Blog Tour: Review & Excerpt of Guarded by the Soldier by Laura Scott

Author:Laura Scott

Publisher:  Love Inspired Suspense

Publication Date: July 2020

He’ll put his life on the line…

If it means protecting a little boy and his pregnant mom.

After months of searching, security expert Ryker Tillman finally finds Olivia Habush and her young son—just as they are attacked by armed mercenaries. Now safeguarding Olivia, her unborn child and little Aaron is the former special ops soldier’s new mission. But to save the family burrowing into his heart, Ryker must figure out why someone wants them dead…

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My thoughts:

Guarded by the Soldier was a quick clean romantic suspense.  For the most part, I enjoyed the book.  It is the second in a series, but the great things about these is they hold up well as stand alone books.  I liked bot Ryker and Olivia.   Olivia and her son are being pursued by men who want something from her and Ryker ends up helping them.  There was an added level of danger since Olivia is 8 months pregnant.  I won't give too much away, but the book opens with Olivia in danger and doesn't stop until the end. Check out the excerpt below to read the opening scene. I do recommend this one.

Enjoy this Excerpt:

 - from GUARDED BY THE SOLDIER by Laura Scott

Olivia Habush closed and locked the office door, then shouldered her large zebra-striped bag before heading out the back door of the church. The early June evening was warm, and she resisted the urge to fan herself. Early summer in the quaint town of Harrisburg, Illinois, was much warmer than what she was used to when she’d lived in Madison, Wisconsin.

The edges of her oversize blouse flapped around her large pregnant belly as she made her way across the street. Mrs. Willa Bentley was watching over Olivia’s three-year-old son Aaron while Liv did her weekly Thursday- night bookkeeping job for the We Are One Church. As an accountant, she enjoyed working with numbers and it was the least she could do for the nice people who’d welcomed her with open arms.

Upon turning the corner, the hairs on the back of her neck rose in alarm. For the second time this week she had the distinct feeling she was being watched.

The Blake-Moore Group.

Was it possible the organization her late husband worked for had found her again, after all this time? Having overheard details about what the former soldiers belonging to the Blake-Moore Group had gotten involved in, she knew they were not to be trusted.

Resisting the urge to glance over her shoulder, she began to run, her movements awkward and clumsy be-cause of her pregnant belly. Her oversize purse/diaper bag banged against her hip as she moved. The run didn’t last long, and she slowed to a fast walk while frantically looking for someone nearby.

But there wasn’t anyone around. For whatever reason, the streets of the Garden Ridge neighborhood were un-usually vacant and quiet.

Liv pulled her phone from the front pocket of her bag, intending to call 911 despite her determination to avoid the police, but before she could push a button, large, strong hands roughly grabbed her from behind.

“No! Let me go!” She managed to get most of the words out mere seconds before a firm, calloused hand clamped hard over her mouth. Her phone fell uselessly to the ground with a loud clatter.

She couldn’t breathe!

Panic flared, paralyzing her with fear. They’d found her. After all this time, the men employed by the Blake-Moore Group, the men who’d turned her husband into a monster, had found her!

Dear Lord, help me!

Desperate to save herself and her unborn baby, she lashed out against her attacker with all her strength, kicking backward with her feet and scratching at every exposed inch of skin on his face and hands.

“Knock it off,” her attacker growled, his voice low and rough in her ear as his arm tightened painfully around her. “Or I’ll kill you right here and now.”

Kill her? No! This couldn’t be happening! She thought about her son, Aaron, and her unborn baby. Her eyes burned with helpless tears as her attacker easily subdued her feeble struggles and began to pull her backward, away from the streetlights and deeper into the shadows.

She stopped struggling, in an attempt to preserve her strength while reminding herself that she’d escaped once before and could do so again. Granted, that was six months ago, when she’d only just discovered she was six weeks pregnant instead of thirty-four.

How had they found her?

“Oomph.” The man holding her in his iron grasp abruptly let go. Still off-balance, Liv felt herself falling backward, even as she flailed her arms in an attempt to stay upright.

A pair of strong hands caught her before she could hit the ground, gently pushing her upright so that she was back on her own two feet. Her bag was somehow still on her shoulder and she hitched it higher, feeling relieved for a brief moment before realizing this could be another guy from the Blake-Moore Group.

“Let me go!” She shouted as loudly as she could, but the words came out like a weak croak. “Help! Police! Help me!”

“Olivia, please be quiet. We need to get out of here and pick up your son before this guy regains consciousness.”

The stranger’s use of her first name pulled her up short. She twisted out of his grasp and stared at his face, but he didn’t look familiar. She noted he was dressed from head to toe in black, making it easy for him to blend into the night. Then her gaze dropped to the body of a man lying on the ground, also dressed in black, apparently unconscious. The silver glint of a knife blade lying on the asphalt beside him caught her eye, making her swallow hard.

What was going on? Who were these men?

“Olivia, I’m not with the Blake-Moore Group,” the stranger continued in a tone she was sure he meant to be reassuring. “I’m here to keep you and your son safe.”

About the author:

Author bio: Laura Scott is honored to write for the Love Inspired Suspense line, where a reader can find a heartwarming journey of faith amid the thrilling danger. She lives with her husband of twenty-five years and has two children, a daughter and a son, who are both in college. She works as a critical-care nurse during the day at a large level-one trauma center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and spends her spare time writing romance. Visit Laura at www.laurascottbooks.com. 

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Review & Excerpt: Copycat Killer by Laura Scott

Author: Laura Scott
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense (Harlequin)
Publication Date: April 2020

Murder strikes close to home for a new K-9 unit in Brooklyn. When a double homicide is strikingly familiar to a twenty-year-old cold case, Detective Nate Slater is rattled by the parallels. With a child as the only witness, he and his K-9 partner must protect little Lucy and her aunt, Willow Emery. Nate’s rough past means he always keeps an emotional distance…but in this case getting closer is the only way they’ll all survive.

