Review: Sheriff's Honor

I put Sheriff's Honor by Jill Sorenson on my Goodreads "currently reading" shelf two weeks ago but hadn't actually started reading it. Why? Because my continued slump of just not reading much of anything continues to hold me in a vice grip that is getting exceedingly hard to shake. But with a lazy Sunday ahead of me, with no commitments or chores standing in my way, I was bound and determined to try to read something. The half-finished celebrity memoir I'm trying to decide if I want to finish held little appeal - so what the hell, I'll start the Sorenson. Gentle reader, I didn't read this book so much as inhale inhale it. Like a woman who has been wandering the desert and just stumbled across a refreshing oasis. Lord almighty, I love being in the hands of a professional. 

This is the second book in the His to Protect trilogy and while it stands alone okay, I do think the reading experience is richer when you have the background of the first book under your belt. The reason for that is because our hero is Wade Hendricks, former sheriff's deputy of Last Chance, Texas who fancied himself in love with the heroine of the first book - which obviously didn't work out in his favor. His father was the sheriff, and not to put too fine a point on it, a real son of a bitch. So Wade accepts a job offer in Lost Lake, Texas, but it's not a completely fresh start. He's trading in Dear Old Dad for his alcoholic, pill-popping mother.

He arrives on his mother's family ranch only to get greeted by the wrong end of a shotgun. Meredith Rose (going by the assumed name of Mary Meadows) is a stray Wynona picked up and hired as a caretaker. Mary feeds the animals and takes care of the property. She had no idea that Wynona had a son, so a strange man drinking a can of soda in the kitchen, coupled with her past - of course she fired a warning shot. But these two don't have much time to dwell on their "meet cute" because just as they're sorting all that out? Tornado sirens start blaring. 

It hits the ground running from there. Wade has a new job to settle into and enough familial baggage to keep a team of psychiatrists busy for years. "Mary" is pretty as a picture but skittish as hell, and most definitely running from something. On top of this you have the aftermath of the tornado, including skeletal remains found near the lake. Think of a messy small town contemporary romance with a light suspense thread featuring Messy AF characters and more angsty drama than you can shake a stick at - well, is it any wonder I tore through this in a day?

However, much like the first book, it's not perfect. I read it in a day, so I'm not really sure how much I care that it's not perfect? But let's just say there are some sticking points here. To be honest, the author takes the easy way out with Meredith's Big Secret. I mean, she kind of has to I think or else this book would need about 200 more pages to resolve it. Also, the resolution to the skeletal remains raised both my eyebrows. Why? Two words. Or maybe it's one hyphenated word? Cover-up. Is justice served? Ummm. Was what happened justified? Ummm. To be honest I'm not even sure how I feel about this ending, but Wade being a sheriff's deputy, plus given how the first book ended, let's just say nothing here is black and white. As much as I enjoyed this book start to finish, even I'm conflicted as I sit down to write this half-assed cryptic review. Bad people get what's coming to them, so there is that -  but in true Sorenson fashion, it's messy.

But there's no denying that Sorenson excels at world-building, melding contemporary romance with suspense, and creating Messy AF characters. I was swept away in this story from the first sentence and I was gripped to the final page. I'm so glad Sorenson is back after a hiatus - because good heavens, I've missed her.

Final Grade = B+