Jacob's War by C.P Rowlands

RTF Special Agent Allison Jacob, (AJ) is on a special assignment. She’s heading up a task force to bring the leaders down of a drug running racket in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her team is working side by side with the Milwaukee Special Crimes Unit. Unfortunately, the investigation has ground to a halt.

Attractive small business owner, Katie Blackburn, gets a terrible shock when she finds a woman covered in blood and unconscious in her car. When Katie goes to the police station to be interviewed, she meets AJ for the first time. AJ has no way of knowing that Katie unknowingly will give her the key to solving her case.

AJ is quite smitten with Katie. But she’s been badly hurt before. Even if AJ is willing to risk a broken heart, she knows she can’t risk Katie getting hurt. Her job is too risky, drugs, murder and mayhem are not exactly conducive to the well being of any relationship. Katie herself has issues from a previous relationship that had gone beyond sour. Will either women consider taking a chance on love again?

Jacob’s War is the long awaited third book from C.P Rowlands. Each book is entirely different in content. Here we have a well written, exciting adventure with a nice tender romance simmering away just for good measure.

Both main characters, AJ and Katie, are well formed and multidimensional. They have a lot in common, which could give them a solid foundation for taking a chance with one another. Katie’s father had been a policeman, which means that Katie knows the score where AJ’s job is concerned. But it could also be a reason she may not want to take a chance with AJ knowing the toll her father’s job took on her parent’s relationship. They have a strong circle of friends and colleagues that play an equally important part in progressing the story forward at a brisk, but not too fast, pace. The story twists and turns and veers off in different directions throughout making it the page turner it is.

The plot is intricately woven with the romance blossoming through with just the right balance, with a touch of humor added in, bringing a bit of light heartedness to a compelling story. In fact, when I was sitting thinking of how to describe this book, the thought flashed through my mind that it was like having a jigsaw puzzle, all the pieces were there to be found. It was certainly intriguing following the team as they came across the pieces and slotted them together.

C.P Rowlands has done a tremendous amount of research and it shows. I’m no authority on police procedural matters or drugs. But the story reads as both logical and authentic to me.

I started this book late at night. That was a big mistake. I was up half the night because I couldn’t put it down. I would advise starting this book early and allowing the time to savor it.

This is a definite re-read. I have heard of the possibility of a sequel. It can’t be published too soon.