AGAINST THE MARK by Kat Martin

AGAINST THE MARK by Kat Martin
Advanced Reading Copy
To Be Published: August 27th, 2013, Harlequin MIRA

My rating: 4 of 5⭐

Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Kobo
Barnes&Noble


Haley Warren hadn't spoken to her dad in years, when she received a phone all from her step-mother that he had been killed in what was ruled to have been an accident. But her step-mother isn't buying it, and neither is Haley. So when she arrives in Los Angeles to look into his death, she eagerly accepts the help her great-aunt Ellie offers her. That help comes in the form of a tall, built and very good looking private investigator.

Wen his neighbour Ellie introduces the cute, dimpled blond girl as her niece from Chicago, Tyler Brodie immediately reigns in his body's automatic response to the long-legged beauty. No way is he going to touch his friend Ellie's niece, especially not if they are to be working together on finding out what happened to her father, since it doesn't look like Haley is content with just sitting on the sidelines. She wants in on his investigation.

It doesn't take the pair long to discover that Haley's father, who had worked as an insurance investigator, had been on a case of a suspected art theft. Not just any art either, we are talking Master painters here and works in the millions of dollars. The more pieces of the puzzle they uncover, the clearer it becomes that despite what the police say, his death was not likely an accident, but looks more and more like a murder. 

The clearer the picture becomes however, the more attention Haley and Ty draw to themselves. Before long Ty has the hardest time keeping Haley safe and out of trouble. Behind closed doors they are getting into a whole different kind of trouble, the kind that can let you drop your guard. With the attention divided between the client and the case, the pressure is on to get to the bottom of it.

When people start getting hurt and bullets start flying, Haley and Ty know they will have to take a huge risk in order to end the threat, and maybe save their future.

*****

Highly anticipated, this book!!! And it didn't disappoint! A fast-paced story, highly entertaining, steamy, sweet, with a hunk of an alpha male and a go-get-em, slightly disillusioned rich girl, who morphs into a capable, somewhat more balanced, warm woman.

I think the most dramatic character development in this story is obviously Haley's, who is always a nice girl, but a product of her privileged upbringing and her mother's one-sided influence and narrow view of the world. Haley has taken on her mother's bad life experiences as well, and in her young life, really hasn't given herself a chance to create any experience of her own out of fear. With her aunt's encouragement and under Tyler's firm hand, she has an opportunity to experience plenty. Now all she has to do is conquer her fear, but that is something she has to do on her own.

Ty does some growing too, although less dramatic than Haley. Ty has lived the life of a friendly bachelor, dating plenty of women, behaving like a gentleman and therefore ending up with a slew of female friends. Never has he had deep enough feelings to have any ideas about a future, let alone make any promises, but Haley changes all that. 

I had a tiny bit of trouble getting into the story early on, but that corrected itself pretty quickly. Kat Martin delivers what she promises and AGAINST THE MARK is another example of her consistent quality.

A solid romantic/suspense read, with an exciting, intricate plot line and steamy love affair!


**ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Harlequin MIRA in return for an honest review.**