Review - - Cease and Desist

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. 

Review - - Evade and Capture

Evade and Capture

by Lori Matthews

Callahan Security Series - Book 4

Publisher: Wild Coyote Press

Release Date: April 20, 2021

Reviewed by PJ

Can Jameson Drake save his sister and the woman he loves?

Spencer Gordon wasn’t expecting the call from Kathleen Drake, a woman she’d spent years keeping safe as part of the Witness Protection program. The terrified woman begged Spencer for help. Taking a leave of absence from her job with Homeland Security, Spencer hurries to her friend’s side. But the threat to Kathleen is larger than Spencer bargained for, forcing a call for reinforcements. She didn’t count on being attracted to Kathleen’s arrogant, annoying, and sexy as hell brother.

Searching for his sister has been a driving force for businessman and multimillionaire Jameson Drake. When a woman approaches him out of the blue claiming to know where his sister is, he has no choice but to go along. He’d imagined all kinds of wild theories about what happened to Kathleen but the truth is more shocking than even he’d ever guessed.

Forced to work together to keep Kathleen safe, Spencer strikes an uneasy alliance with Drake, wavering between wanting to shoot him, and needing to kiss him. Other than their mutual attraction, the one thing they do have in common is their desire to keep Kathleen safe. If only the mob didn’t have a different agenda.

PJ's Thoughts:

Talk about your wild rides! Lori Matthews cranks up the danger, action, suspense, and romance in this fast-paced, non-stop fourth book of her Callahan Security series. I could not put it down.

If you're a fan of this series, you know Jameson Drake has never stopped searching for his sister. It's been the driving force in his life for the past sixteen years and a common, secondary thread through the first three books of this series. I was hopeful for a positive resolution to his search but, come on, it's been sixteen years, right? I couldn't figure out how Matthews was going to bring Kathleen back into his life and keep it realistic or how she would manage to pull off a happy ending for everyone once we got into the heart of the story but that's exactly what she accomplished...while keeping me on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out what would happen next, and flipping pages for all I was worth from beginning to end. 

I loved how Drake's character evolved in this book, showing us a softer side along with well-hidden facets of the millionaire businessman that I never would have guessed. I wasn't sure how I felt about him in earlier books (his character really isn't fleshed out until this book) but he ended up being one of my favorite characters of the series. I didn't know what to make of Spencer at first but she won me over with her staunch loyalty to Kathleen and her kick-ass, take no prisoners attitude backed up by well-honed skills. She also is a character who evolves over the course of the book and I really enjoyed her growth from beginning to end.

If you enjoy fast-paced romantic suspense with intriguing characters, snappy dialogue, sizzling romance, breath-stealing danger, unexpected twists and turns, and guaranteed happily-ever-afters, at least for the good guys, give Lori Matthews' Evade and Capture a try. I highly recommend it.

*Evade and Capture is the fourth book in the Callahan Security series. While heroes from previous books are instrumental in this story and Drake's search for his sister is introduced early on in the series, his own story really doesn't take off until the beginning of this book. Evade and Capture can absolutely be enjoyed as a standalone. 

Review - - Smash and Grab

Smash and Grab
by Lori Matthews
Callahan Security Series - Book 2
Publisher: Wild Coyote Press
Release Date: April 9, 2020
Reviewed by PJ
  

Logan Callahan, the CEO of Callahan Security, knows he’s out of his depth.

The woman he came to the Bahamas to investigate was kidnapped, and he was taken right along with her. He knew the sexy lady lawyer was trouble. He just had no idea how much.

Taken. Again. Lacy Carmichael on the other hand, was not new to the “Kidnap and Ransom” game. After all, when your father was one of the largest arms dealers in the world, danger comes with the territory, and she’d learned how to talk or fight her way out of almost anything.

But this time Logan was grabbed with her, so she’ll have to reveal all her secrets in order to save both of their asses.

