OVERKILL

Author: Linda Castillo ISBN: 0425218295 10/2007 SUSPENSE Publisher: BERKLEY

It started with a case so horrific it sent Chicago cop Marty Hogan straight over the edge. Unable to put her disturbing memories behind her, she lost her job and was forced to flee to small-town Texas, to the only police department that would hire her. She's about to learn you can't outrun the past . . . Police Chief Clay Settlemeyer knows something about making mistakes, which is why he was willing to give Marty a second chance. But when her ex-partner is brutally murdered, it's clear that Marty's past has come back to haunt her. And she's the next intended victim . . .

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Marty Hogan is a woman who is trying to overcome an incident in her past that she's not particularly proud of. She's a cop who has lost her job and is trying to pick up the pieces in Texas. The only place she can get a job after her last career nightmare is in a little town in the middle of nowhere, a far cry from the bustling city streets she's used to. The man who takes a chance on her, Police Chief Clay Settlemeyer, is a man who has made a few errors in judgment himself. All should be smooth sailing for Marty now that she's been given a new chance, but the incident that led to her cross-country move isn't over-not by a long shot. Revenge and retribution weave a tangled web and Marty becomes the target for a vindictive man's hate.

OVERKILL by Linda Castillo is a top-notch romantic suspense tale, one that kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. It is peopled by unique, heart-gripping characters whose lives weren't always perfect but were continually intriguing. I loved this book, loved watching Marty struggle to overcome her past while discovering her present and planning her future. Clay is the epitome of all a police chief should be in a romance-strong and handsome, skilled and intelligent.

OVERKILL is exhilarating and tender, all at once. I highly recommend not missing out on reading this wonderful book.

Kay James