Purchase links:

Goodreads Amazon Barnes & Noble Google IndieBound Harlequin.com

My thoughts:

Copycat Killer is the first book in the True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn series.  It was a quick and enjoyable romantic suspense. I flew through it in one sitting.  I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of the book.  There are two mysteries in the book.  One is resolved and the other is left on a cliffhanger, but I have a feeling it will be a storyline that the span a few books in the series.  The one mystery that was resolved was very engaging and surrsing.  

For the most part, I did enjoy the romance part of the book.  It was sweet, clean romance.  I was a bit hesitant to buy into the speed of the HEA at the end, however,  The story takes place over only a couple of days, so it was a bit fast for me. Still, I did enjoy them together.  The rest of the K-9 team is introduced briefly in this book.  I'm assuming they will be featured in later books.  I do recommend this one.

Excerpt, COPYCAT KILLER by Laura Scott

Nate suddenly heard a panicked shout. “Help! Police! Help!”

What in the world? He turned to look over his shoulder. A young man in a baseball cap and a Yankees jersey was waving his arms in a frantic attempt to get his attention.

“Help! Someone is being attacked!”

He hesitated, unwilling to leave Willow and Lucy there alone. Willow was still chatting with Angela, the two women cooing over Lucy, so he made a split-second decision to respond. “Willow? Stay here. I’ll be right back. Come, Murphy.”

“This way!” The Yankees fan turned and disappeared around the corner, clearly expecting Nate and Murphy to follow.

Nate broke into a jog, dodging pedestrians while keeping Murphy close to his side. He listened intently but didn’t hear any sounds indicating an attack. He hoped he wasn’t going to be too late. As they turned the corner, he raked his gaze over the area, searching for anything suspicious.

There was no obvious sign of an attack, but the Yankees fan was still several paces ahead. “Hurry! Over here! In the alley!”

Nate darted around a group of tourists. He came to the spot where the Yankees fan had been, in front of a long narrow alley, but the guy was gone. He’d vanished like some sort of magician’s trick.

There was no attack.

His gut clenched with fear. Willow! Lucy!

He whirled around and instantly ran back to the café. The sidewalk seemed to stretch forever. He’d followed the stupid Yankees fan farther than he’d realized.

And it had been nothing but a clever ploy to get him and Murphy out of the way.

No! How could he have been so gullible? He quickened his pace, unable to bear the thought of something happening to Willow and Lucy.

He wheeled around the corner, his heart lodged in his throat. Even more people crowded the sidewalks now.

Lucy was crying, loud screeching sobs. “Aunt Willow! Aunt Willow! Come back!”

A pedestrian got in his way and he nearly plowed the guy over in his haste to reach Willow and Lucy.

“No! Stop!” Willow’s voice was muffled. He caught a glimpse of someone dressed in black with a hat pulled low over his forehead dragging her toward a black sedan double-parked a few spots up from the café.

“Stop! Police!” He shouted as loud as he could to be heard above the din. Realizing he might be too late, he reached down and released Murphy’s leash. “Get him, Murphy. Get him!”

Murphy took off running. Like a racehorse, he closed the gap between him and Willow faster than Nate ever could.

The man with the hat must have realized the same thing, because he abruptly pushed Willow toward Murphy, then spun and took off running in the opposite direction.

It all happened like a scene unfolding in slow motion. Willow tripped over Murphy. His partner yelped as the two of them tangled together. Then Willow hit the pavement with a thud. Lucy was still crying, her stroller several feet away from Willow and Murphy.

“Willow! Are you okay?” He finally caught up to them, crouching down to check Willow and his partner. Murphy had managed to free himself from Willow. He was up on his feet, staring in the direction the intruder had gone.

“Get him,” Nate repeated. He didn’t like sending his partner off alone, but he couldn’t leave Willow and Lucy.

The yellow Lab took off, trotting fast, his nose periodically going to the ground.

Murphy could track just about anything, but he wasn’t trained to go into subway stations without Nate. A fact he hoped the assailant didn’t know, as there was a subway entrance at the opposite end of the block.

“What happened?” He helped Willow to her feet.

“He—came out of nowhere.” Her voice was shaky, her hands trembling. Her palms were scraped and bleeding, but she didn’t seem to care. “I didn’t notice until he grabbed me.”

“Shh, it’s okay.” He caught her in his arms for a quick hug, then turned toward Lucy. Some instinct had him lifting the girl from her stroller and handing her over to Wil-low. They clung to each other, much the way they had outside the scene of the Emery murders.

His gaze fell on the license plate of the black sedan abandoned by the would-be kidnapper. He quickly memorized the plate number, hoping it would be a clue as to who’d attacked Willow.

A sharp dog bark caught his attention. His heart was hammering, and he desperately wanted to go after Murphy. What if the assailant tried to hurt him? Nate took one step forward, then another, but stopped.

He couldn’t leave Willow. He had to trust in his partner’s training. The K-9 would soon return.

Murphy came running through the crowd of onlookers, returning to Nate’s side.

“Murph!” He went down to his knee and wrapped his arms around his partner. From what he could tell, Mur-phy wasn’t hurt.

Unfortunately, the assailant had gotten away.

About Laura Scott:

Laura Scott is honored to write for the Love Inspired Suspense line, where a reader can find a heartwarming journey of faith amid the thrilling danger. She lives with her husband of twenty-five years and has two children, a daughter and a son, who are both in college. She works as a critical-care nurse during the day at a large level-one trauma center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and spends her spare time writing romance. Visit Laura at www.laurascottbooks.com.