My Review - Crisis Shot by Janice Cantore

                            
4.5 our of 5 stars

The Line of Duty series is off to a great start with CRISIS SHOT!

Commander Tess O’Rourke has police work in her blood. Following in her father and grandfather’s footsteps, her ultimate goal is to be chief of the Long Beach Police Department. Regrettably, a controversial shooting, and the death of a fourteen-year-old boy, has her sitting on the sidelines. Knowing she did what she was trained to do, and choosing to put her faith in the system, she breathes a sigh of relief when she is cleared of wrong doing by a grand jury. Unfortunately, a venomous blogger who hates cops won’t let the community forget what’s happened. He continues to post inflammatory articles and stirs vengeance in the gang communities. Hating the unrest she sees in the city she loves, Tess decides to resign and remove herself so the city can heal. 

Ending up in Rogue’s Hollow, Oregon, Tess takes the job of chief of police. The title might be what she always wanted, but the department is all of twelve people, including herself, not the eight hundred strong she dreamed of leading one day. Knowing the vote of the city council wasn’t unanimous, Tess knows there are people that don’t necessarily want her in Rogue’s Hollow. Be that as it may, she is their chief, so she puts all her energy into her new position.

Tess isn’t on the job two months when there is a murder. Things get even crazier when one of the townspeople goes missing. What follows is a bizarre twist involving prestigious residents of the Hollow, a bag of money, a homeless woman, a dog, and a kidnapping. The more convoluted the case becomes, the more pressure the mayor puts on Tess to solve the murder before someone else dies. 

I enjoyed CRISIS SHOT as a suspenseful novel, but to me, there wasn’t enough romance in it to garner the label. Everything else was there for sure. There were lots of twists and red herrings for the readers to follow, and great secondary characters that brought the town to life. Tess even felt an attraction for local deputy sheriff, Steve Logan. Even so, what seemed like a mutual interest never really got off the ground. I guess I will have to wait until the next installment in the series to see if the flicker grows into a flame. Even though I was slightly disappointed in the lack of romance, the story itself was great. I thoroughly enjoyed CRISIS SHOT and will keep an eye out for book two in the Line of Duty series.

Book provided for review purposes.