Police Chief Tess O’Rourke thought she’d taken care of her small town’s drug problem last year. But now Rogue’s Hollow residents are up in arms over a contentious vote on legalizing the sale of marijuana within city limits. And when an eighteen-year-old is found dead of a possible overdose, Tess wonders if the local pot farms might be involved and begins to fear that a new, deadlier drug supply chain has cropped up. As tempers flare and emotions boil over, Tess faces the possibility of losing the town’s support.
With her relationship to Sergeant Steve Logan on shaky ground, Tess could really use a friend, and she feels drawn to Pastor Oliver Macpherson’s quiet presence. But the anger she holds over her father’s death prevents her from embracing his faith and finding peace.
Battling storms within and without, Tess is shocked when a familiar face from her past shows up in town to stir up more trouble. And his threats against Tess may prove lethal.
A former Long Beach, California, police officer of twenty-two years, Janice Cantore worked a variety of assignments, including patrol, administration, juvenile investigations, and training. She’s always enjoyed writing and published two short articles on faith at work for Cop and Christ and Today’s Christian Woman before tackling novels. She now lives in a small town in southern Oregon, where she enjoys exploring the forests, rivers, and lakes with her Labrador retrievers, Abbie and Tilly.
Janice writes suspense novels designed to keep readers engrossed and leave them inspired. Crisis Shot is the first title in her latest series. Janice also authored the Cold Case Justice series — Drawing Fire, Burning Proof, and Catching Heat — the Pacific Coast Justice series — Accused, Abducted, and Avenged — and the Brinna Caruso novels, Critical Pursuit and Visible Threat.
Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecantore.com and connect with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/JaniceCantore.
My Impressions:
Readers return to the small Oregon town of Rogue’s Hollow in Lethal Target, the second book in Janice Cantore’s Line of Duty series. This time Tess O’Rourke investigates the murder of a favorite high school student with no enemies. The crime is especially puzzling and the family is vocal about Tess’s lack of skills in bringing the perpetrator to justice. Add extra layers of drug raids, legal pot farms, and a journalist’s vendetta, and you have a suspense-filled drama that keeps the pages turning. This novel gets a recommended rating from me.
Rogue’s Hollow is a fictional town, but Cantore’s description of setting and citizens truly bring it to life. The author brings back characters from book 1, Crisis Shot, including this reader’s favorite, Oliver Macpherson, the local pastor whose wife was murdered in the previous novel. Tess is faced with a number of problems and obstacles in her investigation, as well as danger and threats, both physical and emotional. For such a small town, Tess finds herself in a pressure cooker that could undo her. I liked that Cantore explores the emotional side of her characters as they struggle with choices and doubts. Spiritual issues are at the heart of this book as well. Short chapters keep the novel fast-paced, and I really enjoyed the clues shared with the reader before Tess discovers them. That certainly amped up anticipation. I also found the community debate over legal pot farms interesting. Lethal Target is my book club’s selection this month, and I anticipate a lively discussion of how people deal with the legalization that many find immoral or a danger to society as a whole. Marijuana is not legal in my state, but it certainly could be in the future.
If you like the suspense genre, then Lethal Target is an excellent choice. Great characters, wonderful setting, relevant issues, and spiritual truths make this an outstanding novel.
Recommended.
Audience: adults.
(I purchased this book from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
I love this series. And it’s an awesome AUDIOBOOK series too. I’ve already begged for more of Tess and Rogue’s Hollow!