Title: Watching Trin, (On Call, #7)
Author: Freya Barker
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: September 14, 2021
Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC.

 

Freelance journalist and single mom, Katrina (Trin) Paige, has recently returned to her hometown to help her sister care for their elderly father. They’ve barely settled back into Durango’s daily life when her rebellious teenage son gets himself in tumultuous waters. While being rescued by the local fire department, he unwittingly uncovers a decades-old crime hidden underneath the churning rapids of the Animas River.

Once Trin’s life is back on an even keel, her sharp nose for a compelling story starts twitching and she dives headfirst into an investigation of her own. The more she uncovers, the closer she gets to the firefighter who not only pulled her son from the river, but who also seems present everywhere she turns.

Bodhi (Roadkill) Jones doesn’t believe in things like fate, although, he can’t deny the way his life seems to be entwined with the spunky redhead is more than mere coincidence. In fact, he’s been wondering how it is possible she escaped his attention growing up in the same town, even though she is a few years older. Swept up in an unfamiliar current, he finds himself looking for ways to spend time with her and her family.

However, when a murder investigation touches his personal life, it invades Trin’s as well, leaving him scrambling to make sure the woman he’s fast falling for is protected.

NICUnurse’s Review of Watching Trin by Freya Barker

Watching Trin is book seven in Freya Barker’s​​ On Call Police and Fire: Operation Alpha series. It can absolutely be read as a stand-alone title as I’ve only read this one and had no issues keeping up with characters or the plot. Freya Barker has now cemented herself a spot on my must-read list for romantic suspense authors. As a total romantic suspense junkie, her last book fed my addiction so well, really I looked forward to reading this one.

 

Let’s talk characters for a moment. Trin is a little older than Bodhi, but it’s not a huge age gap romance which I’m pretty ambivalent about. It has to be done well, or it’s a total turn-off for me. While this series title has “alpha” in it, I didn’t feel as if Bodhi took alpha to the extreme. Rather, he’s simply a strong man who is secure in himself enough to be there for Trin without being overbearing. He’s truly one of the good ones, especially with Trin’s son. Trin is a badass in her career, but at this point, she’s struggling in her personal life. In this, Bodhi acts less like a savior and more like a trusted friend and confidant, which I loved. Again, he’s secure enough to be supportive and protective while giving Trin room to work through it without taking over and trying to fix everything for her. All in all, I loved them together. 

 

The action in this story wasn’t all fast-paced, but I didn’t feel like the pace drug either. It ebbed and flowed as you’d expect from good suspense. I had a good idea of who the ultimate villain was early on, but the mystery was complex enough that I didn’t quite figure all of the whys and whens before the big reveal. (All good things for this long-time romantic suspense junkie! Nothing worse than a predictable outcome in these books.) There were several threads to untangle in the plot. I felt the author did a fantastic job weaving them in a way that made me realize I was still missing pieces of the puzzle until the story arc. This effectively kept me anxiously turning the pages and unable to walk away from it until I finished. Now, I will be working my way through her backlist in this series to catch up on everyone!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

AMAZON

USA Today bestselling author Freya Barker loves writing about ordinary people with extraordinary stories.

Driven to make her books about ‘real’ people; she creates characters who are perhaps less than perfect, each struggling to find their own slice of happy, but just as deserving of romance, thrills and chills in their lives.

Recipient of the ReadFREE.ly 2019 Best Book We’ve Read All Year Award for “Covering Ollie, the 2015 RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for Best First Book, “Slim To None”, Finalist for the 2017 Kindle Book Award with “From Dust”, and Finalist for the 2020 Kindle Book Award with “When Hope Ends”, Freya continues to add to her rapidly growing collection of published novels as she spins story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!

START THE SERIES

AMAZON