Friday, August 25, 2017

Arizona Heat – Linda Lael Miller (HQN – Jan 2017)

Series: Mojo Sheepshanks (Book 2)

After years spent trying to remember her past, Mojo Sheepshanks just wants to put it behind her. She's finally got the life she always wanted -- sisters she loves, a career that keeps her on her toes and Tucker Darroch, the handsome cop who's stuck by her against all odds. But for the people around her, moving on is hard to do. Tucker can't seem to let go of his past, while Mojo's sister Greer is being blackmailed for secrets in hers. And Mojo's stuck in the middle again.

Meanwhile, danger is stalking the citizens of Cave Creek, Arizona, Mojo's adopted home. And even as she and Tucker work to keep everyone safe, Mojo will discover that there are mysteries in Cave Creek that someone is willing to protect at any cost.

Good sequel to Arizona Wild.  This one picks up where the previous book left off, just after the murder of seven-year-old Gillian. Mojo is attending the funeral for the little girl, which feels especially odd to her, as the child's ghost is sitting next to her. Mojo is determined to do her best to find out who murdered the child, with or without the help of her cop boyfriend, Tucker.

This investigation isn't the only thing Mojo has going on in her life. She is also worried about her sister, Greer, who is being blackmailed over something in her past. Greer also has a philandering husband who is missing. Mojo's other sister, Jolie, is in the midst of a career change that doesn't make much sense, so she worries about that, too. Add in random other dead people that pop in and out of her life, and it's no wonder that she frequently doesn't know which way is up.

Mojo also has a stressful relationship with Tucker. The chemistry between them is smoking hot, which means they have a hard time keeping their hands off each other when they are together. But Tucker's divorce wasn't that long ago, and Mojo isn't all that certain that Tucker is completely over his wife. When his two children freak out over the death of their friend Gillian, Tucker moves back into the family home to reassure them. Unfortunately, that just adds to Mojo's fears.

I liked the relationship between Mojo and Tucker much more in this book. Mojo is able to express her fears to him, rather than just push him away. I thought that Tucker was pretty darn patient with her fears, and that he did everything he could to show her where his heart belonged. I liked the teasing that went on between them, especially over her addiction to the "Damn Fool's Guide" books that she constantly refers to. I loved the fact that he believed her about seeing dead people, and that he would listen when she would tell him what they said. His protectiveness was great, and he had an excellent track record of showing up just when he was needed. I hurt for him at the end, when his son ended up in the hospital, and he needed Mojo so badly. I loved how it worked out, and the end was pretty sweet.

The suspense of the story was really good. A fair amount was going on. There was Gillian's murder, and the search for who did it. When Danny was also hurt, the question became one of whether the two were connected. I had my suspicions about the culprit, and the final confrontation was intense and very scary. If it hadn't been for one of Mojo's other ghosts, it would probably not have ended well. Then there was Greer's story. She was being blackmailed over something from her past before she joined Mojo's family. She didn't know who was behind it. To meet the blackmailer's demands, she was sucking her husband's accounts dry. He had also spent money himself, trying to buy off the blackmailer. Then he turned up dead, shot multiple times and left in the desert, and Greer was a suspect. At least, until his ghost showed up in Mojo's house, wanting to clear her name. Though he didn't know who did it, he had some ideas. There was also some surprise information provided by his first wife, which sent Mojo off to Greer's hometown, just in time to save Greer's life. That confrontation had a couple of interesting twists to it that I didn't see coming.

I loved the various ghostly characters (okay, MOST of them). The teenager, Justin, just about broke my heart with the way that he was so worried about his mom and his dog. I loved that he took little Gillian under his wing and was able to interpret her signs for Mojo. I laughed a bit at the way he teased Mojo about her relationship with Tucker. The security guard who took care of Mojo's dog was cute with the way he enjoyed sitting in her car and pretending to drive. But the one who surprised me the most was the one who showed up at the end and offered to be her partner at the bar. I didn't realize he was a ghost the first time he appeared - and neither did she!

I'd really love to see another Mojo book!

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