Synopsis

Discover New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Rose’s brand-new series set in the sultry, crime-ridden city of New Orleans and featuring a tough team of high-end private investigators who are after justice–no matter what they have to do to get it.

There are good cops. And there are bad cops. The question is…who wins?

After completing her tours with the Marines in Iraq, Molly Sutton knew she could take down any bad guy she met. But when her law enforcement agency in North Carolina turned against her, she joined up with her former CO Burke Broussard, who left New Orleans PD to set up a private investigative service for people who couldn’t find justice elsewhere.

Gabe Hebert saw the toll that working for the NOPD took on his dad and decided instead to make a name for himself as one of the best young chefs in the French Quarter. But when his father’s death is ruled a suicide after a deliberately botched investigation by his former captain, Gabe knows his dad stumbled onto a truth that someone wants silenced.

Gabe goes to his father’s best friend, Burke, for help. Burke assigns the toughest member of his team, Molly, to the case. Molly can’t believe she’s being asked to work with the smoking hot chef whose chocolate cake is not the only thing that makes her mouth water. Sparks fly as they follow the leads Gabe’s dad left them, unraveling a web of crimes, corruption, and murder that runs all the way to the top.

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Excerpt

Molly looked up to find her boss standing in his office doorway. Burke Broussard was in his midforties and, other than a few silver hairs at his temples, hadn’t changed a bit since he’d been her CO in the Marines a decade before. “Morning, Burke. I brought you coffee, too.” She held up the cup.

“Thank the good Lord for that,” he said fervently. “I’ve been here since six.”

Molly shuddered in mostly mock horror. “Why?” She’d left rising with the sun behind when she’d finished her final tour with the Marine Corps. Burke, however, had a love-hate relationship with mornings. He said he hated them, but he continued coming in earlier and earlier. The man was a fool.

He was also smart as hell, driven to succeed, compassionate, and generous to a fault. But a morning fool.

“Come into my office,” he said. “I have a new client you should meet.”

Joy’s eyes widened further, and she maneuvered her wheelchair so that she could unabashedly watch Molly walk into Burke’s office.

And Molly immediately understood why.

Sitting in the chair at Burke’s conference table was none other than Gabriel Hebert, Choux chef extraordinaire. He looked tired and tense and very unhappy.

She wondered if he’d been so unhappy the night before. He had looked tired, but not this unhappy. Of course, he might be one of those people who could put on the face they wished the world to see.

“Molly, this is Mr. Hebert. Gabe, this is Miss Sutton. I’m going to assign her to your case.”

Molly’s brows shot up. What?

Gabe’s brows shot up as well, then crunched together in a disgruntled frown. “What? You’re handing me off?” He came to his feet. “What the hell, Burke?”

The two men faced off, and they couldn’t have appeared more physically different. Burke’s skin was olive toned, his deep tan a testament to all the road biking he did in his spare time. Gabe was so lightly tanned that she might still call him pale. And, like a lot of redheads, he had a smattering of freckles across his nose.

She’d always wanted to trace those freckles with her fingertips. She’d wondered where else he had them.

Both men were tall, but Burke’s body was bulky where Gabe’s was lean. Molly loved to watch Gabe move. When he was cooking in his restaurant’s kitchen, it was like watching a choreographed dance.

Only their accents were similar-both speaking with that smooth New Orleans drawl that sounded like hot summer nights with jazz music thick in the air. Except that Gabe’s voice made her shiver, when Burke’s never had.

She probably shouldn’t have shivered at all, considering how angry he seemed, but her body couldn’t help how it reacted. Sue me.

Burke waved at him to be seated. “I’m too close, Gabe. Your father . . . he was important to me, too. He was my partner. I had his back, and he had mine. Whatever else went down when I was on the force, I knew your father would stand by me, and he did. I don’t know that I’d be able to keep an open mind.”

Gabe did not sit down, his frown deepening to something almost dangerous. “Open to what?” he asked, each word dripping with anger and warning.

“The truth,” Burke said simply. “Whatever it might be. Molly’s my right hand. She will not let you down. Now, please, have a seat. If, after you’ve talked with her, you want someone else, we’ll figure it out. Don’t worry. You can depend on her discretion, no matter who you choose to work your case.”

Gabe released a harsh breath. “Okay.” He sat, then shifted his gaze to Molly, who still stood in the doorway, having not moved a muscle. He did a double take. “Do I know . . .” He trailed off. “Right. Last night. Happy birthday, Miss Sutton.”

