She cheated death once…But a killer still lurks. After a gunshot rips streetwise police officer Gina Galvan from the line of duty, all she wants is to return to the front line and stop a shooter. But good guy physical therapist Mike Cutler won’t back down from a challenge, or his blazing attraction to Gina. Without a badge or a gun, Mike is ready to face anyone–including a killer–to prove … killer–to prove he’s every inch a hero.
The Precinct
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Let me start off by saying I was ecstatic when I learned Mike Cutler Jr. was getting his own story! He was first introduced in Takedown (#6 in the Precinct series) as the 16 year old son of SWAT captain Michael Cutler. Now, Mike Jr. is all grown up (he’s 28 now) and in the process of carving a niche for himself and his partner Anthony, in the physical therapy business.
Mike has grown into the perfect guy! (What can I say? It’s fiction and the word fits the guy to a T, lol.) He’s intelligent, calm, a gentleman, and devilishly good looking. He’s also logical, protective, stubborn and determined..all in well-meaning capacities. He has a close network of family and friends and doesn’t take things for granted after what has happened to him in the past.
Then he meets Gina, a force of nature he wasn’t expecting.
Gina is Mike’s polar opposite. She’s feisty, quick to take action, and insightful with a keen eye for details. She’s also sarcastic and temperamental..relatable because aren’t we all at some point or another? As the main breadwinner for her family, she’s extremely independent, but if anyone can show her how to relinquish control and learn to trust it would be Mike. And if anyone can make me like a prickly character, it’s Julie Miller.
There’s a lot going on in this book. Police officers being targeted/shot/injured, race issues, domestic violence, etc. However, everything was handled with care and consideration. There were plenty of motives for villains that kept me guessing and awake, which was a win for me as a reader.
And the romance! It was steamy and entertaining. Gina was a prickly hedgehog around Mike, but he navigated her sharp edges with a fluid grace a girl just had to appreciate! Weird analogy, but it was what was going through my brain as I was reading.
Julie’s books are great slices of romantic suspense. Her releases are always ones I look forward to and Kansas City Cop did not disappoint! I had so much fun with this book! Yes, there are some deep topics, but they were equally balanced with humor, family support, and knowing someone has your back at all times. The romance was well written, the action had me hooked, and the characters..all those cameos from previous KCPD characters and random snippets of ‘where are they now’ moments had me smiling in glee!
Glee..the word makes you smile as you say it..even if you didn’t mean too..lol!
Obviously I loved the book and could gush all day long.. but I’ll quit babbling and let you see for yourself:)
One of the nice things about a long-running series is the chance to see the children from previous books grow up and get stories of their own. In this case, Mike is the son of Michael Cutler, the hero in Takedown. He recovered from his injuries and is now a physical therapist who helps others the way he was helped. He and his best friend Troy have started their own PT business in one of the rougher areas of Kansas City, not far from police headquarters. They are struggling a little bit, but are determined to make a success of it. Mike is charming, generous, and kind-hearted. He will do anything for those he cares about, even when it puts him in danger.
Gina is a cop with the KCPD. She is small but fierce, thanks to having to fight every step of her journey to the career she wants. After the deaths of her parents, she and her siblings were raised by their elderly aunt and uncle. Gina is protective of them all and is their primary financial support. She is determined to find a way to move them out of their dangerous neighborhood, which is why she has applied for a spot in a new SWAT team. Things look promising until she was shot on the job. If she can’t regain her abilities, her dream will go up in smoke. After six weeks and going through two therapists, Captain Cutler takes her to Mike.
I loved the development of the relationship between Gina and Mike. The sparks flew between them from the very beginning. Thanks to his past, Mike understands Gina’s need to push herself. He also knows that it can be counterproductive, but convincing her isn’t going to be easy. I got a little irritated with Gina at the beginning because of the way she judged Mike without knowing his history. I loved his patience with her contrariness and that he wouldn’t give up on her. One of my favorite scenes was when he drove her home and was invited to dinner because he was THE Mike Cutler. It tickled him to know that she talked about him to her family.
Mike was attracted and intrigued by Gina from the start, but she was not interested in a relationship. This was both because of her plans and because of what she saw as their differences. So Mike stuck with being friends at first as they got to know each other. Mike also gets involved when trouble comes to Gina’s family. I loved his calm and quiet strength and how he used his connections with KCPD to help them. As Mike and Gina worked together to get to the bottom of that trouble, and to see if it was connected to the shootings of several cops, they grew closer. Mike didn’t doubt his feelings for her, but Gina had some blind spots that had to be overcome. I loved it when she finally saw the light and admitted her feelings for him.
The suspense of the story was fantastic. There was a rash of cop shootings, including when Gina and her partner, Derek, were shot during a domestic violence call. Even though she was on medical leave, Gina could not let go of the need to investigate. There was also an attack on her family’s house, and Gina’s sister’s boyfriend added another layer of complications. I loved seeing Gina’s determination to get to the truth. The final confrontation was intense, and it was Gina’s insight and quick thinking that saved the day. The culprit wasn’t too much of a surprise by the end given the things said and done, but could just as easily been another suspect I had my eye on.
I also enjoyed seeing various other members of the KCPD and catching up on their lives. It was especially fun to see Mike at the station where he is well-known by most of the officers. It did make me laugh to see a grown man of twenty-eight being called “Mikey” by other men. I liked the obvious love and respect between Mike and his dad.