Stevie‘s review of The Protector (Games People Play, Book 4) by HelenKay Dimon
Contemporary Romantic Suspense published by Avon 31 Jul 18
Various of the Duckies have raved about HelenKay Dimon, so I thought it was time I gave her books a go, even if it did mean jumping into the middle of a series. As it happened, not knowing the previous books presented very few problems, since this one stands pretty much by itself, even if several of the supporting characters have already featured in stories of their own. Our tale begins with Cate arriving home and getting the distinct impression that someone has been in her apartment. This isn’t an isolated incident, but with nothing stolen and no sign of forced entry, she is reluctant to call the police, especially since her previous encounters with them – a good few years in the past – led to her being written off as deluded at best. Believing that whoever is stalking her has some sort of link to the past – and the mysterious death of her sister – Cate contacts the only man she expects to believe her: a mysterious figure known as Wren.
Wren isn’t the hero of this book, however; that honour falls to his friend and former co-worker, Damon, whom Wren knows is the best person to get Cate the answers and closure she needs. Cate’s sister died while living in the New Age educational community where Damon was brought up, and although he left before she arrived, he should be able to get Cate past the suspicious current inhabitants and their ultra-high levels of security.
Arriving at the office to which Wren has summoned her, Cate is struck by the attractiveness of all the suited and highly muscular men she sees wandering around the place. Damon, however, manages to rub her up the wrong way, so she’s less than impressed to find out that they’re supposed to fake a relationship in order to gain access to the community. All goes pretty much to plan, although Cate is even more taken aback when she finds out that Damon is the estranged son of the community’s leader. By that time, they’re inside, and so the only thing she can do is to go along with the plan and hope she gets the information she needs.
As their investigation progresses, Damon and Cate’s fake relationship develops into something a bit more real, and while Damon’s father seems keen to help Cate discover what happened to her sister, others seem determined to stop her, by any means necessary.
I found it quite hard to connect with any of the characters in this book, apart from Wren’s other assigned man on the inside, who is gay and in a long-term relationship, but appears not to have his own book in the series. I had a pretty good idea who was behind everything well before the big reveal and never really bought either the idea that Cate and Damon were in any real danger, or that they stood much chance of making their relationship work once the case was finished. In future, I’ll leave this author and her series to other Duckies, who seem far more her intended audience.
Grade: C
Summary:
Salvation, Pennsylvania. The commune located in the small town was advertised as a modern Utopia: a place to live, share, and learn with other like-minded young people. Cate Pendleton’s sister was one of them. Now she’s dead—and Cate won’t rest until she finds out who killed her. Stonewalled at every turn, she approaches a DC Fixer for help and ends up with Damon Knox, a mysterious man with a secretive past. But Cate soon discovers that she not only needs Damon, she wants him, which isn’t good—for the attraction brewing between them will only lead to complications that can turn into danger . . .
Damon has tried to erase the hellish memories and the evil that happened in Salvation ever since he left a long time ago. Still, he can’t turn his back on Cate. As Damon works with Cate to uncover her sister’s killer, he finds himself drawn to her more and more. But how will she feel about him when she learns about his connection to the place?
Joining forces to uncover the truth, they must stay one step ahead of a cunning killer who’s bent on not being exposed.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
