A sweet romance mixed with a murder hunt

As a fan of Gerri Hill, I really had to read her latest book and once again, the author has exceeded my expectations. I like mystery and romance genres best and both mixed together in one story are my absolute favorite. This author is able to write both storylines equally strong and it’s precisely how I love it.

As we have come to expect from Gerri Hill, her description of the surroundings, the town and the people makes you think you know the place and you have already visited yourself. Amazing. Timber Falls is a small town set apart in the wilderness on the banks of a mountain river. As sleepy as the hick town is in winter, it’s a lively tourist spot in summer, thanks to boisterous “river rats” who can’t get enough of river rafting and class V rapids.

Haley was a river rat herself when she spent several summers there with her girlfriend during her college years. Seven years ago and after the accidental death of her wife, she returned to where she was the happiest. She was able to take over the Timber Falls Bar & Grill and is now one of the all-year-round residents. Her only real friend is Mike, the local Timber Falls Police officer.

Carter fell out of favor with her police department in LA and is offered a way out in the form of a position in a special FBI unit. After a month of training, she is sent out for the first time to operate on her own in Timber Falls after a college student was brutally murdered.

The murder investigation is exciting and nerve-wracking. The hunt for the killer is thrilling. The more I learned, the closer the action got, the more afraid I was that Haley, Mike, or Carter would be targeted. It kept me on my toes the whole time. I was pleased to see that, for once, the cooperation of Mike and Carter, who belong to two different law enforcement agencies went hand-in-hand without infighting.

The romance is sweet and soulful. Both women feel lonely for different reasons. Haley is still struggling with grief for her wife and still hasn’t managed to let her go. I imagine that this is the most difficult thing to do, when you lose your wife, although you know she wouldn’t want you to hold on that long. When she gets to know Carter, she feels something changing inside her, but at first, she doesn’t want to accept that someone else is capable of replacing her wife, it makes her uncomfortable. And yet, a little hope germinates that she might find happiness again but she is afraid to let her in, as she knows Carter will leave town sooner rather than later.

Carter, on the other hand, is always completely focused on her work. But as she is slowly finding her way around the new job, always on the move, never in the same place for more than a few days, with no home, she starts to realize how lonely the new job makes her feel. Is this really the future she wants? She is immediately attracted to Haley, although Haley rejects all her advances. But they quickly become friends and only after a few days, Haley creeps into her heart and she knows that she will not just disappear again. Is she falling in love for the first time ever? Will Haley ever let her in her heart?

I liked the way both main characters interacted as the mature women that they are and that they really communicated without intentional misunderstandings. They had to find a way to be happy together and they did.

For me, Gerri Hill’s books are always a safe bet. As a fan, you know what to expect and it is always delivered in very good quality. Highly recommended to all mystery/romance fans.

ARC was provided by Bella Books to LezReviewBooks.com in exchange for an honest review.