If only she wasn’t so damned smart and sexy, Logan would find staying level-headed much easier. After all, she could be the spy his brothers are looking for.

Searching for a way out of the mess, and fighting their mutual attraction, will take all of Logan’s and Lacy’s collective skills.

Unfortunately, deception and betrayal by those they trust the most changes the rules of the game, and they find themselves battling for both their lives and their love.

PJ's Thoughts:

This is only the second novel Lori Matthews has published but she is fast becoming one of my go-to romantic suspense authors. Filled with suspense, romance, and plenty of danger, Smash and Grab continues the mystery begun in book one, Break and Enter, while adding a new twist into the mix. The chemistry between Lacy and Logan sizzles and it was fun to watch the two former legal adversaries begin to view one another in a new light as they're forced to work together to outwit their kidnappers. We discover that both characters are much more than expected. The guy we met in book one is not at all the person I expected Logan to be in book two. I loved his hidden depths! Lacy, on the other hand, is a well of secrets and contradictions with family complications - and expectations - that have been steering her toward an inescapable destination. Understandably, as truths are revealed, trust is tested, and Matthews inserts enough twists and turns into the story to keep me (and Logan) wondering right up until the end just how everything will turn out. It's a wild ride and oh, so worth it. 

I can't wait to find out what Matthews has in store for us in the next Callahan Security novel!

Review - - Break and Enter

Break and Enter
by Lori Matthews
Callahan Security - Book 1
Publisher: Wild Coyote Press
Release Date: January 22, 2020
Reviewed by PJ
  

Callahan Security is on the brink of disaster. Mitch Callahan pushed his brothers to expand the family business into private security, and their first major client is a complete pain in the ass. It’s no wonder the man has a target on his back, but nothing could prepare Mitch for how seductive his adversary is. Dear reader, let me introduce you to Alexandra Buchannan. The woman many of us wish we had on speed dial, at least at some point in our lives…she uses her talents as a professional criminal to equalize the scales of what she likes to call…romantic justice. Your ex still has your favorite painting? He kept the bracelet he bought you for your 5th anniversary? They won’t be his for long. But Alex’s latest job is her biggest challenge yet. Her target just hired a new security company, and the team’s leader is as smart as he is sexy.Mitch knows his ass is on the line, and he could drag Callahan Security down with him, but everything gets much more complicated as he begins to find Alex so damn irresistible. Soon their game of cat and mouse explodes into a million pieces. Unbeknownst to them, there’s another player in the game, and his intentions are far deadlier.


PJ's Thoughts:

You all know how much I enjoy discovering new authors who check all my happy reader boxes. After staying awake until 3:30 this morning to finish reading Break and Enter, I'm happy to say Lori Matthews checked all of those boxes. Not only am I all-in for her Callahan Security series, but she's the first name placed on my Best Debut Authors of 2020 list. 

With well-developed characters, a fast-paced and tightly-plotted story, a solid balance between action and romance, and twists and turns aplenty, she drew me into her high-stakes world and kept me riveted from first page to last. I loved the chemistry between Mitch and Alex, the flare of desire that grew ever stronger, even as they matched wits to achieve their respective goals and struggled to find trust without revealing their secrets. I was fully invested in their journey.

Matthews writes with fluidity, painting vivid pictures with her words and using her characters - always at the heart of the story - to move the plot forward. As I read the words on the page, in my mind's eye I could see the entire story unfolding on the big screen. It's as if I was reading the book and watching the movie simultaneously, creating an immersive experience that fully engaged my senses. 

While Break and Enter gives the main couple, Mitch and Alex, a happy ending, and their particular piece of the mystery that unfolds in this book is wrapped up, there are still questions to be answered. It appears that there is an overlying mystery that will continue to unfold within each subsequent book in the series. And, of course, as there are two more Callahan brothers (who are both equally intriguing!), more happily ever afters to be found as well. I don't know how many books Matthews has planned for this series but, based on how much I enjoyed Break and Enter, I'll be here for all of them.