ARC Review….Shades of Passion by Virna DePaul

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Synopsis:

Shades of the past

Detective Simon Granger has devoted his life to solving high-risk cases, and he’s vowed never again to get involved with a woman whose work is equally as dangerous. But when the Special Investigations Group teams him with a beautiful psychiatrist, his resolve is shattered by the tense and emotionally charged partnership….

Shades of intrigue

Determined to outrun the grief over her sister’s death, Dr. Nina Whitaker reluctantly agrees to use her training to help the police. Despite Detective Granger’s disdain for her profession, she believes she can change his mind. But then a grieving father begins a deadly game of revenge, threatening Nina’s life, challenging her beliefs, and drawing Nina and Simon together in an explosive endgame of intrigue…and unstoppable passion.

Shades of passion…

My Review:

This is the third book in Virna DePaul’s SIG (Special Investigations Group) series and the very first one I have read.  I am happy to say that not reading the first two in the series didn’t take away from my enjoyment in reading this third installment.

Dr. Nina Whitaker is a psychiatrist who relocated to San Francisco to rebuild her life after leaving her hometown, and tragedy, behind.  She had been responsible for implementing a successful program with law enforcement in South Carolina educating the police on better ways of handling situations when mental illness was involved.  Unfortunately, even that success couldn’t outweigh the grief she carries over her sister’s death.  The distance also won’t allow her to outrun the blame of the father of a former patient whose suicide he blames her for.  Now, her current supervisor wants her working her magic with the San Francisco P.D.  It’s the last job she wants to do but, when she starts to receive death threats from the dead patient’s father, it just may be the very job that saves her life.

Detective Simon Granger has been dealing with the grief over his ex-girlfriend’s murder for a little while now and is dealing just fine, if you ask him.  She was a psychiatrist who was murdered by a serial killer.  A serial killer he had warned her about….and she hadn’t listened.  He’s ready to put it all behind him and start over as a captain in SIG.  So, to say he was less than thrilled to hear he was being asked yet again to seek the help of a therapist before even being considered for a management position would be an understatement.  Fortunately, a beautiful doctor catches his eye on the way to his appointment.  Unfortunately, she will end up working alongside him while making a bid to the city to start a new program training the police on mental health issues…. something he has no interest in learning about.  Even the beautiful doctor couldn’t change his mind on his feelings about the mentally ill, not after the violent way his ex was murdered…or can she?

I really enjoyed this story.  I found the mystery surrounding Nina and her past intriguing and thought it was developed well throughout the story.  I also thought questions were answered at the perfect points through the book.  The buildup of the facts lead you in one direction, but you knew there had to be a twist, and there was a terrific one! (my lips are sealed!) The chemistry between Nina and Simon was really well-developed as well.  They went into things knowing they didn’t see eye to eye on the whole mental health issue.  However, they both were willing to see things through the other person’s eyes and were ready, even if reluctantly, to learn.  Ultimately, they were willing to give other ideas a chance, and it made both of them better people in the end.

I will definitely be looking in to the first two books in the SIG series and will be keeping up with it in the future.  Thank you, Ms. DePaul, for a fast paced and captivating read!

Four Loves

*Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy for an honest review.