Lone Wolf Standing - Carla Cassidy (HRS #1807 - July 2014)

Series: Men of Wolf Creek (Book 3)

Maybe it's just her imagination, but Sheri Marcoli's convinced she's being watched. With the disappearance of her aunt still unsolved, Detective Jimmy Carmani's not taking any chances. But sticking close to the vulnerable beauty isn't just a job. For the first time in his life, Jimmy's discovering feelings he thought himself incapable of.

But the powerful attraction Sheri feels toward Jimmy is scaring her almost as much as her stalker. The swarthy, dark-eyed detective is nothing like the golden-haired prince she's waited for all her life. But as Sheri struggles to resist her overpowering desire, an evil madman is closing in...on both of them.

Good conclusion to the series.  Sheri's aunt is still missing and everyone is starting to lose hope that they will find her. When Sheri gets the feeling that she's being watched and then is attacked, Jimmy makes it his job to be sure she's safe. He doesn't mind staying close to her as he's been drawn to her for several months. 

I liked Jimmy a lot. He had a rough childhood growing up in foster care and always longing for love and a family of his own. He has come to the conclusion that he will never have it and devotes himself to his work instead. Working on the case of the missing aunt brings him into frequent contact with Sheri. Feeling that he's not really cut out for a relationship he offers her his friendship but soon discovers that he really wants more. By this time, though, he's heard all about her dream of the blond haired and blue eyed prince that she is looking for. I really felt bad for him with the way that he was falling so hard for Sheri and yet had to listen to her go on about the dream prince of hers. I thought he was a real sweetheart of a guy. He is there for her when she's scared. When she's attacked he takes care of her, sensing what she needs almost before she knows herself. I loved that he had the courage to tell her his feelings, and felt so bad for him when she rejected his claims of love.

Sheri irritated me through most of the book. She was so fixated on her childhood dream of her blue eyed blond prince who would simply show up out of the blue and sweep her off her feet. When she started having problems she had no trouble accepting help from Jimmy. She accepted his offer of friendship and enjoyed being with him, but couldn't see past her dream to the terrific man that he was. She was attracted to him but fought it because he didn't fit her ideal. I really hated the way that every time they gave in to their attraction she reiterated that he was all wrong for her. I really wanted to smack her when she rejected his profession of love. It took several people telling her what an unrealistic jerk she was being, then nearly dying for her to accept what her feelings really were. 

I enjoyed the suspense part of the book quite a lot. In the previous books we'd get brief glimpses of what Liz was going through and the occasional glimpse into her captor's mind. As things started to escalate, the danger that both Liz and Sheri were in got worse. I could feel the detectives' frustration over the lack of clues and their worry as time went on with no progress. There were several possibilities of who it could be and I never got a sense of who it was until the end.

Lethal Lawman - Carla Cassidy (HRS #1783 - Jan 2014)

Series: Men of Wolf Creek (Book 2)

Marlene Marcoli made the mistake of falling in love and almost lost her life. Hoping to put her abusive marriage behind her, Marlene moves to Wolf Creek, Pennsylvania. But danger follows her once again when her apartment is vandalized. To make matters worse, the sexy detective working the case is distracting her beyond reason.

Detective Frank Delaney hasn't been interested in dating since his wife died--until Marlene comes to town. Irresistibly drawn to the blonde, he's got to find a way to make her trust him. And when Marlene's life is threatened, Frank must race to protect her--if they both hope to have a second chance at love.

Marlene has been back in Wolf Creek for a year after the end of her marriage.  She is working with one of her sisters in the store they run together.  When she isn't working she stays to herself.  When her apartment is vandalized the first one on the scene is Frank Delaney, one of the detectives who is also working the case of her missing aunt.  She finds him very sexy, but has no desire to get involved with another man.  Her confidence in her ability to have a good relationship is nonexistent, so when he indicates an interest in getting to know her better, she shuts him down pretty quickly.  But as she starts receiving threatening letters, then someone shoots at her, she accepts Frank's help in keeping her safe.  Marlene's standoffishness at first makes her seem pretty unemotional until she starts to open up to Frank about her past.  She confides things to him that she hadn't even shared with her sisters.  She also finds herself looking forward to seeing him which is not something she ever expected to happen.  I really liked the strength she showed as everything was happening to her.  She never really fell apart completely, though she did have a couple mini-meltdowns that she quickly recovered from.  I also liked the way that after she got shot at she started thinking about the way she had been living her life and decided it was time to make some changes.  That included her relationship with Frank, where she had to decide how much or how little she wanted from him.  I loved seeing her start looking at fulfilling the dream she'd had before her marriage now that she's decided to leave the past in the past.

