WATCHING OVER YOU (McKenzies of Ridge Trail 3) by Lori Foster-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 28, 2021.

Mysterious, unpredictable and most definitely scorching hot.

While investigating a criminal network, Detective Crosby Albertson keeps crossing paths with members of the highly trained, suspiciously well-informed McKenzie family. They’re always one step ahead of him—especially their alarmingly attractive intel specialist, Madison. And he needs to find out why.

Madison McKenzie is the tech and surveillance whiz of her family’s operation. A recent case introduced her to Detective Albertson. She finds herself irresistibly drawn to the sexy and mysterious cop. There’s just one problem. He’s a detective and her family’s work is secret. When Crosby starts digging for information about the McKenzies, Madison’s got to get him off the scent…while keeping him at a safe distance.

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REVIEW: WATCHING OVER YOU is the third instalment in Lori Foster’s contemporary adult MCKENZIES OF RIDGE TRAIL romantic, suspense series focusing on the McKenzie family of Ridge Trail, Colorado. This is thirty-five year old, former police detective Crosby Albertson, and twenty-six year old, tech and surveillance specialist Madison McKenzie’s story line. WATCHING OVER YOU can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the storyline premise there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

SOME BACKGROUND: The McKenzie family is a force unto themselves working behind the scenes, often skirting the edge of the law, in an effort to save the young and vulnerable. Having experienced, first hand, the evil that permeates the world of human trafficking and sexual slavery, patriarch Dr. Parrish McKenzie, and his adult children, take no prisoners in their fight to take down the people responsible for some of the worst atrocities against mankind.

Told from several third person perspectives including Madison and Crosby WATCHING OVER YOU follows the building romance and relationship between former police detective Crosby Albertson, and tech specialist Madison McKenzie. Madison McKenzie has been trying to figure out our story line hero, having stalked Crosby Albertson the only way she can but the shake down of a local businessman brings Madison up close and personal with our story line hero, and she will quickly discover that Crosby is her father’s new hire, another member of the close-knit McKenzie deep-ops team. When Crosby discovers that the McKenzie family has been targeted, including the woman with whom he is falling in love, our hero begins to connect the dots, dots that lead back to the man himself. What ensues is the slow building romance and relationship between Madison and Crosby, and the potential fall-out as secrets and a lack of communication between our couple create an aura of mistrust for our story line couple.

Evil has claimed ownership of Ridge Trail, Colorado, and the McKenzies have been caught in the net.Having shut down several human trafficking rings, the McKenzie family find themselves the target of revenge in the face of desperation and obsession but Crosby Albertson recognizes a name, a name that stirs up too many memories of what happened and why.

The slow building relationship between Madison and Crosby begins acrimoniously but the palpable sexual attraction between our couple does not go unnoticed by Madison’s family including her father.Parrish McKenzie is considering his own future with a woman he met on their latest assignment, a woman closely connected to our story line hero. As Madison and Crosby work together to uncover the identity of the person (s) targeting the McKenzie family, the relationship becomes more personal as our couple reveal a mutual attraction and desire for one another. The limited sex $cenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top sexually graphic language and text.

The colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters include Madison’s brothers Cade and Reyes McKenzie, their father Parrish, and his best friend/assistant/butler Bernard. We are introduced to Crosby’s father figure Winston McLean, and his son Owen, as well as Crosby’s housekeeper/friend Silver, the woman who has grabbed Parrish’s heart. The requisite evil is familiar to Crosby, and the McKenzie family.

WATCHING OVER YOU is a story of family, friendships, relationships and love; of revenge and obsession, secrets and misunderstanding, trust and acceptance. The premise is intriguing and captivating; the romance is seductive; the characters are powerful, dynamic and charismatic.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
No Holding Back
Stronger Than You Know

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy