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Conard County: The Next Generation #3
The Unexpected Hero
Nurse practitioner Kristin Tate had hoped her new job would be a welcome change from her military tragedy--not a chance for Dr. David Marcus to set her vulnerable heart on fire. But there was more to the handsome doctor than his rough, war-hardened exterior suggested, and soon Krissie wondered if she had finally found the love she desperately craved....
Until patients started dying and she became a suspect for murder.
David knew the beautiful nurse wasn't a killer, and powerful feelings for her threatened his best-laid plans. With evidence mounting, could he help clear Krissie's name before she turned up on someone's fatal list?
Until patients started dying and she became a suspect for murder.
David knew the beautiful nurse wasn't a killer, and powerful feelings for her threatened his best-laid plans. With evidence mounting, could he help clear Krissie's name before she turned up on someone's fatal list?
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 27, 2009
30 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Lee
368 books140 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Rachel Lee is a New York Times best-selling author and the winner of Six Romantic Times magazine Reviewers' Choice Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a five-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America's RITA® Award. She has penned a wide variety of novels in several genres including fantasy, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy. She resides in Tampa, Florida.
Rachel Lee is a New York Times best-selling author and the winner of Six Romantic Times magazine Reviewers' Choice Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a five-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America's RITA® Award. She has penned a wide variety of novels in several genres including fantasy, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy. She resides in Tampa, Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 9, 2022
I don't have a good opening quote for this book.
ANYWAY. Rachel Lee takes the traditional way here in a lot of ways. Krissie is a nurse practitioner, she served in the Navy and was in the war. Her brand-new boss at the (civilian) hospital in Wyoming starts off on the wrong foot. He's also a veteran, having served as a medic in the Army in Iraq. They are both messed up from their time on the front and have moderate PTSD.
They get off to a bad start as he knows she is off the battlefield and assumes she's going to be making bad medical decisions based on her military history. He comes off as stern and controlling, and Krissie wants none of it - due to her bad experiences with an abusive ex.
Patients start dying at the hospital and a crudely-made doll is found in their beds. Who is killing the patients and why?
Lee's favorite trope - heroine-is-in-danger-and-hero-moves-in-with-her-to-protect-her - is used YET AGAIN. I swear she uses this tactic in every book. I hope in the future she can find other ways for the hero and heroine to connect.
David is a doctor - I'm not attracted to doctors, and doctor-heroes don't interest me. Lee sometimes has lame dialogue and I found the flirting between the leads to be pretty dweeby. The place where Lee does well - not only in this book - is talking about PTSD and showing how two wounded and scarred people can come together and support each other. She often uses combat veterans in her novels and I think she does a decent job of this.
HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN?
The sex was frankly shocking to me. I was shocked because Lee has Krissie be the aggressor in the bedroom and actually be the dominant one in bed. This is nigh unheard of in the more traditional Harlequin lines, heck, even the less traditional ones. I was gobsmacked when Krissie not only initiated sex but remained in a dominant position during the whole scene. (I'm not talking about BDSM here, don't get any ideas.) Lee even plays with the idea of face-sitting and even has DESCRIBED, ON-PAGE cunnilingus. This took me by surprise. It's hard for me to get an author in a traditional Harlequin line to describe sex at all even in the most basic of terms, much less get into a (mild) description of cunnilingus and even MENTIONING face-sitting is quite risqué in this kind of book.
Nothing in her previous books made me think she would write a sex scene like this. I AM HAPPILY SURPRISED. Extra points to Ms. Lee for this. I have to give her major props. Not because the sex scene excites me, but because she had the audacity to take some risks and shake things up. Good for her. I can only hope that she continues being descriptive in her sex scenes, it is such a boon. It is such a huge plus in what Harlequin presents as a mostly vague wasteland. More of this, please.
TL;DR
Not much of a 'mystery,' I knew who the murderer was right from the moment the person appeared on-page. Lee re-hashes her favorite trope of having a man move in with a woman 'to protect her,' resulting in love. As per usual, things move way too fast, people fall in love in six days and propose, etc. etc. etc.
The bright spots are Lee's treatment and discussion of PTSD and guilt, AND a very surprising sex scene that was quite unusual for a Harlequin Romantic Suspense. She shocked me with that one, I wasn't expecting it. Not to say that it's amazing or titillating or a must-read or anything, but you have to give Lee props for branching out of the Harlequin mold, especially for this line.
ROMANCE CATEGORIES:
Contemporary Romance
Military Romance
Romantic Suspense
STEM Heroine Romance - She is a nurse practitioner.
Non-Virgin Heroine
Doctor Romance
He's a Doctor, and veteran.
She's a Nurse Practitioner, and a veteran.
Takes Place in: Wyoming, U.S.A.
NAMES IN THIS BOOK
ANYWAY. Rachel Lee takes the traditional way here in a lot of ways. Krissie is a nurse practitioner, she served in the Navy and was in the war. Her brand-new boss at the (civilian) hospital in Wyoming starts off on the wrong foot. He's also a veteran, having served as a medic in the Army in Iraq. They are both messed up from their time on the front and have moderate PTSD.
