Discover this action filled suspense by Maggie K. Black, part of the Protected Identities series. Witness Protection gave him a new start–and a family. But now his past is calling him back… Living in witness protection won’t stop Travis Stone from shielding two orphaned children whose grandmother was just attacked. But when his former partner, Detective Jessica Eddington, asks him to help … asks him to help bring down the group that sent him into hiding, agreeing could put them all at risk. Can he watch Jessica’s back and protect the children?
From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.
Protected Identities:
Book 1: Christmas Witness Protection
Book 2: Runaway Witness
Book 3: Witness Protection Unraveled
Book 4: Christmas Witness Conspiracy
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Talking about unraveled, this story pulled me into two directions when it comes to my opinion of it. I enjoyed the people in the tale and the relationships between them. I loved the spirit of the small town and how they all pulled together. The complexity of the criminal cases was fascinating, and the HEA was something the protagonists had work for, it wasn’t an automatic solution for their feels and emotions.
I loved the characters in the story, how they were drawn and how they interacted with each other, it realistic, it was honest, nothing came easy to them, and they had to put the effort in to make things work. Travis Stone was not a perfect man, he had his failings and faults, but he had worked on them, he had gone to therapy, and by the grace of God, he was a changed, improved man today, still working on himself.
The connection Travis had with Detective Jessica Eddington was undeniable and strong. There’s not much that we learn about Jessica outside her career and her aspirations with it, but she is suitable with Travis, as they work together to catch the culprits, they are like two halves of a whole.
I loved the connection Travis had with the kids, it was heartfelt and sweet. And I adored the relationship Noah, the hacker from Jessica’s team, developed with the children.
The action is fastpaced and thrilling. At times it moved so fast, the details got lost, while other times I ended up questioning the bagatelle events. My biggest issue with the story was the fact that Travis was in the WITSEC program, yet his former partner was still part of his life, and apparently knew the whole time where she could find him. How is that possible not to mention supposed to be believable?!
When Travis left the law enforcement and entered the WITSEC program he went to rehab for his coffee addiction, and quit consuming everything caffeine-related yet when Jessica was near him she could ‘smell the familiar scent of coffee’ of him. Since quitting coffee was made into rather significant detail about him my OCD brain got super frustrated about that blunder.
This is a tough one to review since on one hand there were so many elements that I truly enjoyed, even adored, and I was immensely entertained while reading the book, and I read it till the end, and I would read more books by this author. Yet there were also negative points that in my mind carry a rather significant amount of weight… leaving me unraveled.
~ Two Spoons with a teaspoon on the side
I love books with suspense and romance and this one brings the right dose of suspense, romance and tension.
Travis was an undercover agent, after breaking up a dangerous gang called Chimera, he had to go into hiding and became part of the government’s protection program. After some strange events involving a Shiny Man, he will have to re-engage in investigations to find out if there is a correlation between these mysterious men and the Chimera. For that he will count on Seth, an internet specialist and his former partner and love of his life, Jess, a tough and strong detective who does everything to fight organized crime.
The plot is so very good and well stitched. I loved the participation of the children Dominic and Willow so much, they bring a lot of cuteness to the story. The ending is wonderful and I’m sighing so far.
Who are Jessica and Travis? How do they know one another? What is happening on this particular day at the start surprised me! Who are Seth and the Chimera? Who is Alvin? How do Jess and Seth meet him, Chloe, and Patricia? Man, once I started this book I could almost not put it down. It kept me sitting in my recliner with my elbows on my thighs as I read!!! I loved the way it ended! I loved almost all of the characters. Read and see why I had a really hard time pausing in my reading to do things at the house I needed to do!
RECEIVED THIS BOOK AS A GIFT from Netgalley FOR A FAIR/HONEST REVIEW and REVIEWER FOR Bloggin’ With M. Brennan.
Another great read from Maggie Black! Action packed suspense with a lot of praying and God’s grace mixed then with some romance and you have a recipe for a great story. From the very first chapter you are rooting for Travis and Jessi to be together and rose those adorable kiddos.
I’ve never seen a tactical light be used in a story so that was definitely an interesting curve ball. And now I’m wondering why more people don’t use them. It seems like a great way to give yourself a head start without actually hurting anyone and as far as I know, they aren’t necessarily illegal. Lots of food for thought on that one! Very fascinating weapon to use!
The Chimera, the Shiny Man and a precocious eight-year-old little girl are part of the excitement going on in Kilpatrick, Ontario.
RCMP Detective Jess Eddington travels to Kilpatrick, Ontario to try to talk her former partner, Travis Stone, into helping her out with her very important undercover assignment. It involves a case from when Travis was still her partner, the case that forced Travis into the Witness Protection Program. Together they closed the case with multiple arrests. A successful takedown. Except for one detail, the head of the International crime organization, the Chimera, escaped. Travis saw his face and now has a hefty bounty on his head. Thus being put into the Witness Protection Program. Now Jess is part of a RCMP witness protection group keeping those in protection safe. The Chimera case is not part of this but the Chimera’s whereabouts came from a recent witness protection case. Travis wasn’t answering her calls so Jess and fellow team member hacker Seth Miles drove to Kilpatrick to speak directly to Travis. They arrive at the address of where Travis lives above Tatlow Book Store to police cars with lights flashing and an ambulance in the front. Not wanting to blow their cover they sneak up to Travis’ apartment via the fire escape in the back of the building. Jess walks into a situation of Travis being held at gunpoint. What is going on here? The Shiny Man, as Willow named him, escapes after blinding them with a very bright flash of light. This is not the best way to reunite with your former partner whose help you need.
Travis Stone was a “lost soul”when he arrived in Kilpatrick with his new identity from Witness Protection. The Tatlow family took him in and were instrumental in leading him to accept his new life. Unfortunately his friends, police officers Geoff and Amber Tatlow were both killed in the line of duty. Their two children, five-year-old Willow and her baby brother eight-month-old Dominick were left in the care of their grandmother. Travis stepped up to help raise the children he has come to love. Now their grandmother has fallen off a ladder and is being rushed to the hospital. An intruder held him at gunpoint while the kids were one floor above napping. Why is the Shiny Man searching his apartment? How will he keep the kids and Jess safe?
Witness Protection Unraveled by Maggie K. Black is the third book in her Protected Identities series. This has been a thrilling series. With so much going on in Kilpatrick this is an exciting addition to the series. I love all the characters, especially super cute eight-year-old Willow. The plot leads to turning the pages quickly to keep up with all the action. The dialogue is very entertaining especially from Willow. One of the highlights of the story for me was this callout on the baby monitor when Travis’ apartment is being broken into and Seth catches it as they are approaching Kilpatrick.
“Maynaise. Maynaise. This is Willow Tatlow with my brother, Dominic. We’re in Uncle Travis’s apartment. Uncle Travis has been captured by the Shiny Man. Send rescue. Over.”
Maynaise – so cute! Gotta love the precocious little girl!
Witness Protection Unraveled is the first book that I have read by this author. This is a romantic suspense book that in my opinion is a very clean read. Travis and Jessica are former partner, but the past four years he has been in the witness protection program. He has made another life for himself, and become close to his landlady and her grandchildren. Little does he know his life is getting ready to change drastically. This book was very well written, and action packed. I throughly enjoyed it, and would recommend it to others.
I received an Advanced Readers Copy from NetGalley and the publisher, I am under no obligation for a positive review. This is my fair and honest review of the book.