Explosive Situation

I so enjoy books that involve K-9 dogs in various situations! They are amazing assets to the law enforcement community! Cody is a bomb-sniffing dog in this story and Henry is his handler. Henry has been put on administrative leave because someone said he used too much force when he arrested them. Sound familiar in our day and time? However, Henry didn’t do it and he’s going to prove it! He doesn’t like just sitting around the station and neither does Cody!!! Olivia is the Internal Affairs officer who is investigating the allegation. She takes that seriously and has to spend time with Henry to see if the charges are true. However, a bomber suddenly targets Henry & his sister just as the investigation ramps up so Olivia is caught up in it too AND she’s pregnant! There was a lot of action, which this author does very well. I liked the characters and the story line. Of course I loved Cody, the dog, too! It’s part of a series but I haven’t read the other books and totally enjoyed it!

A duke’s daughter, Adela fights for the chance to fall in love with a worthy man of her own choosing.

The eleventh and final installment in the Hagenheim Saga, follows Adela the youngest daughter of the the Duke of Hagenheim, she is artistically gifted, with an eye for color and beauty. She meets a kindred spirit in the marketplatz, a talented woodcarver, Frederick. Though engaged in a courtship with a neighboring member of the nobility, she can’t help but be drawn to Frederick, who understands the way that she sees the world.

I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet, wholesome story of sacrifice and friendship. I liked how Adela has learned from observing her family members, yet isn’t afraid to make her own way, and she’s alright if that doesn’t mean strapping on a sword or bow. She is thoughtful and kind, and I liked how her parents take time to listen to her and respect her judgements, while still being protective of her.

Frederick is a noble son, caring for his family, and working hard on his family’s farm. He does his best to protect his mother and sisters from their father’s drunken behaviour. I loved his strong moral compass, and his heart for putting others first. He is probably one of my favorite heroes in this series, because though humble of birth and situation, that didn’t matter, he still fought for what was right.

This was an engaging read, and I loved the strong themes of family and faith, along with well developed side characters and storylines, secrets and character development. I really appreciated this story, with a thoughtful heroine who stands up for herself but also doesn’t need to take up a weapon. Well written and a fitting conclusion to this memorable series–though I’m against Toby popping up somewhere in the future!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Olivia Vance has just been promoted to Lieutenant in the police department’s Internal Affairs department. She is investigating K-9 Detective Henry Roarke for unnecessary force allegations. The previous Internal Affairs officer, Lt. Jabboski had a mild heart attack and retired leaving the investigation up to Olivia. She needed to interview Detective Roarke and wanted to observe his actions in normal settings. As she started the interview at Brooklyn’s K-9 headquarters Henry received a text message bomb threat. She noted his alarm at receiving the text and he explained about the bomb threat and his added concern about his sister being in the vicinity of the threat location. Olivia insisted on going along on the call with Henry and his K-9 bomb-sniffing dog, Cody. What better way to get a good look at this officer’s demeanor than on a call. She was impressed with Henry’s handling of the situation this time but decided she needed more observation before writing her report and making a recommendation to the review board. Or was this just an excuse to spend more time with Henry because she was attracted to him?

Detective Henry Roarke was tired of doing desk duty during an Internal Affairs investigation of what he knows was justified action when Davey Carrell attempted to grab his sidearm when Henry detained Davey following his bomb sniffing dog Cody’s alert on the young man’s backpack. Henry needed for himself and Cody to get back on the job especially now as strange bomb threats were being texted to his phone. It seemed these threats were being directed at people close to him. He wanted to find this bomber and stop him. At first the appearance of Lt. Vance was an annoyance. He had already given his statement to to Lt. Jabboski. As Olivia spent time with him he found it difficult to resist his attraction to her. Nothing could happen between the two of them though. They could both lose their jobs.

Explosive Situation by Terri Reed is the fourth book in the Harlequin series, True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn. This series has an overriding arc of a cold case murder and the occurrence on the 20th anniversary of that murder of another murder which was eerily similar. As these types of Harlequin series go this book advanced the solving of the mystery. I enjoy these Harlequin series which progress to solving a mystery throughout the series. The storyline in this installment has plenty of action and intrigue. I liked how Olivia and Henry fought their attraction but realized they cared for each other enough to overcome any obstacles to their relationship. Many characters and their K-9 partners appear in this story and this adds to my enjoyment of reading this book. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, Tracking A Kidnapper by Valerie Hansen.