LynneC’s review of Tool Belt Defender (Lawmen of Black Rock, Book 5) by Carla Cassidy
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Romantic Suspense 20 Dec 11
Occasionally I venture into romantic suspense territory, and this book is from that Harlequin line. And, in any case, how can I resist a book with the title Tool Belt Defender?
Unfortunately, I don’t share Cassidy’s tool belt fetish, even when Batman is wearing it, and the hero of this book is no Batman. He’s an ordinary guy, an ex-lawyer from Chicago who is setting up in the small town as what we in the UK would call an odd-job man. It isn’t the most obvious place for hero material (my odd-job man also worked as Captain Mayhem, a childrens’ entertainer, so I can say that my new shed was built by Captain Mayhem – there has to be a book in that!). In this book, the occupation gives the ex-lawyer a chance to develop his muscles so he can rescue the heroine from her dilemma.
The heroine is Brittany, who was the town’s deputy to her brother’s sherriff, but is now recovering from a trauma. I found it difficult to believe she could recover so quickly from a trauma that involved her getting kidnapped by a serial killer and kept confined for four months, while the baddie tormented her every day talking about what he was going to do to her. She is shown as jumpy, but she isn’t going to therapy, something I’d have thought her employer would have insisted on for quite a long time, and she doesn’t have many other symptoms. She was kidnapped from her car, for instance, but we see her pootling around quite happily in the story. She doesn’t like to go into town because people stare, and she’s lived as a virtual recluse since the attack. Considering how quickly she gets together with the hero, especially since he’s a stranger to her at the start of the story, her trauma seems to come and go, as the story demands.
Although the serial killer is dead, Brittany starts seeing signs that he’s around, such as a red balloon tied to her mailbox and a note pushed through her door which mysteriously disappears. Her brother the sheriff and everyone, except Alex, thinks it’s part of her trauma and dismiss it as her imagination. I find that somewhat hard to believe, too, considering one of the things the experts in serial killers always look for are copycat killers. Any sign would have been followed up, unless the sheriff is incompetent, and since he’s Brittany’s brother, I don’t think he’s meant to be. And if it is her imagination, then surely they would encourage her to see a shrink?
Alex has a daughter. He’s a widower, and one reason he’s moved to a small town is for the family infrastructure he can have there (the girl’s grandparents live in the town). Although he does explain why he’s given up lawyering for odd-jobbing to Brittany, I’m not sure I buy it. He seems somewhat without ambition and a bit directionless to me, although he’s perfectly happy building Brittany’s deck. Yes, she has a deck. Alex’s daughter is a moppet, a poppet, and she is infuriating. When events catch up with them later in the book, I found her Pollyanna attitude distinctly annoying, and I would have told her about death and taxes a lot earlier. It’s just me, I know, but I really don’t like it when cute kids show up in romances. They tend to bring the sugar level right up and provide a useful McGuffin for the author, which can lead to lazy writing.
The book is easy to read, and the events unfold as they should, apart from the “oh, let’s have sex” scene which I find a bit puzzling, as if it’s put in because, well, there has to be one somewhere. I’d have preferred it towards the end, perhaps when the heroine has gone through her ordeal and the hero wants to prove his love to her. It doesn’t seem to fit where it is. They are vaguely fancying each other, and then it’s, oh, well, we might as well, and there it is.
The weakest part of the story is the internal plot, which deals with the motivations and inner feelings of the characters. All too often the reader is told how the character is feeling and not shown it, or told the feeling and then the character made to act accordingly. The reasons that keep the hero and heroine apart are weak and not altogether convincing. The external plot works well, and if the internal motivations had matched that, it would have been a better read.
Grade: C
Summary:
“It’s party time.”That’s the “invitation” shoved under her door. It’s got Brittany Grayson fearing for her life…and her sanity. She’s sure the monster who once held her captive for months is dead, so why his chilling words in the note? His menacing face in the window? And why won’t anyone —even her lawmen brothers—believe that somehow he’s after her again?
Brittany just wants a normal, independent life in Black Rock. Romance is out of the question…although she’s okay as friends-with-benefits with Alex Crawford, her hunky, marriage-phobic contractor. Alex, a single dad, has his own good reasons not to fall for Brittany. But none of them matter when the race is on to find the killer who’s kidnapped her!
Read an excerpt. (scroll down)
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