The Homecoming

March 1, 1999
While Ross's newest modern love story is nicely put together, it's very similar to a cluster of recent romances that have just hit the market. The novel stars a high-powered corporate lawyer, Ms. Raine Cantrell, who's making a splash in New York City but has no lover, no friends and no home-cooked meals. She's called back to her grandmother's home on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, where three delinquent teenage girls have barricaded themselves and are holding off Sheriff Jack O'Halloran and a squad of law-enforcement officers. It seems that Raine's grandmother Ida has been hospitalized for a day, and no one is around to take care of her foster girls. As Raine neglects her New York practice to make sure the trio is not returned to the system, she falls in love with Jack, a gentle though macho widower whose wife has died of cancer. Beyond the entertaining quirky Pacific Northwest types (similar to those invented by Jayne Ann Krentz), there are few surprises here.

June 15, 2010

Returning home to Shelter Bay, OR, after a stint in the Middle East as a Navy SEAL, former bad boy Sax Douchett wants only to move on with his life. But when his dog drops an old human bone at his feet and a skull turns up, his dreams of peace and quiet quickly vanish. Things heat up romantically when he reconnects with Sheriff Kara Conway, a widow and single mom. As the skeleton investigation expands to include Kara's father's recent death, someone goes on the attack. VERDICT An abundance of engaging characters (including some ghosts from the war), a charming and well-depicted setting, and an intriguing mystery result in an upbeat, heartwarming romance that gently addresses grief and loss and beautifully lays the groundwork for the rest of the series. Ross (Breakpoint) lives in the hills of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2010
Sax Douchett does not feel like a hero. The former SEAL served his country and survived when many did not. Now doing his duty seems easier than participating in a parade in his honor in Shelter Bay, Oregon. The former bad boy is home to stay, intent on rebuilding his parents Cajun restaurant, even though his homecoming is bittersweet as he is haunted by the ghosts of his former patrol. Sax is not the only one who has returned. Kara Conway is also back, taking over her fathers job as sheriff after he was killed. Kara hopes to provide a safe haven for her son, Trey, after losing his courageous father, and leaving behind her dangerous police work in California. As feelings between Kara and Sax heat up, so does the crime rate, unveiling long-ago secrets. Ross continues her homage to the brave men and women in the armed services in a romantic and sexy thriller spotlighting the difficulties that members of the military face when they return to civilian life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)