To solve the most heinous murder in Texas history, Colby investigator Lyle McCaleb has an unusual find and protect the killer's long-lost daughter. The she's tough, gorgeous rancher Sadie Gilmore-Lyle's first and only love. And now the mysterious past she barely remembers is threatening her very existence.Lyle regrets leaving Sadie broken-hearted seven years ago. And as he investigates and gets deeper into danger, he finds it almost impossible to maintain his professionalism around her. But another dilemma threatens their newly rekindled relationship. Can Lyle regain Sadie's trust while concealing the secret that may devastate her?
DEBRA WEBB is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 170 novels, including reader favorites the Finley O'Sullivan and Devlin & Falco series. She is the recipient of the prestigious Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Romantic Suspense as well as numerous Reviewers Choice Awards. In 2012 Debra was honored as the first recipient of the esteemed L. A. Banks Warrior Woman Award for her courage, strength, and grace in the face of adversity. Recently Debra was awarded the distinguished Centennial Award for having achieved publication of her 100th novel.
With more than four million books in print in numerous languages and countries, Debra’s love of storytelling goes back to her childhood when her mother bought her an old typewriter in a tag sale. Born in Alabama, Debra grew up on a farm. She spent every available hour exploring the world around her and creating her stories. She wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn’t until she spent three years working for the Commanding General of the US Army in Berlin behind the Iron Curtain and a five-year stint in NASA’s Shuttle Program that she realized her true calling. A collision course between suspense and romance was set. Since then she has expanded her work into some of the darkest places the human psyche dares to go. Visit Debra at www.debrawebb.com.
Colby Law is the forty-eighth - yes, you read that right - book in the Colby Agency series, and a heartwarming, exciting, steamy story that begins a new case for the well known and respected private investigation firm.
Colby Investigator Lyle McCaleb is sent to Texas to investigate what the press had dubbed the Princess Killer case, a decades old serial killing spree that devastated a small Texas community. The crimes were made even more abhorrent because the victims were all young girls, and the evidence pointed to Clare and Rafe Barker, a well respected couple whose involvement further rocked their town. But twenty years later Clare is set free on appeal and information comes out suggesting that Rafe, who initially confessed to the crime, isn’t guilty, and that Clare might be the sole killer. Unfortunately that information comes from Rafe himself which makes his claims dubious at best. When Rafe tells them that his wife will go after three girls who went missing and were presumed dead – his own daughters – and asks the agency to keep the girls safe, they have no choice but to check in to the possibility that he’s telling the truth.
Enter Sadie Gilmore who seven years ago was Lyle’s ‘one-that-got-away’ – except it was Lyle who did the leaving. As he tries to protect Sadie without telling her who her parents might be, while also working to regain her trust, things begin to heat up between them, rekindling what had been left unfinished. Can Lyle keep his cool while fighting the feelings growing between them, or will he lose it and risk losing Sadie in the process?
Colby Law is my first taste of Debra Webb’s writing and I thoroughly enjoyed the way she told this tale. The story is interesting and definitely unique, and the characters are people I became invested in. I cannot wait to read the rest of the books making up this case!
3.5/5 stars
This ebook was provided by netgalley.com in behalf of Harlequin Intrigue in exchange for an honest review.
Lyle is an ex-cop now working, for the well-respected Colby Agency, as a security specialist. His newest assignment takes him close to his home, and heart which he left seven years earlier. He’s assigned to protect one the daughters of infamous serial-killer couple, Rafe and Clare Barker. They were convicted of murdering eight young girls, as well as their own three daughters, twenty-two years back. Thirty days before execution, Rafe calls Colby Agency to tell them his daughters are, in fact, alive, and he’s worried his wife Clare, just now set free since her conviction has been overturned, wants to change that. He claims Clare is responsible for all the murders, and he’s the one who tipped off the police, and got her caught, so now she’s free and on a mission to make him pay. Not wanting to take any chances, they send out investigators to protect the identities, and well-being of these women. Lyle gets the shock of his life when he finds out his assignment is none other than Sadie, the girl whose heart he broke, along with his own, seven years ago. Lyle knows Sadie’s going to be anything but welcoming.