They get off to a bad start as he knows she is off the battlefield and assumes she's going to be making bad medical decisions based on her military history. He comes off as stern and controlling, and Krissie wants none of it - due to her bad experiences with an abusive ex.
Patients start dying at the hospital and a crudely-made doll is found in their beds. Who is killing the patients and why?
Lee's favorite trope - heroine-is-in-danger-and-hero-moves-in-with-her-to-protect-her - is used YET AGAIN. I swear she uses this tactic in every book. I hope in the future she can find other ways for the hero and heroine to connect.
David is a doctor - I'm not attracted to doctors, and doctor-heroes don't interest me. Lee sometimes has lame dialogue and I found the flirting between the leads to be pretty dweeby. The place where Lee does well - not only in this book - is talking about PTSD and showing how two wounded and scarred people can come together and support each other. She often uses combat veterans in her novels and I think she does a decent job of this.
HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN?
The sex was frankly shocking to me. I was shocked because Lee has Krissie be the aggressor in the bedroom and actually be the dominant one in bed. This is nigh unheard of in the more traditional Harlequin lines, heck, even the less traditional ones. I was gobsmacked when Krissie not only initiated sex but remained in a dominant position during the whole scene. (I'm not talking about BDSM here, don't get any ideas.) Lee even plays with the idea of face-sitting and even has DESCRIBED, ON-PAGE cunnilingus. This took me by surprise. It's hard for me to get an author in a traditional Harlequin line to describe sex at all even in the most basic of terms, much less get into a (mild) description of cunnilingus and even MENTIONING face-sitting is quite risqué in this kind of book.
Nothing in her previous books made me think she would write a sex scene like this. I AM HAPPILY SURPRISED. Extra points to Ms. Lee for this. I have to give her major props. Not because the sex scene excites me, but because she had the audacity to take some risks and shake things up. Good for her. I can only hope that she continues being descriptive in her sex scenes, it is such a boon. It is such a huge plus in what Harlequin presents as a mostly vague wasteland. More of this, please.
TL;DR
Not much of a 'mystery,' I knew who the murderer was right from the moment the person appeared on-page. Lee re-hashes her favorite trope of having a man move in with a woman 'to protect her,' resulting in love. As per usual, things move way too fast, people fall in love in six days and propose, etc. etc. etc.
The bright spots are Lee's treatment and discussion of PTSD and guilt, AND a very surprising sex scene that was quite unusual for a Harlequin Romantic Suspense. She shocked me with that one, I wasn't expecting it. Not to say that it's amazing or titillating or a must-read or anything, but you have to give Lee props for branching out of the Harlequin mold, especially for this line.
ROMANCE CATEGORIES:
Contemporary Romance
Military Romance
Romantic Suspense
STEM Heroine Romance - She is a nurse practitioner.
Non-Virgin Heroine
Doctor Romance
He's a Doctor, and veteran.
She's a Nurse Practitioner, and a veteran.
Takes Place in: Wyoming, U.S.A.
NAMES IN THIS BOOK
September 9, 2016
4 Stars
It has been awhile since I enjoyed the exploits of a Harlequin Romance but they don’t seem to call to me as much as they used to. I am enthralled by the cozy mystery now.
Kristin Tate is a veteran and starting a new job fresh from a breakup of a dysfunctional relationship. She doesn’t make a good impression on the main doctor on the ER floor, Dr. David Marcus. Then someone on her first day dies under mysterious circumstances and the stigma that started her first day continues as they all think she had something to do with the strange death. Someone is out to prove that Kristin is a killer and they are doing a very good job at it.
This book kept my interest , which has been a challenge for me lately. The plot piqued my interest as I tried to discover whodunit. I enjoyed all the back and forth play between Kristin and David which was the best part of the whole book.
This is definitely a good choice if you love romantic suspense or intrigue. It will keep you guessing until the very end. Definitely an exciting read.
I paid for this book with my own money.
It has been awhile since I enjoyed the exploits of a Harlequin Romance but they don’t seem to call to me as much as they used to. I am enthralled by the cozy mystery now.
Kristin Tate is a veteran and starting a new job fresh from a breakup of a dysfunctional relationship. She doesn’t make a good impression on the main doctor on the ER floor, Dr. David Marcus. Then someone on her first day dies under mysterious circumstances and the stigma that started her first day continues as they all think she had something to do with the strange death. Someone is out to prove that Kristin is a killer and they are doing a very good job at it.
This book kept my interest , which has been a challenge for me lately. The plot piqued my interest as I tried to discover whodunit. I enjoyed all the back and forth play between Kristin and David which was the best part of the whole book.
This is definitely a good choice if you love romantic suspense or intrigue. It will keep you guessing until the very end. Definitely an exciting read.
I paid for this book with my own money.
March 2, 2018
No big whodunnit, figured out in first few pages. The best parts of the book were reuniting with some of the original series characters.
February 3, 2010
This romantic suspense story has both a very good romance plot and an excellent suspense plot.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews