Judith’s review of Bare It All (Love Undercover #2) by Lori Foster
“A cop’s craving to know more about the woman next door could prove fatal in the steamy new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster”
As the person responsible for taking down a brutal human trafficker, Alice Appleton fears retaliation at every turn. No one knows about her past, which is exactly how she prefers it…until the sexy cop next door comes knocking.
Detective Reese Bareden thinks he knows what makes women tick, but his ever-elusive neighbor keeps him guessing like no other. Is his goal to unmask Alice’s secrets? Or protect her from a dangerous new threat? One thing is certain: their chemistry is a time bomb waiting to explode. And with no one to trust but each other, Reese and Alice are soon drawn into a deadly maze of corruption, intrigue and desire-and into the line of fire.
IMHO, Lori Foster has hit another one “out of the park” with this new series about undercover cops and the people whose lives intersect with theirs. Some of the characters first appeared in a previous novel and are now again involved with each other as well as a new undercover cop, Reese Bareden, a man who is fascinated with his reclusive and so very quiet neighbor who displayed an extraordinary level of courage at the end of Book One of this series. The challenge of good against evil never seems to end and Alice is one who wants life to just ignore her and leave her to remain in the background. But Reese is not a man to walk away from someone who has caught his interest and Alice is definitely in his sights.
This is another wonderful story about people who live in fear and who must somehow make a way of life in spite of the long term effects of the evil people perpetrate against one another. The brother and sister who were main characters in Book One again make their appearance but in supporting roles, although Rory’s life is changing and his “take” on life is slowly morphing into something he never expected. Yet he still brings the skills to bear that he learned while living on the street and one the run and protecting his sister for so long.
This story is full of tension–the tension that surrounds undercover law enforcement, the tension that is the constant in Alice’s life, the tension that comes into Alice’s life unexpectedly and the tension between her and her persistent detective lover/protector. It’s not a fluffy novel by any means and certainly challenges the mind and imagination of the reader. That’s why I like suspense novels so much. But this one is also skillfully spiced up by the love that is developing between Alice and Reese, the sexual tension between two people who really need the deep caring and sense of security that an authentic love can engender. It becomes apparent that Reese needs that sense of security as much as Alice. Go figure.
Don’t miss this one. It’s a great read and I know it ended up being one of those books that I know I’ll go back and read again.
I give it a rating of 4.25 out of 5.
The Series:
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.
This book is available from Harlequin HQN. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.
Great review! Can’t wait to read this!