Series:
Colton 911: Chicago (Book 9)
A simple assignment..
turns into life and death
Is Lila Colton a thief? Insurance investigator Carter
Finch vows to uncover the truth when he visits her gallery. But his
temporary mission goes awry when Lila turns out to be incredibly
beautiful. and just a bit lethal. A fire engulfs the building, which puts them both
in harm's way. Is Lila his ally or pushing him into a deadly trap?
Good book that started with a bang and kept me hooked to
the end. The story opens as Lila preps her art gallery for a showing.
She's excited to have several paintings from a reclusive painter in her
gallery, but that excitement turns to dismay when insurance investigator
Carter Finch shows up. Carter believes that those paintings are forgeries
and is on a mission to catch the forger. He initially suspects Lila of being
involved, especially when the gallery goes up in flames with them
inside.
It doesn't take long for Carter to realize Lila is
innocent of involvement, which is a relief. He can't deny his
attraction to Lila or that he finds himself wanting to stay close to
her. Carter doesn't know what to do with that feeling. His job
requires almost constant travel, and he has never craved a home and family. He stays with Lila at her house while they work to find the forger and
the person responsible for torching her gallery. As he and Lila grow
closer, he keeps reminding her and himself that he must leave soon. But
when it comes time to do so, he can't go while the fire is left unresolved.
At the same time,
Lila finds herself falling hard for Carter.
I enjoyed watching the relationship between Carter and
Lila develop. The sparks flew between them from the start though they tried
to resist. Once they got past Carter's suspecting Lila, their connection
took off. I liked seeing them get to know each other, with Carter doing
little things for Lila showing his appreciation for staying with her. Lila
includes Carter in family events, showing him what a close family is
like. Poor Carter was a little overwhelmed by all of the family togetherness
and a little envious. I especially enjoyed seeing Lila's mother's
treatment of him. Lila keeps telling herself that she can't fall for Carter
because he is due to leave but eventually admits to herself that it's
too late. Carter has a harder time of it because he doesn't recognize his
feelings. I loved seeing him figure it out and come up with the solution to
being together.
The suspense of the story was excellent. It started with
the search for forged paintings and the forger himself. When the gallery
burned, and it looked like there may be a connection to the forgeries,
Carter decided to stay and help the investigation. I liked how Lila
insisted on being involved in the search. Some tension occurred when the
arson investigator focused on Lila, but Carter quickly showed him the
alternatives. I loved seeing Carter follow the tangled threads that led from
the forger to the fire to the person behind the fire. The tension increased
the closer they came to the arsonist. The final confrontation was a
nail-biter as Lila wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time. The ending
was terrific.
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