She’ll do whatever it takes

To keep her baby safe.

Aiming a shotgun at a would-be kidnapper showed Renee Smith she had the instincts she would need to safeguard her newly adopted daughter. Then US marshal Cash O’Connor offers her a safe haven at his Texas ranch and she knows it’s best to accept his protection.

Cash recognizes that Renee’s incident is eerily similar to his own infant sister’s unsolved kidnapping thirty years ago. This time, Cash vows to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.

Series – An O’Connor Family Mystery = 1. Texas Kidnapping – 2. Texas Target – 3. Texas Law

Title:  Texas Kidnapping
Series:  An O’Connor Family Mystery #1
Author:  Barb Han
Romance Genre:  Romantic Suspense
Publication Date:  October 1, 2020
Star Rating:  4.5 stars

Texas Kidnapping begins the An O’Connor Family Mystery series with a gripping, intense story that quickly caught my attention and held me in place throughout Renee and Cash’s journey.

Renee has moved to a new town, a new home, with her newly adopted daughter, Abby.  This was supposed to be a fresh start – for them both.  Yet, this new mother thing was rewarding and frustrating at the very same moment.  How did mothers figure out what babies wanted when they couldn’t yet speak?  Renee was exhausted but loving having her precious little one with her – in spite of all the teething screaming.  But exhausted as she was it took only the slightest sound that shouldn’t be there that had Renee dashing to the bedroom to see a stranger reaching into Abby’s crib with her daughter in their hands.  One unloaded shotgun threat later and the baby was safely in the crib and the kidnapper out the window – but that night was only the beginning.

When Cash arrived at Renee’s home it didn’t take long to realize that she and the baby could not stay there… or to feel the almost immediate attraction to this frazzled, lovely, suspicious lady and one little girl that stole his heart.  While it wasn’t something he did often as a US Marshal, this time Cash invited Renee and Abby back to the family ranch for safety, at least until an alarm system could be installed.   Cash didn’t like the sense of déjà vu he was experiencing for this attempted kidnapping was so similar to an unsolved kidnapping of his older sister almost 30 years ago.

The action is fast-paced, the build-up intense, and the developing relationship between Cash and Renee – as well as with his family – were all interesting to experience.  I love a suspense story that feels that way, that has me guessing what’s really going on, and one that I can believe has happened in real life.  Renee is so untrusting of strangers, especially Cash – and given what she’s recently been through that’s completely understandable.  Watching her let go of her tight control, allowing others into her life was an emotional journey.  I believed in these two people as a couple, and I definitely was rooting for them to find their happy ending.  There are still brothers to meet and mysteries to solve so I’ll be continuing with this series.

I own a Kindle edition of Texas Kidnapping.

Available in paperback or for your favorite e-reader, mine is the Kindle.