1st of 3. Ok-a mystery romance Goodreads: While fighting in Afghanistan, Major Grant Barrett receives devastating news: his brother and sister-in-law have been murdered in Scarlet Falls, the sleepy suburb of Grant?s youth. Emotionally scarred from war, the career soldier returns home on emergency leave to temporarily care for his orphaned nephew and niece. But when someone tries to kidnap the kids and their teenage babysitter, Grant knows it?s not a random actand neither were the murders.Already devastated by her neighbors? violent deaths, Ellie Ross is shattered by the attempted abduction of her teenage daughter so she desperately turns to Grant for help. As they navigate a deadly search for the truth, they struggle with growing feelings for each other and Grant?s impending return to deployment.But time is running out. The killer is growing bolder by the hour, and Ellie and Grant must find him before the children become his next victims. (less)

Grant is called home from war due to his brother Lee & sister in law being murdered. He, his sister Hannah, & brother Mac are trying to find out why they were killed. Years of being apart brings the family closer together while caring for their niece and nephew along with the neighbors next door. Solving a murder, stalking, and an attraction to the neighbor sets things in motion for this fast paced book. Looking forward to the next in the series. ( )

Hour of Need
4 Stars

When his brother and sister-in-law are murdered, Major Grant Barrett returns home to Scarlet Falls to care for their orphaned children. But after a break-in and a kidnapping attempt, Grant and his neighbor, Ellie Ross, realize that someone in the sleepy town is desperate enough to kill to keep their secrets.

This is a solid mix of romance and suspense. The investigation into the deaths of Lee and Kate Barrett is compelling. with several suspects and motives to choose from. There are some tense moments and exciting action scenes although some of the twists and turns of the plot are predictable.

Grant and Ellie are an appealing couple and their romance is satisfying albeit somewhat underdeveloped as the suspense takes up the lion's share of the narrative. My one small caveat is that Ellie's reluctance to tell Grant about the threats against here is dragged out for too long.

All in all, Melinda Leight's direct writing style is very engaging (the children and the dog are an added bonus), and I look forward to continuing with the series.
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I enjoyed this book because of the characters and plot, and despite the author often telling me what a character feels rather than demonstrating it. But this is a three year old work, so I'm hoping her craft improved, since I bought the whole trilogy. :) I really like these characters! ( )

Major Grant Barrett must return home when news of his brother's and sister in law's murder reach him in Afghanistan. After he retrieves his niece, Faith, and nephew, Carson, from Child Protective Services, he takes on the task of caring for two children he barely knows. In the meantime, next door neighbor, Ellie Ross, has been threatened if she can't find a missing file that had something to do with a recent case that Grant's brother had been working on. Ellie desperately wants to protect her family by turning over the file, but the threats continue to come closer and closer to home and she has to weigh her fear with her need to trust Grant with what she knows.

Hour of Need is a good beginning to the Scarlet Falls series. By the end of the book, we realize just how many suspects there really are in this mystery, but throughout most of the story, there is just one. The romance between Grant and Ellie is a bit awkward with the characters jumping from attraction to much more fairly quickly. Also, more time could have been devoted to Grant's obvious PTSD, which is barely touched on during the story. However, overall, Hour of Need does have a solid plot with adequate character development, making it an enjoyable read. 3 1/2 stars ( )