Former helicopter pilot Maverick Delgardo’s injuries ended his Air Force career, leaving him bitter and one drink away from becoming an alcoholic. When his sister asks for his help on a private protection case to babysit a disgraced pop star, Mav reluctantly agrees.
Deacon Daniels, onetime lead singer and idol to his teenage fans, saw his career and reputation ruined when a reporter’s exposé led to a devastating scandal. Without money or a job, a heartbroken Deacon has lost custody of his baby niece. And just when he thinks his life can’t get any worse, a stalker’s threatening messages escalate to murder.
Mav only agreed to one meeting, but his protective instincts kick in, along with an attraction to Deacon. When the body count increases, however, Mav is unsure he is up to the task of protecting Deacon from a killer. But it is too late for Mav to step away, now that he’s lost his heart, and he must find the strength to reassure Deacon and his niece that they are in safe hands no matter the cost.
In Safe Hands By Victoria Sue
Release Date Mar 19, 2019
Type Novels
Words 73,065
Pages 210
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Amazon
Dreamspinner Press
Wow, the suspense and angst in this one was enough to give me a few more gray hairs.
Maverick Delgardo is retired from the Air Force after an accident left him unfit for duty. An amputee and disfigured from the fire, when we meet him, he’s still not coping, sleeping on his sister’s couch and drinking til he forgets all he lost… which was more than just his leg.
Deacon Daniel’s used to be a heartthrob lead singer, but all that went to dirt when a bad manager, a scandal and his mother got involved. Let me tell you right now, his mother is the epitome of the worst person alive, and I’d have rather seen her die than spend an extra minute trying to find the real killer. Dramatic? Sure… but the woman was evil, through and through. She got off lucky as far as I’m concerned. I actually spent the whole book thinking she had something to do with everything that was happening, so I was kind of bummed she didn’t get the karmic smack she deserved.
ANYWAY… So, as Mav’s sister used to be a cop but was now running a process serving business that was supposed to be a security firm as well back before her husband ran off with a younger woman… she decided to take on a desperate client who at first just had a stalker…that stalker turned deadly though and everyone Deacon had any dealings with started dropping like flies…. Giving Maverick a reason to get up off the couch and stop wasting his life feeling sorry for himself…
He wanted to keep Deacon safe, of course, he did… especially when he knew that he came with a little girl, who I absolutely fell in love with, because I’m such a sucker for hot guys with kids, and she was so precious. I really felt for her, having lost both her parents and then the one person who cared about her because of her grandmother…. (don’t go on another tangent about the mother….) So, it was cute to see these two tiptoe around each other at first, but then, even as Deacon had nothing really to offer, he had no money, no life and virtually destitute at the moment, he came into his inner spitfire and didn’t let Mac push him away…. Loved that!
Now, the only problem I had with this story was all the coincidences Literally, everyone in this story was connected somehow. I was floored when I found out who the killer was, but then he knew literally everyone and it stemmed back years and years! How? It was random that Deacon got referred to Jamie (Mav’s sister), and who knew that Mav would even be there? But it had nothing to do with Mav, it was all about Deacon… I dunno, while the plotline itself was a good one and I gasped with a nooooo way…. The rest of it just seemed too far fetched. Like, it didn’t need all the added coincidences, you had enough with just that. I won’t give it away, obviously, who the killer is… but I hope you’re as surprised as I was! It’s most definitely worth the read. A bit pricey for me for a kindle book… but it’ll definitely get your blood pumping…
I also thought the clause at the end, when the killer threatens Mav to stay away from Deacon and his baby was ridiculous… like it was his one last effort to make Deacon unhappy, and Mav just complies with it? Uhm, no… the dude was going to prison and you have all these cop friends and contacts… you can’t make sure that the killer doesn’t cause any more trouble from prison?? That whole thing just seemed unnecessary, I’m glad it didn’t last long!
Other than that, it was a suspenseful and angsty read and I feel like I need a nap after reading it, just my heart can go back to beating in its normal rhythm for a while….
4 Pieces of Eye Candy
Victoria Sue fell in love with love stories as a child when she would hide away with her mom’s library books and dream of the dashing hero coming to rescue her from math homework. She never mastered math but never stopped loving her heroes and decided to give them the happy ever afters they fight so hard for.
She loves reading and writing about gorgeous boys loving each other the best—and creating a family for them to adore. Thrilled to hear from her readers, she can be found most days lurking on Facebook where she doesn’t need factor 1000 sun-cream to hide her freckles.
@vickysuewrites
https://www.facebook.com/victoriasueauthor
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1182647028418709/
Leave a comment for Victoria Sue and you could win a copy of any of her backlist books.
Debra Guyette says
I love your stories. Can’t wait to read this one.
Ginger Connatser says
Congrats on the new release! Love your stories. Can’t wait to read this one.
susana says
I loved this story! Congrats, Victoria Sue!
Jennifer S says
I’ve been looking forward to this one!
H.B. says
Thank you for the review! Looking forward to this.