The Reforming of Matthew Dunn

Sweet Home Carolina #1

by Virginia Kantra

Love in the Line of Duty.

When Night Falls on the City . . .
Detective Matthew Dunn was unlike any man Clare Harmon had ever known -- bitter, cynical, and yet more compelling than she cared to admit, even to herself. And though he was trying to stop her from carrying out her life's work, she couldn't keep him from haunting her very dreams. He believed her life was at risk every second she stayed in this bleak inner-city neighborhood, and she could scarcely deny it. But she was beginning to wonder if the true danger was this man who made her long to brush away the dark shadows she saw in his eyes -- and make a place for him in her fragile heart!

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense

248 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra is the author of thirty books of women's fiction, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, and romantic suspense.

Kindred spirits and Anne of Green Gables fans, look for Anne of a Different Island , coming January 20, 2026.

Her latest release, The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Gale , a contemporary reimagining inspired by Dorothy's adventures in Oz, follows Kansas graduate student Dee Gale as she flees personal heartbreak and public humiliation to enroll in the writing program at Trinity College Dublin (the Emerald Isle!).

Meg and Jo , a contemporary novel inspired by the classic story Little Women, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist and was a People Magazine pick.

Beth and Amy (May 25, 2021) "continues her delightful 21st-century retelling of Little Women...Kantra’s compulsively readable update will attract a whole new group of readers, as well as satisfy Alcott devotees."—Publishers Weekly

Her stories have earned numerous awards including two Romance Writers of America's RITA (R) Awards, ten RITA nominations, and two National Readers' Choice Awards.

Carolina Dreaming, the fifth book in her Dare Island series , won the 2017 RITA (R) Award for Best Contemporary Romance - Midlength and was named one of BookPage's Top Ten Romance Novels of 2016. Her work includes the popular Children of the Sea series and, in e-book format, The MacNeills stories.
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Reviews

[Alp]

DNF

After numerous times of trying to continue reading this book, I gave up! I couldn't take it anymore! The story was soooooo boring and there was no chemistry between Matt and Clare. I don't want to believe this book was written by my favorite author! I was so tired of Clare being too stubborn and illogical.

I might give it another chance someday.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've started reading Virginia Kantra's backlist and have discovered I really like her writing (and her heroes). Quite a nice treat, since I'm a little hard to please with contemporaries.

[Sabrina Jeffries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kantra has a lush writing style that I really admire and characters who are well-rounded and believable. Not to mention that her MacNeill heroes are luscious enough to eat.

[Mary Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another good read by Virginia Kantra with strong male and female leading characters. This story deals with a woman trying to find ways to get at-risk kids off of the streets, and a man who thinks she is too trusting. It is a quick read which provides good escape.

[Juli · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 and 1/2

[Janeiowa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, the first in the Carolina series, is well-written with a strong plot and believable and realistic characters. Ms Kantra's descriptions pulled me into the story and into the neighborhood she describes.

I've already read the next book in the series .. The MacNeill brothers. They, too, were very well written.

My only annoyance was with whoever put this into digital format....and spelled corn as com. I realize they look alike in print, but talk of "com bread" twice and the growing of "com" is irritating.

[Tam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read other books by this author and enjoyed them. This I did not. I was bored. By the time I got to the high drama part I was just over this story and started skimming just to get to the end

Whilst I will look for future books in the Carlina Home series, I won't be reading further books in this one.

[Susannah Carleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. A lovely, heart-warming story of loss, love, and community, and of two caring people trying in different ways to fight gang crimes in their neighborhood. Clare and Matt don't initially think each other's methods are very effective, but they come to admire and respect each other's determination and success.

[Shai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kantra is another author on my automatically trust and read pile now. The contemporary romance genre has become so gimmicky and contrived that even good and heart felt writing is hard to find, so I am definitely glad to have found kantra who focuses on strong characterization and great, simple writing despite not offering anything new to the genre.

[Max · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is clearly an older Virginia Kantra novel, as it lacks the emotional depth and clear writing of her more recent works. I can see where this story was going, but it never really got there for me. Both Matt and Clare are understandable characters, but were written in a shallow manner, and because of that the romance falls flat.

Definitely not one of Kantra's best.

[Traci Mccartney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I love that Clare is wanting to change the neighborhood one kid at a time. She and Matt were wonderfully fun and rich characters. So glad Virginia Kantra was recommended to me. I'm going to keep reading her books.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Virginia Kantra's male characters have such great voices. This hero, Matt, is so very masculine. He's a cop. He's a guy, and I never doubted it. That masculine voice is utterly convincing. I loved Matt!

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not my favorite of VK's books. I liked the reasons that both parties had for not wanting to be in a proper relationship, though I could have done without the ultimate resolution to the conflict. Resolution by way of extraordinary suspense circumstances just don't usually do it for me.

[Jacquie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read. Loved seeing the tough cop fall for an equally strong woman

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

very nice story! I really liked the characters and I enjoyed seeing them each grow throughout the story!

[Lizz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 but I liked it enough to go with the 4 star. Finally a strong woman character!!

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Virginia Kantra's books. The Reforming of Matthew Dunn was a little slow for me at times, but I did really enjoy the ending.

[Pam]

08/11/08 rec via pbs

[Sonja Likness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Great story with some exciting suspense and action, and Virginia's characters are always jump-off-the-page amazing. Plus there's a dog. Love!