Frank has been living a life filled with guilt and self-recrimination.  Three years earlier his wife had committed suicide and he blames himself for not seeing how big her problems were.  He will occasionally date, but hasn't gotten involved with another woman since then.  Being the detective in charge of finding out who is threatening Marlene puts him in her company a lot.  It isn't long before he discovers that she's not the ice princess people call her, she is just protecting herself.  He is intrigued by her and wants to spend some time getting to know her, but she won't go on a date with him.  I enjoyed his way of getting around that by taking food to her work to share with her rather than going out.  It is during one of those non-dates that they are shot at and he takes her home with him to protect her.  His feelings for her are growing stronger, but he knows that she has issues from her marriage and he is leery of getting involved with another woman who might be more emotional than he can handle.  I was a bit irritated with him that he couldn't see the huge difference between Marlene and his late wife.  I could see that he had really fallen for her but he was having a lot of trouble letting go of the past.  When he finally did, he did it very well.

The ongoing mystery of Aunt Liz's disappearance hasn't really made any progress.  There were a couple of check-ins to see what was happening with her, but the detectives are at a complete loss.  They haven't been able to find any clues to go on.  The epilogue was a lead in for the next book and it isn't looking good for the Marcoli family.  

The mystery that was central to this book, of who was targeting Marlene was very well done.  There were various clues, some of which worked and some that were dead ends.  I was definitely invested in finding out "whodunnit" and was completely surprised by who it was.

Cold Case, Hot Accomplice - Carla Cassidy (HRS #1779 - Dec 2013)

Series: Men of Wolf Creek (Book 1)

Roxy Marcoli cares about three things -- her restaurant, her sisters and her aunt Liz. When Liz disappears, she's forced to turn to shameless playboy cop Steve Kincaid. Every time the sexy detective turns on the charm, he gets Roxy's hackles up.

Despite his reputation, Steve is no ladies' man. His casual flirting hides the pain of an unbearable loss. As they search for clues, he discovers what lies beneath Roxy's prickly exterior and sharp tongue. As his desire grows, so does his fear. Because it's not just Aunt Liz the killer wants -- but Roxy, too.

I could not put this down until I had read straight through it.  Roxy is the oldest of three sisters and feels responsible for making sure their lives run smoothly.  She remembers what life with their mother was like before they went to live with Aunt Liz and she vows that she will never go through that again.  Liz has been the anchor in her life since she was seven and the thought of something happening to her isn't something she can accept.  Steve and his two fellow detectives have been coming to her restaurant regularly and when Liz can't be found she goes to them for help.  Roxy tends to be pretty blunt and prickly and always in control of her life.  Steve is always flirting with her and every other female around.  She doesn't trust that he will actually put any effort into finding Liz, so she plans to be with him every step of the way.  It doesn't take too long before she discovers that Steve is far more than she thought.  As they look for clues in their search for Liz, she gets to know the man beneath the flirt and finds that they have more in common than she thought.  When she is the victim of several attacks, it's Steve she turns to for protection.  I have to say that I had a hard time warming up to Roxy at first.  She is so darn judgmental about Steve without actually knowing him.  I was glad to see her realize her mistake.  Thanks to her issues from her mother, she is determined that she will never have a man as a permanent part of her life.  Even that starts to change as being around Steve makes her realize that not all men are like those who were around her mother, and that she isn't anything like her mom.  Getting close to Steve is a scary proposition for her and I was happy to see her take that leap of faith.

Steve uses lighthearted flirting to hide the heartbreaking pain he lives with every day.  Two years earlier his ex-girlfriend had taken their son and disappeared.  He hasn't given up hope of finding Tommy, but knows he also has to go on with his life.  When Roxy's aunt disappears, he knows exactly what Roxy is going through so he does his best to help her cope as well as working to find Aunt Liz.  He finds that he enjoys being  with Roxy even as she frustrates him with her constant interference in the investigation.  He has previously only gotten involved with women in a lighthearted manner because he doesn't think there would be room for love in his heart because of all the pain there.  But he discovers that Roxy has managed to make a place for herself.  When she becomes the victim of several attacks, he brings her to stay with him in order to protect her.  This accelerates the effect she is having on him, but he has no idea if she can ever return his feelings.  I loved the way that he was able to use his own experience to help her.  I also enjoyed seeing Steve take care of her in a way that no one else ever has. 

There are two mysteries going on in this book.  The first, and main, story of the series is the disappearance of Aunt Liz.  The search for clues has turned up nothing that has given them any idea of what has happened to her.  Toward the end of the book we get to see her briefly as she tries to figure out what is happening to her.  I have an idea of who is behind it, but I'll have to wait to see if I'm right because I'm sure we won't find out until book three.  The other mystery is that of who is behind the attacks on Roxy and if they are connected to Liz's disappearance.  I had a pretty good idea of who the guilty party was on that one.  The end had a nice little plot twist that brought some extra happiness to Steve and Roxy.