Her Child To Protect (Mercy Ridge Lawmen, #1)

by Delores Fossen

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Her Child to Protect in the first book in the Mercy Ridge Lawmen series. It tells the story of Sheriff Barrett Logan of Mercy Ridge Texas,  and Deputy Sheriff Della Howell of Culver Crossing. Della and Barrett  received an anonymous text regarding a dead body. They both arrived at the crime scene to the dismay of the other. They have not spoken to each other since Della ended their relationship two months ago. Talk about awkward.  To compound the situation, Della has a secret she needs to disclose to Barrett, but she is not sure of how to approach the situation. Their discovery of the body forces them to work together to unravel a complicated mystery where everyone is a suspect and they a target of the killer.

The story featured well developed characters to whom the reader could relate.  Barrett has some serious issues from his past, which could have a negative impact on the way he handled the case, I admired his professionalism in this regard. Never once did he allow his issues with the main suspect cloud his judgement.

I Loved Della's portrayal in the story. Smart, dedicated and brave, which made her good at her job. Now that she has some one else other than herself to think about her protective instincts emerged.

I did not buy into their relationship in the initial stages. Instead of chemistry, I felt tension between them, which I could understand given the circumstances. Things changed  when Della's secret came to light pushing Barrett's protective nature to the forefront.

The author did an excellent job with the suspense arc. It had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story. The story had a few twists, but the one which surprised me the most involved the connection of the current events had to a cold case and the facts that emerged.

I loved the fact that there were many suspects, which made it difficult to determine who was behind the murder and the attempts on Barrett and Della's lives.

I had a good time with this installment, It was my first time experiencing the author's work and I would definitely read more of her books. Readers who enjoy romantic suspense (heavy on the suspense and light on the romance) featuring well developed characters should pick up a copy of Her Child to Protect,This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading