Ranger Defender

Whether you’re a fan of romantic suspense, standard thrillers, or simply gripping and intelligent storytelling, RANGER DEFENDER is the book to read this year. Texas Ranger Wade Hamilton has been reduced to desk work, and when one case comes up, he asks his partner Slate Thompson at Company B to do the leg work for him, so Wade doesn’t land himself in hot water. Vivian Watt’s brother is due to stand trial in a week for a murder Vivian is sure he didn’t commit, and Wade’s intuition tells him that something doesn’t compute in the case; he sent Slate to ask Vivian literally one question. Vivian has done everything for her brother Victor in the past eleven months, she has nothing left, but one last chance at getting her brother acquitted. Vivian’s answer to the question is precisely what Wade needed, so Slate needs to do what it takes to prove Victor’s innocence, and he will. As for the rest, read the blurb, read my review, but most of all read RANGER DEFENDER because it is one of the most outstanding suspense novels I have read in a long time, and I read a lot of them. I have been a fan of Angi Morgan’s for a long time, and RANGER DEFENDER is the best book she has ever written. Stylistically, my review will leave much to be desired because there is one word and all its variations that will come up way too often: perfect. Because RANGER DEFENDER is just that: perfect from the first page to the last; for the extremely tightly written plot; and for a romance that is flawlessly woven into one of the most exciting suspense stories I have read since The Bourne Identity or Silence of the Lambs. Told in the third person, we also get to experience the point of view of the killer, a psychopath with debilitating OCD, which the author has obviously extensively researched, because it is impeccable. The pace is lightning-quick and never lets off for one minute, and I wish I could have “absorbed” RANGER DEFENDER, because reading as quickly as I could wasn’t nearly fast enough. Slate is so cool! He is friendly, open, level-headed, and irresistibly naturally charming; he is also dedicated to justice. Vivian is a fabulous heroine; an army veteran – who doesn’t suffer from PTSD for once; she is rational, and even though she can take care of herself, she does what is best for her brother, even if doesn’t always please her. They make a fantastic team and an even better couple; and yes, the romance is entirely believable because nothing goes either too quickly or too slowly. The dialogue is amazing, and the banter between Wade and Slate – and also with Heath, another Ranger, a secondary character– is fabulous. RANGER DEFENDER is the perfect length, there is not one word of filler, the story is as good as it gets, the action scenes are superb, and every moment of the romance is perfectly timed. The psychopath is chillingly realistic, nothing is over the top; the year is young, but I know that I will not have forgotten the outstanding RANGER DEFENDER at this time, next year. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.