IRRESISTIBLE FORCE - D.D. Ayres
A Perfect 10
K-9 Rescue Series , Book 1
St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN-10: 1-2500-4217-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-2500-4217-0
September 2014
Romantic Suspense

North Carolina - The Present

James Cannon is with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg K9 Police. His partner, Bogart, was abducted a month ago, and James watches a cabin in the remote woods near Lake Gaston as a young woman emerges from a cabin with his dog. He notices someone else watches the scene from a truck. The woman also watches the truck, yelling and throwing things at the vehicle. It leaves. James doesn't. He will confront her in the morning's daylight and retrieve his partner.

Shay Appleton has escaped her abusive ex-boyfriend by going to her refuge, a cabin up near North Carolina's northern border. Diagnosed with hyperviligance after an incident when she was fourteen, which left her with a sealed police record, deserved or not, and the resulting bullying and ridicule all during her high school years as gossip spread about her past, plus Eric's more recent verbal and physical abuse, Shay suffers from anxiety and panic attacks. Prince, the Belgian Malinois she adopted after a woman brought it to the shelter demanding it be put down, gives her a sense of protection upon discovering Eric has found her hiding place. The tall and powerful man invading her house the next morning and accusing her of stealing his dog has her calling 911.

As a new series based on K9 dogs, Bogart does an excellent job of introducing James and Shay, both his humans suffering from poor choices in relationships. Shay's ex is malevolent. James's ex is malicious and self-serving. Threads of trouble from both beleaguer the heroine's and hero's safety, let alone their attraction to each other. Both make mistakes. James is too aggressive in their first meeting. Shay's past makes her act neurotic, with reason. She cannot give anyone her trust and constantly balances between her attraction for James and belligerent demands that he leave her. However, both initial impressions are incorrect. Bogart, aka Prince, the well-trained police dog not only glues them together, but also offers protection from the evil intent surrounding them.

Well written with great tension between both the characters and the situations that evolve, IRRESISTIBLE FORCE is a wonderful introduction to this new series.

Robin Lee