Colton K-9 Target by Justine Davis

Posted September 28, 2021 by Marsha in Can You Read A Series In A Month Challenge, Connection or Spin-Off of Another Series, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Owned or Purchased, Romantic Suspense, Series, Series Multi-Author, Sexual Content, Small Town Romance / 0 Comments

Man’s best friend 

…is this cop’s most trusted partner

New to the Grave Gulch Police Department, K-9 detective Brett Shea feels like an outsider among its many Coltons.

Even Annalise, his dog’s trainer, is a Colton!

But when she’s attacked by a man pretending to be her date, Brett vows to track down the criminal.

Though he’s sworn off forever love—which is proving harder by the day—Brett will protect her at any cost.

Titles in the multi-author Coltons of Grave Gulch series include – Colton’s Dangerous Liaison by Regan Black – Colton’s Killer Pursuit by Tara Taylor Quinn – Colton Nursery Hideout by Dana Nussio – Colton’s Bullseye by Geri Krotow – Guarding Colton’s Child by Lara Lacombe – Colton’s Covert Witness by Addison Fox – Rescued by the Colton Cowboy by Deborah Fletcher Mello – Colton K-9 Target by Justine Davis – A Colton Internal Affair by Jennifer D. Bokal – Uncovering Colton’s Family Secret by Linda O. Johnston – Agent Colton’s Takedown by Beverly Long – Proving Colton’s Innocence by Lara Lacombe

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  Colton K-9 Target
Series:  Coltons of Grave Gulch #8
Author:  Justine Davis
Genre:  Romantic Suspense
Published:  August 24, 2021
Publisher:  Harlequin Romantic Suspense
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Colton K-9 Target is the eighth title in the multi-author mini-series Coltons of Grave Gulch, and Brett’s and Annalise’s romance while intense in itself also reveals a disgusting criminal intent called catfishing where in order to gain someone’s romantic attention a person will pretend to be someone they’re not using a fictional online personality complete with stock photos and other people’s lives… basically creating a completely false identity in order to lure someone with malice intent.  I knew the phrase, yet seeing it play out in this romantic suspense was chilling to a degree that I can’t really express.  And while this telling of catfishing is fictional it angers and saddens me that many people face this every day with possible harm beyond emotional distress.  People are simply vile and disgusting at times… and I’m stepping off of that soapbox now.

While her siblings and her cousins are falling into romantic bliss like ducks in a row Annalise is still searching for her “the one” without much success.  She’s not directly in law enforcement like the others but her chosen career does put her in contact with police K-9 officers, like Brett, through her training programs.  When she takes a chance with online dating her match sounds just perfect for her, and he might have been if he was, in fact, real… but he isn’t and she’s about to face being on another side of law enforcement as a victim.

Annalise is such a strong character even when faced with a vile man who would harm her if he ever got close enough, she’s not taking what happened to her by calmly stepping back.  Sure, she’s scared but beyond that she’s angry… and attracted to the one man who doesn’t believe in love or happy ever afters like she’s looking for in a life partner.

We’ve known Brett from earlier stories in the series as Troy’s partner and a newer member of the police force.  He is an intriguing man with a very solid mindset that will be hard for Annalise to break through.  We learned a lot about Brett in Colton K-9 Target, but mostly we learned of a man who is loyal to a fault, stubborn beyond belief, and who when he falls it’s going to be forever.

The search for this villain is intense, and winding as he’s not stupid but cunning.  Add to that situation there are the ongoing investigations for a serial murderer, a former employee of the police department who has changed so many lives with his lies and deception, and a police chief who is taking the brunt of the civilian’s viewpoint of the criminal activity in their small town.  The series arc moves along a bit and the intensity of the series ratchets up a few notches.

I am enjoying this series so much, and am waiting, impatiently, for the next title, A Colton Internal Affair by Jennifer D. Bokal, to drop in this series that has me tightly in its grip.  If you are captured by good romantic suspense romances that keep you on edge with believable characters then this story and this series should be on your reading radar.

I own a Kindle edition of this title.

Available in print or for your favorite e-reader

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