TBR Day. Cold Pursuit / Toni Anderson. 2014


I've had a few book in Toni Anderson's Cold Justice series on my Kindle for a while now, and finally read the first one last month. Since the theme this month includes suspense, I had a great excuse to move on to Book 2. And I'm glad I did. I found this book just as engrossing as A Cold Dark Place, with a nice blend of suspense and romance.

Cold Pursuit opens with a bang-- literally. Single mom Vivi is Christmas shopping with her young son, Michael, in a Minneapolis mall when terrorists strike. Also shopping in the mall is an FBI agent who is part of the same Behavioral Analysis Unit as the heroine from ACDP and on leave. Jed is a veteran and immediately goes into combat mode. Vivi hides her son in a small cabinet and quietly goes looking for an escape route. Jed helps Vivi and some others get out and then goes back for Michael. Along the way, SWAT arrives and most of the terrorists are taken out. But one one avoids capture. During the ensuing investigation, it is discovered that Michael may have heard and/or seen something significant. Only there is a problem. Michael is mute. There is no easy way to discover if he knows anything.

Vivi and Michael are taken to a safe house, but -- as you might expect -- it doesn't remain safe for long. So Jed takes them off to his home in Wisconsin, a secluded cabin near his family. As all this is happening, Jed & Vivi find themselves more and more attracted to one another. Jed especially tries to resist, because hey-- this really isn't the time, is it? I won't go into the rest, but there are plenty of twists and turns. I really didn't want to put it down.

It was interesting to read this book now. The people behind the terrorists are trying to provoke a war between the U.S. and Syria. As we know, in real life, the war in Syria continues, with world-wide implications. We are all aware of how horrifying the images have been. And then there are people trying to make political fodder out of the refugees. I think there were parts of this book that hit home in a way they might not have had I read it when it was first published.

There are several interesting secondary characters, especially Jed's family. Young Michael is key to the story, but he doesn't come across as an overly cute plot moppet. Quite the opposite actually. The book is tied in the loosest of ways to ACDP, so there's no need to read that one first. After reading two books in the series I appreciate the deft blending of romance and suspense. I'm really quite eager to read more of them.

Comments

  1. LoriOctober 19, 2016 at 4:14 PM

    I enjoyed this series. I really liked the way Michael was portrayed, and Jed's relationship with him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PhylOctober 19, 2016 at 9:53 PM

      I'm glad you liked it too! I agree about Michael and Jed--they are really sweet together.

      Delete
  2. UnknownOctober 20, 2016 at 9:19 AM

    This sounds like my kind of book. I have A Cold Dark Place waiting for me. I'll go ahead and pick this one up too. I can't wait to read them!

    ReplyDelete
  3. DorineOctober 20, 2016 at 10:43 AM

    This sounds great! Great review. Love the cover. Pulled me right in so thanks for posting it too. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PhylOctober 25, 2016 at 1:10 PM

      Thanks, Dorine! The cover is great, isn't it? The covers of the whole series are like that.

      Delete
  4. UnknownOctober 20, 2016 at 2:52 PM

    Yet another month where I add MORE to my TBR rather than taking it down some.

    ReplyDelete

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