Pauline is burned out as a nurse so she quits and finds a job as a medical fraud investigator. She is sent after a woman she went to school with who is suspected of faking an injury to collect worker's comp. She is to follow and get pictures of her doing things that will negate her worker's comp claim. She is quickly taught how to do the job by Goldie. Then Jagger turns up and takes over her training including getting her involved in his case. Will she succeed? Will they trust each other? Will they solve their cases?

I had a blast with this book. I plan to read others in this series. Pauline is funny. She is in over her head and reminds you of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum but she has managed not to blow up a car yet. She is smart and it takes her some time, at times, to understand what she is to do but once she does she is off and running Jagger is mysterious and sexy. He always turns up when Pauline needs him but he gives nothing away. She is always questioning and receiving no answers from him. But somehow they seem to come together. I am going to enjoy watching them.

The story was funny. Watching them work the case is a riot because Jagger knows what is going on but Pauline is operating in the dark most of the time. The world building is good and I look forward to more of Pauline and Jagger.

~~ A Perfect Storm, by Lori Foster 

Lori Rader-Day introduces what might have been an intriguing new element for an overloaded genre in her latest novel The Day I Died.  A handwriting expert with a traumatic history who consults with law enforcement, business and the private sector, Anna Winger can glean information from provided samples in a Sherlockian style.  She is an eccentric, guarded and prickly character who over the past thirteen years been perpetually uprooting herself and her teenage son in order to escape a shadowy, menacing presence from her past. As her rebellious son struggles to adjust to their latest new town, Anna is enlisted to help a highly skeptical sheriff with the case of a missing toddler. Continually defensive about her abilities and what they can contribute to the case, Anna is begrudgingly drawn in by the community despite being distracted by her tendency to mistrust and avoid any entanglements.  She is tempted to run away again when it seems that her true identity has been discovered and her son becomes increasingly insistent about learning about his origins. Soon events force Anna to return to her childhood home, and some incredible connections crop up between her current work and her own past. Rader-Day skillfully portrays the contentious mother-son relationship, and one is left feeling truly sorry for the teen whose mother is incapable of recognizing how detrimental her decisions have been to his life. The handwriting analysis angle is provided to give the novel a twist, but seems a bit dated given the our increasingly digitized world. So many current thrillers feature a damaged female protagonist armed with a rough exterior and similar issues or backstories that whole sections of bookstores could be devoted to them. So, any differentiators from the typical formula are refreshing—if they can be well-executed and avoid being too “gimmicky” in their deployment.  Unfortunately, The Day I Died falls short in both areas.  Anna’s feats of handwriting analysis abilities are not exciting enough to overcome the slow pace of the first section of the book, and the plot only starts getting interesting in the final third of the book when Anna returns to her hometown.  The coincidences needed to combine Anna’s present and past strain plausibility, and Anna herself is such an alienating character that she is almost a caricature of unlikability. There is also a “romantic” subplot that contributes very little and becomes an add-on that appears forced and unnecessary. Ultimately, The Day I Died is relegated to a merely passable entry in a field that already provides too much rich competition for it to stand out successfully from the crowd.

Thanks to the author, Harper Collins/William Morrow and Library Thing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Charlotte Parrish has always wanted a certain kind of man: someone responsible, settled, boring. Bad boys need not apply. But when her car leaves her stranded and a mysterious stranger with brooding eyes and a protective streak comes to her rescue, she can’t deny how drawn she is to him. In town searching for family he’s never met, Mitch is everything she never thought she wanted—and suddenly everything she craves. Finding his half brothers after all these years is more than Mitch Crews has allowed himself to wish for. Finding love never even crossed his mind…until he meets Charlotte. She’s sweet, warmhearted, sexier than she knows—and too damn good for an ex-con like him. But when his past comes back to haunt him, putting Charlotte—and the family he’s come to care for—in danger, Mitch isn’t playing by the rules. He’s already surrendered his heart, but now he’ll risk his life.

This was a great story by a great author. I’ve read a number of her books and they don’t disappoint. I really liked both Charlotte and Mitch as the plot. I liked seeing the characters from the other books in the series as well. I can’t wait for the next book in this series. I highly recommend. 

**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book