Series Review: Garrison's Law Series by Mary Connealy

Garrison's Law begins. A family of alpha Texas lawmen (and women) bring their own brand of justice to law and order in Texas.  

 

 

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

Synopsis

Trudy Jennings, is a college professor with a string of bestselling pop psychology books about answering all of life's troubles with love.   

Ben Garrison is her student. He's a hardened cop who needs this class to get his degree can't keep a straight face. He tells her she's right, as long as she lives in her cushion, safe life. But for him, using her philosophy, he'll be dead by the weekend.   

A stalker is coming after kindhearted Trudy and Ben is there to protect her. Trudy faces her first try challenge to turning the other cheek and feels like a failure that she can't help her confused and desperate and frightening stalker.   

Ben has to keep Trudy safe until the increasingly frightening stalker can be stopped and as Ben gets to know Trudy better, he recognizes his own callus behavior at the same time he finds out everyone in  

Trudy's life takes advantage of her.
She's got to get tough.
He's got to find a kinder way.   

Together they have to take down a wealthy, obsessed man who knows how to play the system, because he's done all this before.

My Review

What a fun and odd matchup with these two main characters! Ben is gruff and rough around the edges, spending his days with the seedier element of society. Trudy bases her theories of passivism around the Biblical teaching of love thy neighbor, but has no real experience in life. She is being taken advantage of by some people in her life, and I loved how Ben teaches her how to stand up for herself and enforce boundaries, while she shows him that respect and kindness with his coworkers will help his chances for promotion. They drive each other crazy, but have strong chemistry, and their banter and attraction make for some entertaining reading! The stalker creates a feeling of uneasiness and the pace of the book is steady as the suspenseful vibe keeps the reader and characters on their toes.

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.

 

 

 

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

Synopsis

Jacie Moreau is a tough-as-nails security specialist who works with the Long Pine Texas police. She takes care of herself and doesn’t ask for help from anyone.

Brett Garrison is an odd-man-out in the Garrison family. He’s a soft-hearted veterinarian from a family of daring Texas lawmen.

Jacie runs afoul of a hired killer and no one is there to step between her and danger but Brett.

Brett’s good-hearted plan to care for the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen draw an assassin’s attention.

Jacie never needs help, but Brett’s kindness when she is so vulnerable sneaks past all the emotional walls she’s built around her heart.

The killer keeps coming and their only hope is to run. And as they run they try and figure out who’s hired a killer, and why, and how to stop him.

If they hide well enough and live long enough, they might make it to the day they can fall in love.   

My Review

I really enjoyed this suspenseful and humorous book! I felt like Jacie and Brett connected really well, even though they both have some personal issues they are dealing with, and they brought out the best in each other. The banter is so fun and I think that's such a strength with this author. Brief parts of the story are told from the villain's perspective which I don't always like, but in this case it was used well by not giving too much away and definitely increasing the creepy factor! It's fast-paced, but also balances the character development and romance skillfully. Highly recommend to fans of clean romantic suspense!

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.

  

 

 

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

Synopsis

Not all the Garrisons are guys.

Beth Garrison is the top hostage negotiator in Rocky Ridge, Texas. She's called to serve on a task force to investigate a killing that is a copycat of her first bust as a rookie.

Tate McCade has a reputation for steamrolling anyone who gets in his way and he's had a run-in with Beth and her oversized ego before. He's got a bruise on his face to prove it.

They have to work together and sparks are flying that aren’t all about the job.

My Review

I've been binge reading the Garrison's Law series and it's so much fun! Fast paced with plenty of action and suspense, balanced with banter, wry humor, and plenty of character growth. I was so impressed with the influence Tate and Beth had on each other- they are both tough as nails, but have a way of getting past each other's defenses and provide support during humbling circumstances. They have great chemistry with strong feelings that alternate between frustration and passion. The author hits a sweet spot between character and plot-driven narrative, and I felt fully invested in both. Highly recommended for fans of romantic suspense! Books in this series can easily be read in any order.

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.

  

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

Synopsis

An assassin takes a shot and hits two people with one bullet.

  

Natalie Brewster, a deep undercover agent for a group that doesn’t officially exist, saw the gunman aiming. He definitely waited, lined up the shot, and tried to kill both of them. Nat and Case Garrison hit the ground bleeding. They both come up shooting and kill the assassin—but that just makes him mad.

Now Case and Nat, who have never before met, have to figure out what they have in common to make them prey for a killer.

 

And they have to do it while running for their lives because, despite the two of them being highly skilled at keeping a low profile, the killer keeps finding them. They are running at break-neck speed, hiding with all the skill of long-time undercover agents, and falling in love with a passion that might be part of what brought a killer down on them. 

 

My Review

This book could totally be made into a movie! It has a Jason Bourne vibe where Case and Nat are both larger than life, skilled at things no normal citizen is skilled at, escaping nail-biting situations and outwitting deadly assassins at every turn. They have amazing chemistry and I really enjoyed the romantic tension between these two as they race to solve the mystery while still keeping their lives. I love how they are equally matched, and also help each other with the deeper issues that they've repressed and hidden. As much as I loved the previous three books, this one may be my favorite! The villains really took it up a notch, the humor and banter that connect Case and Nat in extraordinary circumstances, and the character development woven in with an intriguing nonstop plot gave me a can't-put-this-book-down reading experience!

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.

 

My rating: 4 stars / I really liked it

Synopsis

Garrison's Law enters the Gothic Romance Genre.
Amnesia, murder, treasure and ghosts.   

A woman wakes up next to a dead man with no idea how she got there, who he is.....who SHE is.
Grey Devereau drags a terrified woman out of his cousin's bed...his very dead cousin. It looks for all the world like she killed him. But then everyone who knows Victor wants to kill him eventually. Grey included. 

Lanny Cole, the young woman hired to research the history of the Devereau family, can't remember a thing. 

Grey steps in with an alibi and Lanny realizes that if Grey is her alibi, then she's his. She decides to trust him, but then she's suffered a head injury. So she's probably making one stupid decision after another. 

And then someone else dies. And a hurricane cuts them all off from help. And then someone else dies.... 

And the rumors of ghosts and treasure can't be true. Sure Grey saw the ghost, in fact, he's pretty sure the ghost saved his life as a child. But he was upset at the time and he doesn't believe in ghosts. 

Chills and thrills abound in an old island home built by a loathsome pirate. He's not a Garrison, but when he gets in trouble, he turns to his old friend Case Garrison for help. 

Garrison's Law just got spooky. 

My Review

The spooky and mysterious Gothic mood of this book contrasts with the previous ones in the series, and it felt more like a whodunit Texas version of Clue. The details aren't spelled out, but get revealed piece by piece as Lanny continues to investigate the family secrets, despite her terror and amnesia. The instalove of Grey didn't really work for me as much as his protective nature did, and I missed experiencing the development of his romantic feelings. Lanny held herself back more, even while they pretend to be a couple to maintain her alibi. There's not a wide selection of suspects, but there is still plenty of twists and turns while the trapped Devereaus work to uncover the mystery or keep it hidden.

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.