, and it even got me thinking about my own life and how to improve it. Which, considering With Good Behavior is primarily a romance book, is a pretty neat and unexpected outcome. I also really enjoyed the fact that this was about two ex-cons because ex-cons are not exactly your typical romance novel characters. It's always refreshing to read something different.

[Cocktails and Books]

Grant Marsden and Sophie Taylor meet, briefly, outside their parole officers office soon after their releases from prison. Grant had just spent the past two years in Gurnee State Prison for aggravated robbery while Sophie spent a year in a woman's prison for accessory charges. Neither of them know how link their lives are.

From their brief meeting outside their PO's office, both Grant and Sophie are drawn to each other. But it's not until Grant offers Sophie a supportive hug and helps her find a job that they really take the time to talk to one another. Agreeing not to talk about what landed them in jail or who they were in the past, they set out to get to know one another.

Grant is the youngest son to Mafia Godfather, Vincenzo (Enzo) Barberi. The man was an abusive drunk who terrorize Grant, his older brother Logan and their mother. While their mother was able to get them to the safety of her brother, Joe Marsden, it wasn't soon enough. Logan ran back to the only family he's ever know...that of his uncle Angelo, Enzo's younger brother. While Joe did what he could to save Grant from the Barberi influences, Logan embraces the "families" line of work. Unfortunately, Logan embraced it a little too well and that ultimately led him to the doorstep of new psychologist, Dr. Sophie Taylor.

Sophie crossed a professional line when comforting her client, Logan, turned into a sexual relationship. She knew it was wrong, but she was confident she could help Logan deal with the abuse he suffered at the hands of his abusive father and the guilt he felt when he couldn't protect his little brother. She thought Logan cared for her too, but when she's arrested by the police, he leaves her high and dry to take the blame.

As Sophie and Grant's romance heats up, their tie to Logan Barberi rears it's ugly head and both of their pasts start to catch up with them. With Grant's family after both of them, can they manage to outrun the mafia while staying out of prison?

This book is an emotional roller coaster. I swear, if there was a real Grant Marsden I would have to run up to the poor man and give him a huge, comforting embrace. Grant was one of the most emotionally gut-wrenching heroes I have ever read. The trauma this poor man has suffered at the hands of not only his father, but also his brother, is horrifying. He's a sweet, lovable man that breaks your heart every time he has to relive one of those awful moments with his family. Thankful he's met Sophie, who's more than capable of dealing with Grant and his issues.

Sophie was groomed to work with her father in his construction business. So when she choose to study psychology instead, her domineering father casts her out on her own. After her conviction, she's convinced her father hates her, not only for falling into trouble because of Logan Barberi, but because she caused the death of her mother. The woman was very good at covering up her lack of self-esteem. She took fault and blame for everything that went wrong and didn't trust her judgement in men. But McSailor (Grant's nickname) changed all that and showed Sophie that good men protect those that they love.

This book will rip your heart out for our hero and heroine while providing an excellent intrigue storyline with Grant's mafia family and what they're involved in. Have a tissue handy....you're going to need it!

[Leah]

When I was asked to be part of Jennifer Lane’s blog tour for her “Conduct Series” novels, I said yes to participating, but I was hesitant because, well, it’s always hard to know how you feel about a book until you’ve read it, and obviously blog tours want good reviews (there’s really no point in having someone write a bad review during a blog tour that’s ostensibly there to get an author more sales!). I chose to read the first “Conduct” novel With Good Behavior and although I started it with trepidation, it was actually a really, really good novel.

I talk a lot about how I like books that surprise me. Books that I end up enjoying without knowing prior to reading that I will like it for sure (like when I pick up a new Kinsella novel, I pretty much know it’s going to be awesome) and for me With Good Behavior was one of those novels. It surprised me. It made me care for the characters, it made me want to just read one more chapter because it was so darn addictive and just so good! While With Good Behavior probably isn’t strictly a Chick Lit novel – erring more on the crime side of things, it has to be said – the romance aspect, between Grant and Sophie, helps to bring it around from being a straight up crime novel. I never knew a romance between two convicts could be so exciting, could be so enticing, so dramatic, so romantic. Yet it was.

The crime side of the novel provided a lot of suspense – a lot, a lot, a lot! Grant’s family, whom he’s trying his hardest to not be a part of at all, in any way, are basically the Mafia in Chicago, running the town without a care in the world and they aren’t happy that Grant doesn’t want to be a part of their life and they certainly aren’t happy that Grant’s brother Logan has gone AWOL, too. Sophie, too, has criminal ties, after landing herself in jail after inexplicably violating her code as a psychologist (but not just for that reason). Both have reasons to not let their past catch up with them again, but both find it hard to escape and a tie that binds them both could prove fatal (in the literal sense as well as the figurative sense). I can’t say for sure if pure Chick Lit fans will get on board with the criminal aspect, but as I like crime myself sometimes, I loved it and I found it very addictive and well presented by Lane.

With Good Behavior was surprising in the best way possible. It was well-written, it was edgy, it was compelling and the romance was totally believable, even if Sophie and Grant were both cons. (I mean, cons have hearts, too right?) I cared about the characters massively, because despite their history, despite their criminal past, Sophie and Grant were decent people, were really lovely characters and they sparked off each other nicely. The book was also helped by the addition of some awesome supporting characters. Jerry Stone, Sophie and Grant’s PO; Joe Madsen, Grant’s Uncle, Roger, who owns the architectural cruise where Sophie and Grant get jobs and Kirsten, Sophie’s best friend all add another dimension to the novel and Jerry and Roger in particular really made an impression on me. I found myself completely lost in the world of With Good Behavior and I can’t wait to dive in to Bad Behavior, the sequel, and be back with these wonderful characters again. This novel was a triumph, and I am so glad I took the chance on it.