Latest in the Sugarland Blue series about police officers in Tennessee, this story starts with detective Taylor Kayne almost getting run over by a large black car. Taylor works homicide, and any number of criminals over the years has had reason to hate him. When he gets to work, a little bit battered, he's sent with his partner Shane Ford to a body just discovered in a motel. He's not expecting a connection to emerge.

HOT PURSUIT follows the excellent Sworn To Protect about Shane, a steady detective who now supports his partner while enjoying his new marriage to another officer. Cara Evans is watching the activity at the Sugarland Motel. She doesn't want to be the focus of an investigation but she knew the dead man. She has a host of skeletons in her closet, for someone so young, and one of them is that she believes Taylor Kayne murdered her sister.

Taylor doesn't know Cara when they meet at the bar where she's the lead singer attraction. Taylor decides pretty fast that he'd like to get to know her. He thinks she's ultra-sexy. But Cara has her own plans, and leading on the detective might be part of them. Taylor however looks after a gay young man who works at the bar and slips him information. Cara's nonplussed... Taylor's not supposed to be nice. Or good-looking... and then he notices the dent in her car bumper.

This is an adult romance tale which piles on the tension from the start and doesn't let up. When Taylor finds the dead man's missing smartphone in Cara's closet, the obvious conclusion is that she was the murderer. By then he's heavily involved with her and his feelings of betrayal are well conveyed. Even if she's not a killer, can there be any future for them if she's lying and covering up from a detective?

Jo Davis previously wrote a series about firefighters of Sugarland County and she has grasped the police theme equally well, providing a detective tale for crime fans with a credible, gritty romance for lovers of romantic suspense. HOT PURSUIT comes with violence and strong language as well as scenes of passion, and can be read as a standalone by newcomers to this author.

Book Summary

In Sugarland, Detective Taylor Kayne is always ready with quick wit and a quicker smile. But he’s about to meet a woman who will make him want to take his sweet time....

Taylor is a laid-back, smart-aleck kind of lawman. He’s also a man’s man, as well as every woman’s private fantasy. But years ago, he was part of a botched hostage situation that ended with him being hailed as a tough-as-nails hero—even though the pain, fear, and shame from that terrible day still haunt his every moment.

Cara Evans couldn’t care less about Taylor’s pain. In the moment he became a so-called hero, she lost someone she dearly loved. Yet neither of them is prepared for the instant, undeniable attraction that flares between them—or the danger that’s soon hot on their heels.