The Particulars: Romantic suspense, Harlequin Intrigue #1826, 2018, 3rd book Carsons & Delaneys trilogy, Out of print, Available digitally
Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: Helm is a prolific writer and I enjoyed some her SuperRomance work before Harlequin killed that line (RIP). According to my records I picked up a print copy of this book at a library book sale back in 2022.
The Review: Y'all, I have zero reading mojo right now and this month's TBR Challenge snuck up me. I had originally thought to dig out a single title Gothic but time being short, and my mojo being non-existent, I went diving into the Harlequin Cupboard for an Intrigue. Also, and it can't be overstated, I find Helm to be a competent writer. I knew that even if I might not be wild about this story - it was at least going to be competently written and readable. Turns out it was more than that, this is one of the better Intrigues I've read in a while.
Will Cooper has been in purgatory for two years. That was when Bent, Wyoming's coroner, Gracie Delany showed up on his doorstep to tell him his wife was killed in a car accident (it's never explained why Gracie delivers this news instead of the cops - but roll with it. This is the third book in a trilogy that I'm reading out of order). The cops rule Paula's death an accident but Will is convinced it was foul play, especially when he finds out his wife was having an affair. But to the cops it's open and shut - so he starts snooping around on his own. And Gracie? Poor dumb bunny Gracie - she agrees to help him. Letting him look at files and photographs, going with him to revisit the scene - all stuff that could land her in hot water if her superiors found out. Well, Gracie has finally hit her breaking point. She can't keep enabling Will. She's more than half in love with him and he's never going to be able to let Paula's death go - even after two years of amateur sleuthing have turned up nothing. He'll never accept the cops got it right.
Will can't believe Gracie is quitting on him. He'd be angrier if he wasn't an island, a man on a mission. It's Gracie's abandonment that drives him back to the one clue he's found - buried in an old grocery list on Paula's computer. That's when he notices a pattern - so he goes to the local bar to talk to Gracie, who once again tells him to let it go. It's on his way back to his reclusive cabin that he gets in a car accident in the same spot where Paula died. Someone tampered with his car. Someone wants him dead. After two years with no threats on his life, why now? Then someone takes a shot at Gracie...
This series is set up around a small town, middle of nowhere Wyoming family feud involving the prosperous Delaney clan and less prosperous Carson clan. Gracie is a Delaney and Poor Dead Paula was a Carson. Helm does a reasonable job of getting newcomers up to speed without burying us in backstory that was likely partially covered in the first two books, and while the previous couples do show up (and play significant roles to varying degrees), they don't make nuisances of themselves.
The character backstory here in interesting. Gracie is the poor orphaned cousin, now nicknamed "The Angel of Death" because of her job, who survived a car accident that killed her parents. She bounced around for a bit, finally landing in Bent - with her uncle who can't be bothered with her, but three cousins who adore her. This dynamic felt a little weird to me since it's never explained why exactly her uncle could give two shits about her but it works in giving Gracie some edge so I rolled with it.
Will is the classic Guy Who Is Right But Nobody Is Listening To Him. Gracie's cousin Laurel is a sheriff's deputy and a straight-shooter, and she found no evidence anywhere that Paula's death was anything more than an accident. However, when she discovers Will's accident was the result of someone tampering with his vehicle, she's not unnecessarily stubborn. Oh, she doesn't come out and admit she was wrong - she's more a "where's the evidence, let's find some evidence" kind of person.
The emotional aspect to the romance is very interesting because Will is pretty much a brick wall from the jump and Gracie is essentially enabling him. She's also fallen into the classic girl trap of "but I can fix him!" She's starting to wake up to the fact she can't do that with the opening chapters of this story. Fair warning that of course she's a virgin and we have a no condom but it's OK I'm clean sex scene but this is the first one I've read EVER where it didn't completely annoy the hell out of me. Oh, I still hate it, but I hated it a little less here (she's on the pill, he had a full screening done when he found out his wife was cheating and hasn't had sex in two years). The dynamic between Will and Gracie is Messy AF, but Helm does mine it for some emotional angst and by the end I did think these two crazy kids could make it work.
Intrigues are all about pacing, and Helm keeps things humming along at a fast clip. I started and finished this story in a couple hours. I figured out where it was going towards the final third, but it was still an engaging read. I'm typically not crazy about family feud tropes (I realize how shocking this is, given my long history of loving soap operas) and while I'm unlikely to go back and read the first two books in this trilogy, some of the secondary characters featured in this story are part of the spin-off Carsons & Delaneys: Battle Tested series and a few of those characters did pique my interest. Which means it's time to take a deep dive into my Kindle to see if I have already randomly picked up some of those...
Final Grade = B
Note: For readers not crazy about Christmas romances, the holiday is barely a whisper of a mention here - mostly the connection is it's December in Wyoming. Also, Harlequin is getting sloppy with their titles. While there is an abduction, there isn't a "ransom" to be had here.
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