#BookReview “Two Reasons to Run” by Colleen Coble

As if Police Chief Jane Hardy didn’t have enough to deal with getting to know her fifteen-year-old son, Will, coming to grips with the betrayal by his father… and hers, working through the aftermath of an attempt on her father’s life, and searching for the mother who abandoned her as a child, now she’s added a murder and possible terrorist plot to her plate.

When Keith McDonald doesn’t arrive home on schedule, his mother, Ruby, follows his cryptic instructions and contacts Jane. After overhearing a conversation, Keith fears something bad is planned for the oil rig where he works. He also knows if something happens to him, a Pelican Harbor resident, the young police chief won’t rest until justice is served.

Before even determining Keith’s whereabouts, Jane learns the young oil rigger also shared his suspicions with investigative journalist Reid Dixon… Will’s father. Now she must put her personal feelings aside to find a killer and stop a terrorist plot that could devastate the southern coasts that haven’t fully recovered from the last oil rig explosion.

I liked all the characters in this suspenseful page-turner, even if I didn’t care for all of their actions. I’m looking at you, Will.

When Will’s life is threatened to force Jane to stop her investigation, she and Reid pull together, with the help of her father to protect their son until she can solve the case. Just as Jane lets her guard down, betrayal rears its ugly head again and Jane doesn’t think she can ever trust anyone again.

The shared pasts and cult-life of Jane and Reid is a strong sub-plot and the reason for so much anger and animosity. I liked the way the author worked to resolve issues in a realistic manner. It didn’t feel forced or fake. Jane has every right to her hurt and pain, but for how long and at what cost? The inspirational theme is also nicely woven through the story and realistic. Not over-the-top preachy or hypocritical.

While I didn’t read the first book in the Pelican Harbor Series (yet), I didn’t feel lost in Two Reasons to Run. Just enough details were woven through the story for me to understand the relationships of all the characters without info dumps. A good ending brings resolutions and character growth… and enough unease for the upcoming book three.

Enjoy!

Synopsis:

Gripping romantic suspense from USA TODAY bestselling author Colleen Coble.

A lie changed her world.

Police Chief Jane Hardy is still reeling from the scandal that rocked her small-town department just as she took over for her retired father—the man who wrecked her life with one little lie. Now she’s finally been reunited with her presumed-dead fifteen-year-old son, Will, and his father, documentarian Reid Bechtol.

A crisis looms.

When a murder aboard the oil platform Zeus exposes an environmental terrorist’s plot to flood Mobile Bay with crude oil, Jane and Reid must put their feelings for each other behind them and work together to prevent the rig from being sabotaged.

A killer targets her son.

Then the terrorist puts her son Will’s life on the line. Protecting him could be the common ground they need . . . but then ghosts from the past threaten to ruin Jane and Reid for good.

She’s got plenty of reasons to run. But what if she stays?