Scorned Justice: The Men of the Texas Rangers
by Margaret Daley
- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Abingdon Press (April 1, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 142671436X
- ISBN-13: 978-1426714368
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0
Book Description
Publication Date: April 1, 2013 | Series: Men of the Texas Rangers (Book 3)
Texas Ranger Brody Calhoun is with his parents in west Texas when an unexpected attack injures the brother of Rebecca Morgan, Brody's high school sweetheart. The local sheriff, a good friend, asks for Brody’s help. At first, it seems like an open-and-shut case.
As Brody digs deeper, he realizes the attack may be related to an organized crime trial Rebecca will be overseeing. With Rebecca's help, he compiles evidence involving cattle rustling, bribery, and dirty payoffs that shatter the entire community and put Rebecca directly in the line of fire.
Brody expects to protect her. What he never expects is to fall for Rebecca all over again, or for a murder to throw the case wide open. Is Brody's faith strong enough to withstand not only deep-rooted corruption and cattle rustling, but also love?
Review:
Rebecca Morgan is a Judge overseeing a high profile trial of an organized crime leader. Soon after the trial begins, Rebecca’s brother is injured while riding out on their joint ranch. Although it appears to be an accident more security is assigned to protect Rebecca, her sister-in-law and nieces against any threat of retaliation.
Brody, a steady, strong Texas Ranger is directed to protect Rebecca. They were best friends in school and he finds himself glad to be around the woman he lost after high school when they went separate ways and she married someone else. He has remained single all these years and even though she claims she will never marry another cop he knows there is a strong connection and attraction between them.
Continuing attacks, near misses and dead bodies in Rebecca's house have the authorities scrambling to determine which of the rival crime gangs has targeted Rebecca. The author includes thoughts from the villain’s view so the reader knows there is more going on before the characters do. This helped keep the tension and suspense running high and the heart pounding.
I was quickly pulled into the lives of the likeable hero and heroine. Within the first chapters I wanted a second chance for Brody and Rebecca. I was rooting for Brody and just waiting for Rebecca to realize that she couldn’t control all circumstances of her life but she shouldn’t miss out living to the fullest due to fear.
I really like Ms. Daley’s honorable characters and the underlying faith that gives them inner strength. The faith messages are natural to the characters and their circumstances and not preachy. There are good secondary characters including Brody’s feisty father who is recovering from a heart attack but still wants to share his skills as a detective.
The writing is full, easy and moves at a good pace. The descriptions are vibrant and the suspense is non-stop. The romance is a sweet backdrop to the danger. There are Discussion Questions at the end which are good for groups or for your own brain pondering. If you like good romantic suspense I highly recommend Scorned Justice. Although it is apparently a third book in a series it works fine as a stand alone. I will be looking for more of Ms. Daley’s books to read.
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Rebecca struggles with control issues and Brody challenges her on it:
"I'm used to being in control. As a judge. As a prosecutor. But with this situation I have no control....When she looked at him again, he glimpsed fear in her expression. "How much time do you spend worrying about that control--planning your life down to the smallest detail?" Page 156.
I received this book for an honest review as part of Pump Up Your Book Tour.
This story is set in and near San Antonio, Texas for my 2013 Where Are You Reading Challenge. This is also a New Author for me.To find out more about Margaret visit her website or say hello at:
Visit the other blog tour sites for more review input.
