A Kiss to Die For - Gail Barrett (HRS #1766 - Aug 2013)

Series: Buried Secrets (Book 2)

Sullivan Turner doesn't see a hero when he looks in the mirror -- he sees only a hollow shell of the man he used to be. But redemption comes when he rescues a woman with a dark secret. Teenage-runaway-turned-social-worker Haley Barnes knows firsthand how savage Baltimore's streets can be.

Years ago, Haley witnessed an event that changed her life. Now, when the teenagers she guards are targeted, she seeks protection from a cynical army veteran. It isn't long before passions ignite between Haley and "Sully." Can he be the hero Haley needs, the hero who will protect her when a ruthless murderer comes calling?

Fantastic book that started out with a bang and just kept going.  Haley runs a shelter for pregnant teens and while looking for one of them is targeted by a gang.  Sully comes to their rescue and helps get the girls to safety, making himself a target also.  When they discover that Haley is the subject of a gang hit Sully makes it his mission to protect her and discover who is behind it.  He's not sure he's up to the task, but he's going to give it his best shot.  

I really liked both Haley and Sully.  Both had some serious issues that affect their ability to have relationships. I loved the way that they were portrayed realistically and not overcome easily. Haley had run away from home at the age of fifteen.  Her parents were cold position conscious people who only cared for their "perfect" daughter, not the one who wasn't.  When Haley got pregnant and wouldn't get rid of the baby like they wanted, she ran and lived on the streets with two friends she made there.  The three of them witness a murder that has put them in danger.  She is grateful for Sully's rescue of her and confident in his ability to help.  She can see the pain he is feeling but has more confidence in him than he has in himself.  She is also intensely attracted to him even though she knows there is no future for them.  I loved the way her growing feelings for him make her all the more certain of how good he is in spite of his protests.  Because of her own past issues she can't see herself deserving a future with him and pushes him away so he can have what she see as the life he deserves.  

Sully is living with terrible guilt from his last tour in Afghanistan.  He feels that he is responsible for the deaths of his men and best friend.  Between that guilt and his PTSD he has become an alcoholic and loner.  But he can't stand by and watch Haley and the teen get gunned down so he rushes to their rescue.  He doesn't want to be responsible for Haley's safety but there isn't anyone else to trust so he takes her on the run.  They soon decide the only way to stop the problem is to find out who is behind it.  I loved seeing how well they worked together.  Sully also tried fighting his attraction to her but it was a losing battle.  One of the things I loved best about Sully was how he showed Haley how great he thought she was.  He really fought against telling her about his past but couldn't resist the pull he felt toward her.  I loved seeing how opening up to her brought him some of the peace he had been craving.  Their trip to see his family was incredibly moving for me, even as it made me want to shake Haley.  I was so glad to see them both come to some peace with their pasts.

The suspense portion of the story was great.  It seemed at times as if they just couldn't get a break.  Every time they thought they'd have a chance for a break the bad guys would catch up with them again.  The power of the person behind it all was obvious as they got closer to finding out who it was.  I made a couple guesses as to the culprit but the identity was revealed in an interesting twist.  I really can't wait for the third book!

Fatal Exposure - Gail Barrett (HRS #1757 - June 2013)

Series: Buried Secrets (Book 1)

"Silence is her only protection"
Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist B. K. ("Brynn") Elliot chronicles Baltimore's grittier side with her lens--a talent cultivated from her years as a teenage runaway. A reclusive figure, Brynn lives under everyone's radar...until a photo from her past plunges her into the crosshairs of powerful enemies.

Detective Parker McCall has devoted fifteen years to trying to solve his brother's murder, and with the release of a photo implicating Brynn as a potential suspect, he feels close to finding justice. Determined to get answers, Parker must ignore the inexplicable attraction he feels for the haunted beauty in the photo. And Brynn must decide if Parker will protect her or betray her in his hunt for a killer.

This was a fantastic book from the very beginning.  Brynn is a photojournalist who zealously guards her privacy.  When she was a teen runaway she witnessed a murder that put her on a hit list.  With her two friends they have stayed out of the public eye to protect themselves and each other.  When a reporter takes her picture and publishes it she is put back into danger.  Parker recognizes her from a picture of her with his brother who had also been a runaway and drug addict and was murdered fifteen years ago.  He considers Brynn to be a suspect and goes to see her for answers.  But those answers only lead to more questions.

Brynn is an amazingly strong character.  She had run away from home as a teen to get away from her stepfather who was sexually abusing her.  She had tried reporting him, talking to counselors and other things but no one would believe her because he was a respected citizen.  While living on the streets she had made friends with two other girls and Parker's brother.  Tommy had done his best to protect them and they took care of him.  When Brynn witnessed a murder Tommy had gotten between the murderer and Brynn and died to save her.  Now she is back in the crosshairs with the murderer wanting her dead and her stepfather wanting to get his hands on her too.  He has a lot more to protect now and his ways haven't changed.  When Brynn is confronted by Parker she realizes that she is going to need help to save herself and bring her stepfather down.  She is very wary about trusting him, since he is a cop and her experience with cops has been very bad.  She is also attracted to him and that worries her even more.  I loved the way that she had taken her experience as a runaway and turned it into a talent for photographing the world of Baltimore's streets.  She also uses her knowledge to help as many runaways as she can.  She had a hard time trusting Parker at first but he soon showed that he was as determined to find the truth as she was.  She was also determined to do whatever she had to in order to stop her stepfather from harming anyone else.  Her experiences on the street gave her a different viewpoint than Parker's and between the two of them they were able to get the information they needed.

Parker had been searching for his brother's killer for years.  After their father's suicide Tommy had gotten into drugs and had run away.  Parker had tried to help him and had felt guilty that he hadn't succeeded.  When he found Brynn he thought at first that she was the killer.  He soon realized that she wasn't but that she had information that could help find him.  He also had the problem that her stepfather was his boss and had charged him with bringing Brynn in.  His problem was that what her stepfather told him and what Brynn told him were very different and he didn't know who to believe.  He was also attracted to Brynn which was messing with his objectivity.  The more time he spent with Brynn the more he believed her but he still didn't want to believe that his boss was like that.  Parker was deeply conflicted but the evidence was building up quickly.  He also had the problem of trying to tell Brynn who his boss was without her feeling betrayed and losing her trust.  I really enjoyed seeing Parker's suspicion turn to belief and then into respect for everything she had overcome.

Both Parker and Brynn had trust issues that they had to deal with in order to come to their happy ending.  That trust was essential for them to be able to work together to solve the mystery of who killed Tommy and also to stop Brynn's stepfather.  The action, both physical and mental, in the book was nonstop.  The ending was intense with a very interesting twist.  There is also a bit of the mystery left unsolved which leads into the next book.