Hitched and Hunted - Paula Graves
Harlequin Intrigue
Harlequin, 2011
ISBN: 9780373695393
N.B. The above details relate to the North American release of this book.
My rating
From the back cover:
"On the day Jake Cooper said "I do" to his beautiful bride, Mariah, their future happiness seemed certain. But Jake always wondered what she wasn't telling him. And what it would take for the truth to come out…
Hoping to build a new life with Jake, Mariah thought she was free of the demons from her past. But when they were kidnapped and held at gunpoint, Mariah knew it was time she came clean—whatever the consequences. Her vow to confess was cut short, though, when bullets started flying and they were forced to run for their lives. Desperate to survive and not fall victim to the man hunting them, Mariah realized just how much she'd gained having Jake in her life. And how much they both had to lose."
It's been a while since I last read an Intrigue and this is one I picked up in NYC. I was hoping for and exciting and interesting read, and that's what I got!
After a tornado causes damaged to the town they are staying in, the hero Jake and the heroine Mariah help to restore. Mariah is nervous about being in the town as she previously lived there but left after testifying against the man who killed her fiancé, whom she once considered to be a father figure. She doesn't realise that he is now out of prison and after seeing her on TV is coming after her. Mariah never told Jake about her past, but is forced to come clean when both of them are kidnapped this man. Held hostage, they are have to rely on each other in order to try and escape not knowing whether they will live another day or be able to repair the damage don to their marriage.
I found this to be a well written, exciting and suspense packed book. I really liked the story, it wasn't overly complicated and this made it flow really well. I liked the character of Mariah, she is well developed and it was great that she was written with a bad start in live but has managed to make a decent(ish) life for herself. I actually empathised with her reasons for keeping her past a secret. Although she did seem to forget about her son an awful lot...! I wasn't so keep on Jake as a character. Sure, he was protective and everything but he seemed a little hypocritical, and his own 'secrets' didn't really hit the mark for me.
This is fast paced and exciting, the 'action' scenes are well written and detailed, which really helped to involve me in the story.
This book is actually the first in a mini-series by Paula Graves 'Cooper Justice: Cold Case Investigation', and the lead-in to the follow on books was interesting. If/when they are released in the UK then I will look to read them.
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