Unspeakable (Deadly Secrets #4)
by Elisabeth Naughton
Blurb:
Legal
investigator Harper Blake can sense a bad boy. She’s drawn to them—like she is
to her mysterious and brooding new client. The police believe that Rusty is
involved with the case of a missing underage girl. Harper’s job is to find
evidence to defend him. But is her sexy suspect a predator…or something else?
If
Rusty is guilty of anything, it’s of stirring something primitive in Harper.
The closer they get, the harder it is to believe the worst of him.
But
in an underworld filled with sex trafficking, kidnapping, and murder, Harper
will need to be cautious about whom she trusts. Because Rusty isn’t the only
one with secrets.
Themes: Contemporary
Rating: 4.25 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
Finally
we learn all the secrets of Rusty that have been hinted at in the previous
novels of this series and boy, oh, boy did I not see this one coming. Rusty is the final sibling in the family of
kids that were rescued in one way or another by the McClane’s in their times of
needs as children and adopted into a family that truly taught them about
love. But unlike his siblings, Rusty
never really gave up on his belief that he was responsible for a lot of the
trauma in his past and he will risk his own life to protect those that are in a
situation they just can’t handle. While I
imagine we might see a story down the line about the newest and now youngest
sibling, recently adopted into the family, I suspect this will be the finale
for the next little while at least and it certainly goes out with a bang. Rusty and Harper’s relationship is fraught
with danger, drama, misconceptions, and the intermingling of decades of secrets
that neither of them even knew to look for.
I LOVED every second of this story even if I wondered just where this
one was going to take us. Rusty has
landed himself in some trouble with the police and now he finds himself the
lead person of interest in missing person’s case, and fearing him being
steamrolled his parents have enlisted the help of his old lawyer. Harper, still smarting from her own scandal
and reeling from the loss of her career, finds herself part of Rusty’s defense
team, but her detective instincts won’t let go of her as she looks into his
story. Soon they are both caught up in
the danger and intrigue of Rusty’s extracurricular actives and the deadly
killers stalking them both are determined that they both go down—hard. When the
truth begins to unravel around them, only the trust in their new fragile
friendship and the passion between them can keep them from unraveling as well,
otherwise neither of them might survive the men after them. Rusty is not the
man we all think he is, but the more we get to know him the more I came to love
him. He is strong, caring, sweet, and
passionate, even if he takes on more responsibility for the actions of others
than he should, but that very trait of chivalry is what made him such a great
character. While he is definitely closed
off and unwilling to open his heart in the beginning, it soon becomes obvious
that the pain of his past is what drives him and that Harper is just the woman
to open him up. Harper is obviously cynical after the way her life has shaped
up recently, but as she begins to see the goodness in Rusty and understand that
their truly are good people in the world still, she slowly becomes a more
likeable character. Luckily she doesn’t lose
any of her edge or intensity because that is what makes her sass and sweetness
the perfect foil for the darkness in Rusty.
I enjoyed seeing these two coming together and learning how to handle
one another, work together, and find a way to accept one another’s flaws and
differences. The passion between them is
undeniable, but it is the sweetness and their ability to find the goodness in
each other despite the evidence to the contrary that makes it so enjoyable to
watch them find their love. I am looking
forward to seeing if and when Thomas does get his own book someday, but for
now, Rusty and Harper finding their HEA is more than enough closure for me on
this amazing series and I look forward to whatever Elisabeth brings to us next.
*ebook provided by publisher (via
netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.
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