Tami Hoag - Cry Wolf

All attorney Laurel Chandler wanted was a place to hide, to escape the painful memories of a case that had destroyed her career, her marriage, and nearly her life. But coming home to the peaceful treelined streets of her old hometown won't give Laurel the serenity she craves. For in the sultry heat of a Louisiana summer, she'll find herself pursued by a gorgeous stranger whose carefree smile hides a private torment...and by a murderer who enjoys the hunt as much as the kill.
With his sexy Southern drawl and brazen bedroom eyes, bestselling horror writer Jack Boudreaux has seduced half the women in Bayou Breaux without even trying. And now the notorious bad boy has turned his easy Cajun charm on Laurel. But even as she responds to Jack's reckless passion, a serial killer who's terrorizing this sultry Southern town commits a fourth brutal murder...and suddenly Laurel knows that in the face of temptation, she must keep her head to track down the ruthless killer who may have already won her heart.

Comment: This is the second I read by this author. After reading the first one I was curious over the fact there might be a sequel and I wondered if it was with a protagonist somehow related to one or both the main characters in Lucky's Lady.

Cry Wolf is the story of attorney Laurel, she's attempted to give justice to some children who were abused but she failed to gather the necessary evidence to conviction and her image and career have been crushed. She's returned home, to Louisiana and tries to keep the end of her reputation out of her mind, however she soon gets herself in a tangle and her career is her most wanted asset.

Jack Boudreaux is a horror writer and uses the swamp as his inspiration. He also has a past in law but got away from it after his wife died. When he meets Laurel, he thinks she's just a pretty girl who's after him because of the dog he claims not owning, but troubles begin and they don't seem to be able to stay away from each other.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I think it was a very good story and perfect to spend some time with. I pictured myself already sitting by a window (like the three brothers in the end of that Minority Report movie) reading this book without a care about the world outside. I think the author was quite successful with the way she build up the environment in the story, the descriptions of the swamps, the bayou, the people, the bar, the simplicity of some scenes was quite the catching tidbit.

The plot was interesting although I have to say at some point we can't help but be suspicious of the guilty one. It's not obvious but many clues start pointing at that character and foe me it wasn't a surprise its identity. I was more surprised over the reasons behind everything. They seemed too easy you know.

There's a romance in the story too. Both main characters had things to deal with from their pasts in order to admit their feelings. I think we were told enough about it for the getting over to be believable. There's plenty of sexual tension, which makes the romance more alive and real. It's such an effective way to make the couple more into each other, to make the relationship more credible, I don't know why more authors don't use it, I guess it's a matter of taste and talent in the end.

The story was great, I think. I wanted to know more things the more I read and I wanted to see the ones I cared about happy. Some things were a surprise not because they happened but the way it happened; in this the author was very intelligent.

The book ended up with a HEA, and I'm so glad to have seen it. It's said this book is related to Lucky's Lady, like I said before but the only connection it's a short mention of the previous couple and future in this book and I don't think it was such a link that needed to be said it's past of a series...I expected to know more or to see the previous couple making an appearance and that didn't happen.

In the end, this was a good book, one I loved reading and now I got more curious about the rest of the author's work. I'll do some research and one day I might read more.