Colby Law is part of a series that has been going on for some time now. It's not necessary to read the others before this one. I completely enjoyed this fast-paced mystery. It was only 224 pages, so the story progresses quickly, never leaving you with a dull moment. You’re wondering at every turn which character is behind the menace and threats that continue to escalate throughout the story.
How can you not like a story when you’ve got a hunky overprotective cowboy? Here’s a little description of him through Sadie's eyes:
"For Pete's sake, she hated the way her eyes drank in every single drop of him. His hair was as dark and silky as before. Those vivid blue eyes still made her want to sink into him……He'd changed in other ways though. The cute boyish features had developed into rugged, handsome male assets. And in the face of all she had suffered because of him, he still made her burn with need.
Once these two meet up again, it’s only a matter of time before sparks begin to fly with the hot chemistry they have!
Sadie shines in her own right. She’s on her own, with a fierce determination to make her rescue-ranch work. Her main motivation in life is to help defenseless and abused animals heal. The mystery is not completely resolved at the end, but it’s a satisfying conclusion with respect to Lyle and Sadie. I guess we get another installment to this series in just one month. So, yay! I’m definitely checking it out. I want to see what happens!
Thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for allowing me to read this.
Excellent start to the new Colby series. It was obvious from the beginning that Lyle still loved Sadie. He knew that leaving her seven years earlier had been best for her, but he had never forgotten her. Now he was responsible for keeping her safe. Sadie was stunned to see him when he showed up at her ranch. She didn't want him there, as she had never really gotten over her broken heart, but it became obvious pretty quickly that she needed his help. I liked the way that she realized that she trusted him, and was willing to listen to reason when it was important. I also liked the way that Lyle helped Sadie with her relationship with her dad. The conclusion was satisfying for the book, but we obviously still have a ways to go for the conclusion of the main story.
This Series Newbie is Sold They were called the Princess Killers, Rafe and Clare Barker. They have been in prison for over twenty years. Rafe is sentenced to die and has languished on death row for the past seventeen years.
With thirty days remaining until his scheduled execution, Rafe's request to see Victoria Colby-Camp, head of the Colby Agency, a well-respected investigation and security company, is granted. Victoria goes to the prison and meets the man known as a monster. He looks her in the eye and says the first words he's spoken since his incarceration.
Rafe Barker wants Victoria to find his daughters, three little girls assumed to have been victims of the Princess Killers, and protect them. He claims they hadn't been murdered all those years ago, that he had gotten them to safety. He claims he hadn't, in fact, killed any of the girls he was convicted of killing...but his wife had. And Clare Barker has just been released from prison.
Rafe needs Victoria because he knows that Clare will track down their daughters and finish what she started all those years ago.
Lyle McCaleb is new to the Colby Agency's recently opened Houston branch, but his experience and history in the town of Five Hills has made him the obvious choice to track down the young woman identified as the youngest of three sisters and the daughter of Rafe Barker. Her identity rocks Lyle to the bone but guarantees his personal investment in the case.
Sadie Gilmore was the love of his life back in the day. His biggest regret and the source of his greatest pain. He'd loved her, but at fifteen to his twenty-one, she was a sweet temptation from which he had to flee. So he left town, left her. But it's been seven years and Sadie is no longer fifteen. When he shows up at her house, though, her dubious welcome back includes a loaded shotgun pointed at him.
That's when he gets the first inkling that the past seven years wasn't water under the bridge for either of them...and Sadie Gilmore had neither forgotten, nor forgiven him for their past.
~*~
I've picked up a book from the middle of a series before, but I have to admit, this is the first time I've started with the forty-eighth book in an ongoing series. Hell, this may be the first series I've ever come across that has that many books in it. Within Webb's Colby Agency world, however, this book is the first in a connected trilogy, and I was intrigued enough with the blurb to give it a go. Turned out just fine, too.
The beginning was the only time I felt a little lost within the existing world. There are names of a lot of different characters that obviously have history in the series, and they're often referred to by either first or last name. Without the framework of previous experience, it took a few chapters to sort everything and everyone out. Once the main plot of the book kicked off, though, and Lyle and Sadie emerged as the main characters, the name game settled and the story focus locked on to their backstory and the threads of their current plot threads.
