Note: While this is Book 2 in the series, it works fine as a stand alone novel.

Doubleback is even better than Book 1 (Easy Innocence). The plot is tighter, the characters have more depth (for the most part), and the stakes are higher. Georgia Davis reluctantly teams up with her friend Ellie (an independent film maker) who is also reluctant to get involved in a kidnapping case. Still, these two ladies offer up their best advice to Chris, head of the IT department at a large bank, whose daughter has been kidnapped.

From the beginning, this kidnapping case isn’t typical – there’s no ransom demand for one thing. Still, the kid is eventually released safely back to her mom. But then some unexpected deaths have Georgia taking another look at it. What a deliciously tangled web of intrigue! The plot takes us to the desert southwest and even across the border into Mexico. Ellie continues to work her own case but as the two friends compare notes, they start to realize there’s connections between the kidnapping and the clean energy company Ellie is looking into.

This mystery was nearly perfect. I did have one laugh at the plot and that is the out of character sexytimes for Georgia. She’s been hunting a man who has answers and once found, not even a day passes before they tumble into bed together. Georgia has been so guarded, not looking for a relationship at all. Plus she wasn’t sure if this guy would ultimately kill her or perhaps turn her over to the bad guys, yet hey, there’s a storm and we’re stuck in this cabin with no TV. So, yeah, that was silly. The sex scene itself was OK, a little sexy, straight, to the point, brief. Personally, if you’re going to toss in a completely out of character sex scene, might as well make it epic.

Anyhoo, I can see Ellie and Georgia teaming up again. In fact, there’s some hints as to their past friendship and perhaps they did once upon a time tackle mysteries together. Georgia certainly has developed in this book, including renewing some old ties with the police department. I look forward to seeing what happens in the next book. 4.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Eva Kaminsky has a great voice for Georgia. She sounds experienced and tough when she needs to be. I did have a little trouble discerning the difference between her voices for Ellie and Georgia when they were in the same conversation. I did confuse a few things because I wasn’t sure who was talking when. For the most part, she had a decent Spanish accent, though she mispronounced Gila monster. While Georgia might well get it wrong, her Hispanic companion would not. The pacing was better than Book 1 but still a little slow for my tastes. There were no technical issues with the recording. 4/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Libby Fischer Hellmann. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

I love Jude. Not much more to add.

There wasn't a lot of meat to this story's bones. But I didn't really care, because I absolutely adore Jude. Rowan is sweet and all, and his idea was great. But Jude is Jude, and I love to read about him in any way I can.

That's all there is to it, really. If you liked the first two books in the series, pick this one up. Simply because JUDE.

Reviewed for Sinfully...Addicted to All Male Romance

3.5 stars

The book starts off with former deputy sheriff Jude Anderson opening his front door to find the dead body of the man he had hooked up with a few nights before. His morning only gets worse when the trooper in charge of the investigation turns out to be his ex, Rowan Muir. One year ago their relationship ended abruptly after Jude was shot in the line of duty, which also eventually resulted in his leaving the job. Rowan is all business when he arrives. He is well dressed, moving up in his career and in the closet, just like Jude remembers.

As the investigation moves along, the events that ended Jude’s career are dredged up in the search for a suspect and he is forced to face his past failed relationship with Rowan. The two men have vastly differing recollections as to why things ended and the accusations as to who was at fault get heated. Through flashbacks and arguments their story begins to come out. As the danger mounts and Jude spends more time with Rowan, his attraction to the man he hasn’t gotten over surges once again no matter how much he wants to prevent it.

The chemistry between Jude and Rowan is out of this world! They dance that fine line between love and hate but the underlying sexual tension is always simmering. When their arguing finally tips over into passion the payoff is worth it. The two are smoking hot together. While it is clear both men want to be back together and are willing to each own up to the part they played in their breakup, there are still issues that could prevent them having a future. The story is told from Jude’s POV, and while I would have liked to have had some of Rowan’s, their discussions gave me a good enough sense of his feelings.

The story’s real focus is the relationship but the mystery was done well and kept me guessing between a few suspects for quite a while. Although the final showdown was a bit over the top, it was tense and exciting. Overall the story was well written with a nice pace. Since this is the first in the series I would say the ending is HFN. There is no cliff hanger and the storyline is complete, with the men agreeing to take things one day at a time. This was my first book by Lissa Ford and I’ll be looking forward to the next installment.

I liked Jude. He’s a bit of a tortured hero. The worst of the life experiences should be in his past what with the shooting and life/reputation destroying results. His current issues are not minor. He’s dealing with Some Stuff as a result of his past. Jude is doing ok though. He’s got his routines and his dog and nature. He’s healing.

Then along comes a dead body. Because of COURSE some psycho thinks that’s all fun and games. And along comes Rowan as the investigator. No meet cute here. These two have History. The messy kind of History that can only be summed up in with capital “M” for Miscommunication. These guys apparently spent more time screwing than speaking in their past relationship. Naturally, that led to problems when Jude was shot.

These guys together are good. I liked seeing them dance around. It’s worth noting (for those who care about these things), the mystery was kind of underwhelming. From the minute the big bad made an appearance, I figured who was the nut who liked dropping off bodies. It took maybe 5 more pages to figure out the motive behind it. I don’t require my romantic suspense to be all that suspenseful, so it didn’t particularly bother me.

Overall, enjoyable book, and I’d like to read what’s next in the tale of Jude and Rowan.

Full review on Romance Novel News.