Monday, April 11, 2016

Review ~ HOLD YOUR BREATH by Katie Ruggle

Hold Your Breath (Search and Rescue, #1)
by: Katie Ruggle
Series: Search and Rescue
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Source:  Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley


In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder...

As the captain of Field County's ice rescue dive team, Callum Cook is driven to perfection. But when he meets new diver Louise "Lou" Sparks, all that hard-won order is obliterated in an instant. Lou is a hurricane. A walking disaster. And with her, he's never felt more alive...even if keeping her safe may just kill him.

Lou's new to the Rockies, intent on escaping her controlling ex, and she's determined to make it on her own terms...no matter how tempting Callum may be. But when a routine training exercise unearths a body, Lou and Callum find themselves thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer who will stop at nothing to silence Lou-and prove that not even her new Search and Rescue family can keep her safe forever.


REVIEW


Katie Ruggle has done an excellent job of creating a very unpredictable and intriguing Romantic Suspense. The characters are not only interesting but also fun. Albeit that there are a few strange characters but that makes the entire situation that much more realistic. The setting is in a small Colorado town where everyone knows everyone’s business so it seems very much like visiting Mayberry. In addition, this is the first full length book in a series about the Field County Rescue Dive Team. I previously read the preceding novella which is a good introduction but I don’t feel like it was a good representation of the series as a whole. Hold Your Breath was much more intense than the novella.

Louise “Lou” Sparks is the newest member of the dive team. She left her overbearing parents in Connecticut to gain her independence and start a new life. Although she is fitting into the team fairly well, she comes off to be somewhat of a ditz in front of her very attractive boss, Callum. Callum “Cal” is a former Marine who is a stickler for law and order. After Lou accidentally dislodges a headless murder victim from the icy reservoir, her life takes a major turn for the worse. She realizes that she has a stalker and all hell breaks loose. She and Cal decide to try and find out the identity of the murder victim while also trying to avoid getting killed by the stalker. This situation ends up bringing Lou and Cal closer together. They develop a romantic relationship that the small town seems to become very curious about.

The suspense element of the book is what makes everything worth reading. Katie spins a whale of a tale. Nothing is what it seems. Although Lou is watching her back, she doesn’t see what’s in front of her until it’s too late. Cal does a great job of playing her knight in shining armor and they are great together as a couple. I also appreciated the fact that they didn’t end up having a cliche’ relationship with a lot of unrealistic drama. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out the identity of the murder victim as well as the stalker. I wondered if they were connected and who would die before they figured this all out. Be advised that not all questions will be answered but it will still be a great ride.

**Received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest unbiased review.**

Rating: 5

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