Second chance romances aren't a favorite theme of mine, but I was okay with this one between Lyle and Sadie. It was handled very well, maybe in part because I sort of understood Lyle's reasons for leaving Sadie all those years ago, even if I didn't care for the way he'd done so. Plus, he'd made some efforts in the interim that smoothed my ruffled feathers a bit.
I enjoyed them both as characters, and that too helped me appreciate their romance. Lyle is fairly typical for the genre. Protective, strong, intent. He didn't have much in the way of annoying peccadilloes but was also a little light on the sort of flaws that would make him more memorable and individual. Sadie was a spitfire with a big heart. She was at war with her father, the man who'd adopted her as a child, and stuck tight to her principles, regardless of the personal cost.
She wasn't too keen on letting Lyle worm his way back into her good graces, which I appreciated, and handled some major upheavals to her life with maturity and aplomb. I liked her quite a lot, and I loved her cadre of misfit animals. Their romance was fairly predictable, but they had a nice, solid chemistry.
Theirs is a romance that seemed sweet more than spicy. My preferences lean more towards sexiness and heat in the narrative. It wasn't bad, it's just tamer than where my tastes usually lay. Sex scenes were limited in description, and written with more euphemism than detail. I also prefer sex scenes to include either a mention of protection or an understanding of why protection isn't necessary. Neither was the case here.
I was surprised by the depth and layers of suspense that the read offered. I wasn't expecting it in a Harlequin line. Not only was the backstory of the Princess Killers horrifying and disturbing, but the threat posed against the characters in this book was violent and gritty. I enjoyed how the story evolved. The multiple threads were woven together into a comprehensive plot that provided several points of plot-driven conflict. In that regard, it was a very satisfying suspenseful read.
This is a solid romantic suspense. I don't know how it compares to the forty-seven previous books in the series (that still boggles my mind), but it worked quite well for me as the opening installment of the trilogy surrounding the children of the Princess Killers. The romantic elements may not have been a complete win for me, but the characters were likable and the read was entertaining. Enough so that I've added the second and third (forty-nineth and fiftieth) books in the trilogy (series) to my Terrifyingly Tilted Tower of TBRs.
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Harlequin via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own. ~*~*~*~ Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
Before you start this book you need to know it is part of a trilogy and the main plot continues through the three books, each of the books is about a different 'sister/daughter' but the crime is not solved until the end of the third book...so only read this one if you are prepared to buy the other two too - they are more than worth it as this is an excellent trilogy. Sadie's past comes back to haunt her when Lyle drops on her doorstep, for him she was the one who got away, for her he is the one who decimated her heart. But can she trust him when more of her past is uncovered destroying the foundation of who she believes she is and her life is threatened time and again. Will he stand by her side this time or will he once again run? Debra Webb weaves a spine-chilling tale of deception, the horrors that are uncovered and the lengths the perp will go to are haunting but gripping, I read this book in one sitting promptly followed by the other two. The maze you are cleverly led into is full of dead ends, hurdles, explosions and ever changing targets - in short it is fantastic! This trilogy is a spin-off of the Colby Agency, labelled Colby Texas 1, 2 and 3 but are technically books 48, 49 and 50 in the larger series, having not read any of the previous Colby Agency books I was a little worried that I would not be able to pick these up and there would be parts of characters 'missing' that were in previous books. But that was not the case, this spin off appears to be stand-alone enough that all characters and relationships within the Agency characters make sense...although I enjoyed them that much I am going to have to go back and read the rest of the Colby Agency books - well done Debra I am truly tangled in the web of crime, intrigue and drama you create in each of your books.