Burke looked between them, his expression suddenly unhappy. “You two know each other?”

“No,” Gabe said.

“No,” Molly said at the same time. “I’ve been to his restaurant a few times, that’s all. The girls took me there last night for my birthday. I brought you some cake,” she added lamely. “It’s in the fridge in the break room.”

“Thank you, Molly.” Clearly relieved, Burke gestured to one of the empty chairs at the table. “Join us. As I’m sure you’ve figured out, this case requires extreme discretion.”

Molly nodded. “I understand. Mr. Hebert, if you decide I’m not the best fit, there will be no hard feelings. But should you choose to work with me, I’ll do my very best.”

Gabe’s shoulders slumped, his exhaustion clear to see. “I appreciate that.” He swallowed hard. “I need to find out who killed my father.”

Molly glanced at Burke. “Are the police involved?”

Gabe’s laugh was bitter. “Most likely, yes.”

Burke sighed. “What he means is, someone in law enforcement might be complicit. Or responsible.”

Molly sat back, wishing she was surprised. “All right, then. Let me have it.”

Review

Corruption knows no bounds.

In this new novel by Karen Rose, she drags us into the seedy underbelly of New Orleans and the corruption that reigns through multiple entities, and you never know who you can trust and still stay alive. The action doesn’t stop in this book, and while the time frame that it covers for a majority of the book is only a few days (a week at the most), I was worn out by the time all was said and done. My emotions were pushed and pulled in every direction, and I was dragged into this story kicking and screaming. Ok, not really, but the intensity is not for the faint of heart.

While we know the players that are wreaking havoc, we don’t really know who everyone is since some have nicknames. But you have to know that the corruption runs deep and high up the food chain of the police department and politicians. Gabe hires Burke Broussard’s PI firm to find out what happened to his father when an independent autopsy reveals foul play. This brings Molly Sutton into his orbit, and it is instant chemistry. Granted, they know of each other from his restaurant, but this is the first time they are properly introduced. From here on, it is a battle to keep their feelings low-key until this situation is sorted out. That doesn’t last too long, and there are some romantic interludes between the two, with other characters smirking throughout at their behavior. Despite Gabe’s career as a chef, he can hold his own when it comes to helping track down the culprits and discovering the truth.

There are so many characters you might need a playbook to follow along. However, it won’t take long to get into the book’s rhythm and keep track of everyone involved. At least, I could remember almost everyone and whether they were good or bad.

Outside of the action, there is levity, humor, romance, and suspense. As clues were unearthed, I started putting the pieces together but never would have guessed some of the answers that were revealed in the end. I missed a big clue regarding Lamont, but it isn’t surprising when I look back at how certain things are handled or portrayed. I was shocked at what some of the characters were capable of doing, but I really shouldn’t be, considering how crazy this world is these days.

I don’t know if this will be a series, but I wouldn’t mind taking a trip back to New Orleans with these characters. I would like to learn more about Val, a minor character because she sounds fascinating.

We give this book 4 paws up. It is a long book at a little over 600 pages, but I can’t think of much that could have been cut to trim down the length. Every scene was needed to move the story forward.

About the Author

Internationally bestselling, RITA-award winning, author Karen Rose was born and raised in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. She met her husband, Martin, on a blind date when they were seventeen and after they both graduated from the University of Maryland, (Karen with a degree in Chemical Engineering) they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Karen worked as an engineer for a large consumer goods company, earning two patents, but as Karen says, “scenes were roiling in my head and I couldn’t concentrate on my job so I started writing them down. I started out writing for fun, and soon found I was hooked.”

Her debut suspense novel, DON’T TELL, was released in July, 2003. Since then, she has published fifteen more novels and two novellas. Her seventeenth novel, ALONE IN THE DARK, will be released in 2016.

Karen’s books have appeared on the bestseller lists of the New York Times, USA Today, London’s Sunday Times, and Germany’s der Spiegel (#1), and the Irish Times, as well as lists in South Africa (#1) and Australia!

Her novels, I’M WATCHING YOU and SILENT SCREAM, received the Romance Writers of America’s RITA award for Best Romantic Suspense for 2005 and 2011. Five of her other books have been RITA finalists. To date, her books have been translated into twenty-four languages.

A former high school teacher of chemistry and physics, Karen lives in Florida with her husband of more than twenty years, her two daughters, two dogs, and a cat.

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