[Note: the novel deals with domestic abuse, so anyone for whom that is a trigger should avoid reading it]
Heroine Rachel James, beneficiary of her blue-blooded great aunt’s hefty estate, is on the run from her abusive con man of an ex-husband after the evidence in his fraud case goes missing and he is released from jail and hell-bent on reclaiming her. Escaping her former life in San Francisco takes her and her four-year-old daughter to Denver under the guise of housesitting for family friends Ross and Evelyn Thorne, part of an elaborate plan to put the two of them under the protection of the Thorne band of (foster) brothers. Abandoned by her father at seventeen and having spent six years in an abusive marriage, being attracted to and trusting a man isn’t something she believes herself capable of again… until she meets sexy former-Army-Ranger-turned-contractor Patrick Thorne, who runs his construction business out of his house next door to his parents’. I really liked the way Ms. Docter made Rachel more than a simple victim: yes, she’s vulnerable and needs protection with her ex on the loose and a serial killer on her trail, but she’s also strong and determined and has a viable plan for moving on with her life that doesn’t involve a man. Watching her discover what real love and a real relationship could be like was incredibly satisfying, even if her conviction that Patrick surely couldn’t feel the same for her made me want to smack her upside the head sometimes.
With an overdeveloped white knight complex and still grappling with his feelings of having let down a wife who chose to kill herself rather than bear his son, Patrick has sworn off relationships—especially with damsels in distress that need saving. But one look at Rachel traipsing around his parents’ house has his libido roaring back to life and his protective instincts kicking into high gear, even as he’s plagued by a saboteur hell-bent on destroying his business who may also be the infamous Angel Killer. Unsure of whether he’s truly falling for Rachel or being driven by his innate need to “fix” a troubled woman, he blows hot and cold enough to give the reader whiplash, but the way he falls head over heels for and interacts with Rachel’s daughter is incredibly sweet. He’s clearly not in the right headspace for a long-term committed relationship at the beginning of the novel and the lingering issues surrounding his late wife’s death are resolved a bit too neatly, which rushes the HEA a bit, but I liked him overall as a hero. Any man who runs into the kitchen starkers (save for a gun) upon hearing a noise to protect his woman only to encounter his parents returning early from holidaying overseas earns a seal of approval from me!
A chillingly disturbed villain, a well-crafted multilayered plot, and a great cadre of secondary characters that are fleshed out enough to be real and pique my interest without overshadowing the protagonists add on to the dynamics of Rachel and Patrick’s budding romance to make KILLING SECRETS a thoroughly enjoyable read for RS fans. With six Thorne boys total, this new series is sure to provide many hours of enjoyment, and I look forward to the next instalment and Ben’s story!
**ARC provided by Author**
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