Cease and Desist
by Lori Matthews
Callahan Security Series - Book 6
Publisher: Wild Coyote Press
Release Date: February 16, 2023
Reviewed by PJ
One retired SEAL, one former librarian, and one big mystery combine to make one amazing adventure!
Thane “Hawk” Hawkins is feeling lost. His corporate job no longer excites him and he’s missing his SEAL days. His friends at Callahan Security dangle an interesting job in front of him, but require a small favor in return. “Think of it as a trial run,” they said. Their idea of a small favor will send him on his most dangerous and mysterious adventure yet.
Remington “Remy” Tanger is putting the pieces back together after losing her last family member. Running her grandfather’s bookstore is her way of honoring him. But Gramps had a secret life that brings trouble stumbling into her shop and almost gets her killed.
She’s determined to navigate on her own; He’s determined to keep her alive. They’re both determined not to fall in love. Sometimes fate has other ideas.
PJ's Thoughts:
Lori Matthews is one of my favorite romantic suspense authors. With Cease and Desist, she has once again penned a high-octane, fast-paced story that reeled me in and refused to let go.
This book took me places I wasn't expecting. Remy's life is thrown into chaos - and danger - as she unexpectedly comes face to face with her late grandfather's secret life and Hawk, whom she has just met, seems to be the only person she can count on to help her navigate this unexpected journey while also keeping her alive. Even if every ounce of her resents his interference...at least at the beginning.
I could not turn the pages of this book fast enough. It's such a tightly-woven, suspenseful, passionate, and danger-filled journey littered with surprising twists, moral dilemmas, and life-changing decisions. The characters are complex, multi-layered, and intriguing. Both Remy and Hawk undergo unanticipated evolutions as they each reach a crossroads where the choices they make will have a profound, and unalterable, impact on the rest of their lives. I love how Matthews slowly unveils their layers, especially Remy's, challenging her and infusing her with the strength to claim her man, her rightful inheritance, and all that entails.
Speaking of layers, there are side characters - one in particular - with multiple layers and less than honorable back stories who I need to know more about. I sense a new series in the future.
While this is the sixth book in the Callahan Security Series and characters from the earlier books make appearances in this one, Cease and Desist stands well on its own. Readers new to Matthews should have no trouble beginning with this one.
If high-stakes, adrenaline-fueled, emotion-packed romantic suspense is your jam, you'll want to add Lori Matthews to your reading list.
As always, thanks for this review. You have made me want to read this book, in fact the entire series. I like romantic suspense as long as it is not too intense. I have issues and can't do too intense, but this does sound like a terrific story.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review and the recommendation. I love a well written suspense novel with complex characters and story that reveal themselves a little bit at a time. This will have to be a series I look into.
ReplyDeletePatricia B.