Book Review: Up Against the Wall by Julie Miller

Up Against the Wall (Precinct: Vice Squad, Book 1) (Precinct, Book 5) by Julie Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’d hoped by the time Julie Miller’s new release from the Precinct series “Marine Next Door” came out on May 1^st that I’d have caught up on the entire series from the beginning of the Taylor Clan through all the different connected mini-series. Unfortunately, a thing called life got in the way and, even with the 4 I have to skip until my Kindle funds replenish, I’m still twelve books away. L

So yesterday I went to Wal-mart and picked up my copy of “Marine Next Door” to on my nightstand as incentive to finish the others. And here we go….

Back Cover: “STUCK BETWEEN ROCK HARD AND A HARD PLACE

He was built like a tank, and he was undercover in Kansas City's seediest district. Waist-deep in the trouble that came along with the Vice Squad, Seth Cartwright had unwanted company.

After several years, investigative reporter Rebecca Page was finally getting her chance to uncover the truth behind her father's death -- if she could swing Seth to her side.

There was no debating that Seth ignited her temper, along with something else at her core. He said he was no longer a cop, though Rebecca suspected there was more to Seth than met the eye. And awaiting them was a deadly secret that KC's most ruthless criminal minds will do anything to keep buried deep forever.”

Rebecca’s reporter father was murdered three years ago to cover up a story he’d been working on and no one did anything about. Now, she finally has the ability to continue his investigation and possibly bring his killer to justice. The only thing that stands in her way is an ex-cop turned head of security at the riverboat casino where clues from her father’s notebook led her.

The couple apparently had a few run-ins with each other in the previous story “Baby Jane Doe” featuring Seth’s mother Commissioner Shauna Cartwright and Eli Masterson, and their animosity spills over into this story. But if you’re like me and haven’t read “Baby Jane Doe”, don’t worry. Other than mentioning they’d met before, Ms. Miller does well in keeping this a story that you can read alone or with the others.

The sparks that fly between these two could set the state on fire. I really liked that Rebecca wasn’t the kind of person to just stand by and let Seth come to her rescue. She also didn’t expect someone else to take care of things that didn’t seem quite right, even when they didn’t have anything to do with her father’s murder.

Co-worker Melissa Teague, who gets her own story later in the series, is one of those situations. Even though it could cause problems with investigating the casino and what her father was after, Rebecca can’t look the other way when it appears that someone is physically abusing Melissa. At first, the situation ends up a win-win when it provides her with a way to infiltrate the behind the scenes activities of the casino. But in the end, it almost costs Rebecca her life when Melissa’s abuser attacks both women and Rebecca’s real identity as a reporter is exposed to the killer.

A cast of characters, including Seth’s gambler father, gives plenty of suspects for Melissa’s abuser and her father’s killer. Though with each clue that helped narrow down the list came another clue that would shoot that idea out of the water. In the end, it wasn’t until the true villain was actually named did it all come together.

If you want to get technical, there were some loose ends that remained unanswered at the conclusion of this story. The couples for the next two books of the series, “Nine-Month Protector” and “Protective Instincts”, were introduced in this story and provided some background. However, the ending provided satisfactory closure to Rebecca and Seth’s relationship without making you feel like you missed the second half of a two-parter.

I loved it!

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