4 STARS Another Colby detective agency novel. It has intrique,romance a fun read. Rafe and Clare Barker where known as the Princess Killers. Clare was just released from appeal that she won. Rafe finally will be put to death in a month. Rafe has not spoken to anyone much since arrested but now he wrote a letter that got Victoria to visit him in prison. He wants her to find his three daughters that everyone asumed he killed the day they were arrested. but their bodies were never found just the eight of the little girls that they believe killed on their property. He says he was inocent but did not expect her to help him he was ready to die and His wife will find his girls and kill them for revenge. Victoria does not know what to think but in case he is telling the truth the girls need to be found and protected. Lyle McCabe found that the person who hid the girls was killed the night before he found her but the proof of the where abouts was handed to him. He found out that one of the girls he knew and loved seven years ago. He was going to protect her with his life if needed. Sadie Gilmore loved Lyle seven years ago when she was only 16 and never got over him leaving her. She demands he leave. Someone broke into her house and they let all the horses out and one that she was fighting with her father over was missing. A lot of bad things are happening around Sadie is it her father or her real father pulling strings from jail. Or her real mother who was released and disappeared. Sadie had no idea she was adopted till Lyle let her know. I enjoyed reading Colby Law but now can't wait to see what happens next to her sisters and have the answers I want to know. I was given this ebook to read in exchange of honest review from Netgalley. 05/01/2012 PUB Harlequin Introgue
4.25 out of 5. I had not read the myriad novels in the Colby Agency series--I think the previous books number in the 40's -- but I sure am glad not to have missed this one. I love romance, erotica, and such, but when mixed in with mystery and the dark side of the ways of human beings, there is something so edgy that I just can't resist. Now you have the Colby investigator rediscovering the woman who he left almost overnight seven years earlier and she is in danger--her dad is facing execution and her mom is free and whereabouts unknown. She also has sisters about whom she knows nothing until her father reveals a curious plot to keep the girls safe. Add in the animosity between the heroine and her wealthy, overbearing, rancher father and her sneering and condescending brother, and you have a stew pot of intrigue, romance, sensuality, murder, and all that goes with all that. It is a wonderfully written book and had me hooked from about the first sentence, if I remember correctly. It's just about one of the best mystery/romance novels I have read in recent months and it is well-worth the time and effort to take in. Entertaining and exhilerating, it will keep you right on the edge of your chair. Just one fantastic read!!
Leaving Jim and Ian to run the Chicago office, Victoria and Lucas announce their retirement and move to Texas to help Simon start up the Texas office.
They are immediately imbroiled in plots against three sisters, each of which believing she is an only child. This of course evolves into three books, culminating in July with with book fifty of the series.
In Colby Law (release 8 May) and High noon (release 12 June) The youngest and middle daughter have no memory or knowledge of being adopted at the ages of two and four. The middle daughter does have nightmares that are rooted in that time.
As usual for Ms Webb, these young ladies end of "permanantly" protected by Colby agents as the protectees fall in lovd with their protectors. Colby loses/gains more investigators this way.
The third book, Colby Roundup (TBR 2 July) will bring th eldest daughter into the picture. I can hardly wait.
In Webb’s romantic suspense novel, Colby investigator Lyle McCaleb is assigned to find and protect Sadie Gilmore. Complications: 1) She’s at the heart of the Colby’s investigation into the worst murder in Texas history because she is the biological daughter of the killer. 2) She’s Lyle’s one true love. And to make things worse, the past she has no memory of is rising up to the surface to taunt her.
Lyle regrets walking away from her seven years ago. And as this case gets deeper and more dangerous, he struggles with his professionalism at every turn.
This new Colby series, Colby Agency TX, is fast-paced, intense, and hard to put down.
This is in the Harlequin Romance-Intrigue group of books. It was suspenseful in both the romance and the intrigue categories. The book was written as part one of a trilogy with the ending leaving off so that you had to go out and buy the next one in the series. The romance part of the book was settled in this book, but not the mystery. So on to Book 2.
A good romantic suspense with plenty of action but beyond the sex most of the romance took place in the characters minds as they reflected on their history together. I wish I would have known beforehand this series is so integrated. Lyle is assigned to protect old girlfriend Sadie when suspected murderer is after her.
So I finished this and disappointed. I wanted more of Lyle and Sadie.now I have to wait. All in all I like the storyline but have to read the others. Great book and kept my attention.
I have read all the Colby series. Debra has a way with a story, she entertains and pulls you right into any story she writes. I hope you enjoy any thing she writes