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BOOK REVIEW
Tori is just out of jail after serving ten years for a crime she didn't commit. She had been set up by an Irish mob because she was trying to escape them with her cousin, Vivienne.When she gets out of jail she makes it her mission to find Vivienne and decides to set up a food truck smack bang in mob central After ten years in jail she is fearless and can defend herself from gangsters.
Things get a little complicated when she gets romantically involved with the lawyer who defended her, Grady who is dealing with the aftermath of a divorce and trying to be there for his son.
Grady is passionate about freeing innocent people but his involvement with Tori can only be trouble, right? Together, can they solve the mystery around Vivienne and not get killed off by mobsters.
This is an action-packed story that mixes crime fiction, legal thriller, mystery and romance. Fans of romantic suspense will love this.
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Reviewed by
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Disclaimer: I volunteered to review this book.
Blurb
A decade ago, Tori Rourke, and her cousin,
Vivienne, ran from the Irish mob after witnessing a brutal murder. Tori was
framed by the mob, and while she served time in prison, she worried that the
killer, Seamus McGinn, had kidnapped her missing cousin.
Attorney Grady D. Fletcher, defender of the wrongly condemned, appeals Tori’s case and wins her release. Now, going by Victoria Morningstar, she runs a food truck from a seedy waterfront neighborhood, hoping to find her cousin's kidnapper.
When Grady agrees to defend a new client, Samuel Peterson, who’s been accused of beating to death the wife of a noted professor, the evidence mounts. The professor is missing, as well as his laptop that contains data dangerous to national security.
And Seamus McGinn is back, and rumors of a massive annihilation is about to begin. As they race to assist the FBI, the bonds between Grady and Tori are about to be tested. It becomes clear Grady and Tori are falling fast for each other, but what to do about it is a different story. He’s a divorced dad who wants more time with his kid. She brings danger to his front door.
Grady has questions of his own; Is Vivienne at the center of the mob’s operation? How much will it cost Tori before she learns the truth? All Grady knows is the biggest danger is the one standing right behind you.
Attorney Grady D. Fletcher, defender of the wrongly condemned, appeals Tori’s case and wins her release. Now, going by Victoria Morningstar, she runs a food truck from a seedy waterfront neighborhood, hoping to find her cousin's kidnapper.
When Grady agrees to defend a new client, Samuel Peterson, who’s been accused of beating to death the wife of a noted professor, the evidence mounts. The professor is missing, as well as his laptop that contains data dangerous to national security.
And Seamus McGinn is back, and rumors of a massive annihilation is about to begin. As they race to assist the FBI, the bonds between Grady and Tori are about to be tested. It becomes clear Grady and Tori are falling fast for each other, but what to do about it is a different story. He’s a divorced dad who wants more time with his kid. She brings danger to his front door.
Grady has questions of his own; Is Vivienne at the center of the mob’s operation? How much will it cost Tori before she learns the truth? All Grady knows is the biggest danger is the one standing right behind you.
Available from:
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2qSksHLAmazon US: http://amzn.to/2qZHuNv
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2rCUhGq
iBooks: http://apple.co/2qj70dd
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2qZazXi
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2rTyeIB
*****
Excerpt:
“Don’t let the anxiety of freedom consume
you.” Attorney Grady Donahue Fletcher
clenched his teeth and rehearsed what he’d say to his client, Victoria
Morningstar. He’d won her appeal and drove to pick her up at Gladstone
Penitentiary. “At least you won’t be placed in solitary.” That was worse.
Six months earlier Grady had phoned a reporter
at the Los Angeles Globe. "Drew Barker. Grady Fletcher here.”
“Ah, the lawyer. Calling about a tip?”
“I am. Here's something you can investigate.
Tori Morningstar, did she murder Irene Brennan?"
"I wrote that story many years back,"
the journalist had said. “I assume you have new discoveries.”
"Fraud, illegal testimony. Do you want the
story first?" A second passed. "Otherwise, I'll call the Orange
County Guardian."
"Okay, okay. We want it."
Three days later Grady had a hand in writing the
first article in Drew Barker’s column. "The public labeled Tori
Morningstar as an undesirable. Not black and poor, but disfavored, accused,
incarcerated, and wrongly condemned. Her cellphone has been recovered. Her call
to 911 identified her voice and substantiated screams of the victim in the
background. Could she have beaten someone while speaking to dispatch at the
same time?"
The reporter had written the second article.
"People who get their ideas about criminal lawyers from TV probably would
be disappointed in Grady Fletcher. He lacks flash but stands up straight, his
posture neither ramrod nor slouched. He doesn't smoke, doesn't wear thousand
dollar suits. His voice is soft and low, one of his assets. He speaks truth
with a voice inviting confidences."
As nice as that was, Grady’s stomach cramped
over pressure and strain from Drew Barker’s final article with the headline, Tori
Morningstar, Released Today. Picked up by the online service, Newser, KTLA, and
CBS Los Angeles, they planned to broadcast his arrival to escort his client
from Gladstone.
Tori’s decade-long prison sentence ended today
but with a sobering fear over tomorrow.
When was a July morning this hot? Grady balanced
her release papers on his lap as he rolled up one sleeve then the other while
gripping the damp steering wheel. Sweat blossomed on his throbbing forehead,
wrapped like a python’s grip. He adjusted the dial for the AC and embraced the
challenge of helping another client get back on track. Embrace and conquer. Or
at least sound like it.
*****
Author Bio:
Book Buyers Best finalist Kathleen Rowland is
devoted to giving her readers fast-paced, high-stakes suspense with a sizzling
love story sure to melt their hearts.
Writing a romantic suspense Irish American series for Tirgearr
Publishing, Deadly Alliance is followed by Unholy Alliance. Bittersweet Alliance is in the works. Keep an
icy drink handy while reading these hot stories.
Kathleen used to write computer programs but now
writes novels. She grew up in Iowa
where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and raced her sailboat on Lake
Okoboji. Now she wears flip-flops and
sails with her husband, Gerry, on Newport Harbor but wishes there were
lightning bugs in California.
Kathleen exists happily with her witty CPA
husband, Gerry, in their 70’s poolside retreat in Southern California where she
adores time spent with visiting grandchildren, dogs, one bunny, and noisy
neighbors. While proud of their five
children who’ve flown the coop, she appreciates the luxury of time to
write. If you’d enjoy news, sign up for
Kathleen’s newsletter at http://www.kathleenrowland.com/
*****
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