Beth McClelland needs things safe. She's got her out-of-danger job running Project Justice's lab, a network of friends, and a crush on sexy but oh-so-safe Mitch Delacroix. Maybe, just maybe, she can summon up the nerve to ask him out on a date. Except Beth's dreams of safety come crashing down when Mitch is unexpectedly arrested as a suspect in a back-country Louisiana murder.

Beth knows that not everyone arrested is actually guilty--after all, Project Justice exists to help those falsely convicted of serious crimes. Still, she's not an investigator and when their boss demands that she go to help prove Mitch's innocence, she feels over her head.

The Mitch Beth had a crush on would never have committed a violent murder. As she and and the Project Justice team investigate, however, Beth learns more about Mitch's past... and present. He really isn't the safe and non-threatening man she'd thought she'd found. Instead, Mitch holds strong, sometimes violent emotions under tight control. Working together to prove Mitch's innocence forces Beth to confront not only the evidence against him, but her own deepest fears. Of course, if Mitch really is innocent, someone else must be guilty--and for them, Beth and the Project Justice team represent a dangerous threat--one that must be eliminated at any cost.

Author Kara Lennox (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of romance by Lennox) continues her Project Justice series with an exciting story of dangerous secrets. The action shifts between cosmopolitan Houston and the steamy swamps of Louisiana. I especially liked Lennox's development of Mitch's character--and the way that growth intertwined with the evolution of Beth. The physicality that Mitch represents provides a challenge to Beth, but ultimately lets her break out of her comfort zone.

Lennox manages a skillful blend of suspense and romance with the two elements building on one another. Without the danger and without all of the dangerous secrets coming out, it's hard to imagine that Mitch and Beth could ever have evolved a relationship beyond office flirtation. I'm happy to recommend this exciting story.

Four Stars

Reviewed 3/07/12

Ready to buy it?

Click this link to buy OUTSIDE THE LAW from Amazon.com.

Buy from Barnes and Noble.com

• Return to ROMANCE REVIEW CENTRAL
• Go to 2012 ROMANCE REVIEWS
• See more BooksForABuck.com reviews of Harlequin SuperRomance
• See more BooksForABuck.com reviews of romantic suspense
• Enjoy romance? Check out the excellent selection of BooksForABuck.com romance eNovels--full length romance novels at a great price.
• Click here for this month's new releases from Harlequin/Silhouette.
• BooksForABuck.com HOME

Too generous? Too stingy. Or did I miss the whole point? Send your comments to publisher@booksforabuck.com. I'll publish the best letters I get so let me know if I can use your name.