Review: Perilous Trust by Barbara Freethy

Author: Barbara Freethy
Publisher: Fog City Publishing
Publication Date: August 2017

 It was one dark night that brought Damon Wolfe and Sophie Parker together. They were two tortured souls, looking for escape, and they weren't supposed to see each other ever again…

Four years later, Sophie's FBI father, who is also Damon's mentor, is killed in a suspicious car crash after leaving Sophie a cryptic message to trust no one from the agency. When Damon shows up looking for her, she isn't sure if he's friend or enemy, but she knows he could easily rip apart what is left of her heart.

The last thing Damon wants is to get involved with Sophie again. It was hard enough to walk away the first time. But she's in trouble, her father's reputation is under attack, and the lives of his fellow agents are at stake if there's a traitor in their midst.

When someone starts shooting at them, they have no choice but to go on the run and off the grid. Everyone in their world becomes a suspect. They want to uncover the truth, but will it turn out to be the last thing they expect? Proving her father's innocence might just cost them their hearts…and their lives…

In Perilous Trust, Sophie finds out her father has died but the circumstances are suspicious. He is also being accused of being dirty.  Her father was Damon's mentor and he is determined to find out what really happened.  He also wants to protect Sophie whey he does.  She may hold the key.

I thought this was a fairly solid romantic suspense. I did enjoy the romance part of the book.  I thought they were great together.  I also loved the force proximity that they faced because they didn't know who to trust. That mystery trope is among my favorites...not knowing who to trust.  The story is fast paced with a lot of action.  I was kept on my toes and didn't call the ending. One aspect of the story that I really enjoyed was Damon's relationship with the other secret members who helped him out. You could really feel the comradery between them.  I look forward to their stories. I do recommend this one.  

Throwback Thursday: Don't Say a Word by Barbara Freethy

 

Author: Barbara Freethy
First published in 2005 by Signet

While preparing for her wedding, Julia DeMarco comes across a famous photograph of a little girl in front of a Russian orphanage-and sees her own eyes staring back at her. But Julia is not an orphan, nor was she adopted. She knows where she comes from-or does she? Suddenly, the people she has loved and trusted are tainted by suspicion. The one person who is willing to help her is reckless photographer Alex Manning, who will journey with her toward the dangerous truth-while trying to hide a secret of his own.

I'm surprised that this book has never been made into a movie.  If done correctly, I think it would be an awesome mystery.  What would you do if you saw, hanging in a museum, a photo of yourself as a child?  The photo was taken in an orphanage in Russia.  Only you have never been to Russia.  Julia believes that she is the little girl in the famous photo.  As she starts to delve deeper into her past, things her mother told her about her life don't add up.  People are starting to follow her. The mystery in this book was really good.  There are a few twists that I didn't see coming.

This book isn't just suspense, it has a nice romance.  Alex and Julia have great chemistry together.  I loved their ending.  The only thing I didn't like about the book was the reaction of Julia's sister and fiance.  I thought they were jerks for the way they treated her.  Why wouldn't they support her in trying to find out the truth.  Especially when things start to not add up in regards to Sarah, Julia's mother.  At any rate, this is a great msytery and defintiely one to pick up if you missed it the first time around.

Throwback Thursday - Almost Home

Author: Barbara Freethy
First published in 2000 by Avon Books

TROUBLE IN PARADISE - Katherine Whitfield hadn't left her seamless life in California to get mixed-up with a rough around the edges man like Zach Tyler. With his well-worn jeans and slow, seductive smile, he was nothing but a cowboy on the wrong side of the Mississippi - a diversion in her heartfelt quest to discover the father she never knew.

Zach has a gentle hand with horses and a seductive touch with women ... and when he takes Katherine in his arms, he unleashes the passion simmering just below her cool exterior. Yes, her probing questions and tantalizing ways could cause nothing but trouble - but sometimes a man needs a little trouble ....

All Katherine wants is to find out the identity of her biological father. Finding clues in an old trunk that belonged to her deceased mother, she heads to her mother's hometown to find answers. What she gets is much more than she bargained for. Zach has spent the last few years trying to prove to a town that was swindled by his father that he is not cut from the same cloth. Zach and Katherine are a great couple. They both are searching for a place to belong and both come with baggage. Their HEA is very satisfying. While this is a romance, it has a mystery that keeps it interesting. The identity of Katherine's father was hard to pick until the very end.

This book is out of paper print (I got mine from the library), however it is available in e-book format. I definitely recommend this one.

--Kari