His sister Melissa’s text said to meet her at Elk Valley Park. Cade was there. Holding his nephew, baby Danny. And then things get ugly.
One of the kidnappers headed for him and the baby. They ended up grabbing Danny’s mother, Melissa. Did the kidnappers really want Danny? Who were they? Why? Danny’s only one month old. And why Melissa? All Cade knows is he will protect Danny with his life. And he will do everything he can to get his sister back, unharmed.
A black lab wearing a K-9 vest along with a female officer runs by him. Her name is Ashley Hanson and she is on a multiagency K-9 task force team to find and capture a serial killer. The team leader acts as if her father (FBI) made a call to add her to the team and if that’s the case, she can’t blame the team lead. It makes her angry as well. Shortly, she finds she can attend the task force meetings but she is assigned to protect Cade and little Danny.
You will grow to love K-9 Officer Ozzy. He’s search-trained and excellent at his job. I have a friend who participates in meets for agility AND for search. Her Charlie keeps getting better and better at both, often winning the top awards. And guess what breed her dog is? So I was intrigued to see how the author utilized Ozzy in the story. I was not disappointed; the bond between Ashley & Ozzy is close. Did you know that a search dog such as Ozzy can hold one hundred million UNIQUE scents in their brain? I didn’t either. Ashley uses a different word for each “seek”, for example, “Seek Glove” or “Seek Melissa”.
There are reasons Ashley hadn’t said a prayer — well, in a long time. But Cade is a praying man. It is something that I don’t think the character thinks about — like, I ought to pray about this. Instead, he just prays. He wears his faith like a favorite old sweatshirt. His faith is part of him and Ashley finds comfort when he prays.
The attack in the park is not the last time the kidnappers try to get Danny. And they are dangerous. They will kill anyone who gets in their way as long as they get the “kid”. Ashley may be a rookie but she’s a good cop and Cade finds that she is willing to watch Danny while reviewing reports, etc. while Cade does ranch chores. The more they are together, the more each appreciates and likes the other. Then it becomes important that nothing happens to that person … … …
Turns out there are several people who might want to grab Danny — all for different reasons.
I’ve read and reviewed several Laura Scott suspense books and truly enjoyed reading this one. It has a dog; I have a dog. Okay, he’s not a searcher like Ozzy but he a treasure to me. The story has intrigue. The continued attacks keep the story suspenseful. And I genuinely appreciated how the author handled Cade’s faith so it was just part of him.
I received a complimentary DRC (digital review copy) of “Baby Protection Mission” via NetGalley from the publisher, HARLEQUIN – Romance (U.S. & Canada), Love Inspired Suspense. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Rating: 5 stars
Series: Mountain Country K-9 Unit #1 (each book in the series by a different author)
Cover: So glad to see “Ozzy” on the cover.
Pages: 211.
Publish Date: 26 Mar 2024
#BabyProtectionMission #NetGalley #LauraScott
