The Lawman Returns by Lynette Eason is a 2014 Love Inspired Suspense publication.

Deputy Clay Starke returns home after his brother’s death, determined to find his murderer. But because of the conflict of interest, he can’t investigate officially. But then he meets Sabrina, a social worker, who may have information about his brother’s murder. As the spend more time together they become aware of a growing attraction between them, but Sabrina’s knowledge about the crime may have made her a target…

I stumbled across this one while browsing through the KU offerings. Lynette Eason has been on my radar for a long time, and so I checked this book out on impulse.

While I admit, I really, really want to like this line of romantic suspense novels, I haven’t had very good luck with it, struggling with some quality issues. This book, though, is quite good considering its brevity. The writing is solid, and the story is fleshed out nicely.

There is a realistic crime drama, with some suspenseful moments, and of course there is a romantic element which is handled perfectly. It does not interfere with the investigation, although feelings develop a bit too fast, still one must remember the time constraints with less than three hundred pages to work with. Besides, these are mature adults, and the relationship is one I could believe in.

The story is labeled as Christian fiction- so there is a gentle message, and the story is ‘clean’, which is always refreshing.

Overall, I’d say this was a nice, quick introduction to this author’s work and I liked what I saw- so maybe now I'll try to read some of her titles published through Revell.

4 stars ( )

Well okay, FINALLY one of these I actually thought was really good! After being burned by several Love Inspired Suspense books, it was nice to find one I actually thought was decent.

After reading book three, I really wanted to know more about Clay's character and story. I quickly loved Clay and Sabrina. They were both very well-rounded characters, and I loved their sweet relationship. The mystery kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book, and there was the perfect amount of action. Yikes! Talk about intense. The little snippets we got of other characters like Lance and Seth (but mostly Lance) made very interested to read more of the series. Poor Lance! Sheesh! I'm sure everyone else was worried about Clay and Sabrina, but my heart was just breaking over poor Lance. XD I had glimmerings of who the villain was, but I was still very surprised when it was revealed.

Overall, I really enjoyed this!

Recommended for ages 15 for mild romance and violenceaction. ( )

Clay Starke is a deputy who returns home to find out who murdered his brother, Steve. He's not suppose to be investigating the case officially, but he's hoping to find out information along the way. Sabrina Mayfield is a social worker who was friends with Steve. When a young man calls her for help she responds and finds he's disappeared. Clay and Sabrina find themselves working together to try to figure out what happened and how it's connected to Steve's murder. They also find that they've become targets of the murderer. Will they manage to figure out who the killer is before it's too late?

The Lawman Returns was a good story. I enjoyed the suspense and the unexpected twists and turns. I also enjoyed getting to know Clay and Sabrina, but I didn't really feel any chemistry between them. There were some good romantic moments but to me, it felt like something was missing. The story itself keeps you interested as you try and figure out who killed Steve. I thought the author did a good job dealing with some complex family issues and how the faith and kindness of someone can make a difference in someone's life. This looks like a Christmas story and it does have some 'Christmas' in it but you could read it any time of the year and enjoy it.

*This complimentary copy was provided by Harlequin through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Series: Love Inspired SuspenseWrangler's Corner
Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired (October 7, 2014)
ISBN-10: 0373446241
ISBN-13: 978-0373446247

For more information about this book or other books by this author I encourage you to visit her website at http://www.lynetteeason.com/ ( )

4 stars

The Lawman returns was a good suspense story. Though I had guessed early about who the boss was. The rest kept me guessing.
I liked the characters. Lots of drama, action, and family.

Clay Starke has come back to town after his brother Steven was murdered. He even took the job Steven had. No one new who had killed him. Clay comes from a big family.

Sabrina Mayfield is a social worker who cares about the kids. Someone is trying to kill her. Steven was a good friend of hers.

Clay and Sabrina are working together to find Jordan. A 17 year old kid who thinks he knows who killed Steven now is in danger too.
Clay can't investigate on his brothers death.

Their is a lot of drama going on with Clay's family besides his brothers death. His uncle Abe hates Sabrina because her mother left him at the alter before she was born.

Tony and Maria are Jordan's little brother and sister. They followed Jordan. Jordan risks a lot by drawing attention so they can get away, They are cute kids. You just want to hug and feed them.

I would read more of Wrangler's Corner to see what happens next. Can the ranch be saved?

I was given this ebook to read and in return agreed to give honest review. Received the ebook from Net Galley and Harlequin. ( )