Shelter for Hilde is the fourth book in Reina Torres’ San Antonio First Responders series. Ms. Torres focuses her romantic lens on Jake McGown, a Texas Ranger, and Hilde Farady, co-owner of Helping Hands, a woman’s support group aimed at helping abused and battered women start new lives. Their circles intersect when both are in the same court when an abusive husband and wanted criminal, Joe Merrel, seeks revenge on his spouse, Annie. Hilde fulfills her commitment to Annie and gets her to a hide-away home. Furious Joe gets his minions to terrorize Hilde, thereby, activating Joe’s protective streak. Joe and Hilde develop an attraction to each other catapulting them onto their romantic journey. Can Jake keep her safe? What happens to Annie? Will Joe end up in prison? What will happen between Hilde and Jake? To discover their path, you must read this book.
Once again, Ms. Torres does a remarkable job in creating multi-dimensional and likeable lead characters. Her secondary characters are equally likeable. I enjoyed how she interjects suspense and intrigue through her antagonists, Joe Merrel and his minions. Through her use of descriptive language, Ms. Torres paints vibrant scenes as she captures the interactions between and among her characters. Ms. Torres manages to successfully incorporate several features of a classic romantic suspense: a dual-prong plot line, plot tension, descriptive language painting vivid scenes, intrigue behind the revenge actions of an estranged and abusive spouse and his minions, and strong dialog.