Texas Bodyguard: Luke (San Antonio Security, 1)
Texas Bodyguard: Luke (San Antonio Security, 1) book cover

Texas Bodyguard: Luke (San Antonio Security, 1)

Mass Market Paperback – February 21, 2023

Price
$5.94
Publisher
Harlequin Intrigue
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1335582485
Dimensions
4.11 x 0.7 x 6.49 inches
Weight
4.8 ounces

Description

USA TODAY and award-winning author Janie Crouch has loved to read romance her whole life. She cut her teeth on Harlequin Romances as a teen, then moved on to a passion for romantic suspense as an adult.Janie lives with her husband and four children in Germany, in support of her husband's U.S. Department of Defense job. Janie enjoys traveling, long-distance running, movies of all kinds, and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.For more: www.janiecrouch.com

Features & Highlights

  • She’s seen too much And he’s running out of time to save her…
  • The last person security expert Luke Patterson ever expected to see again is in desperate trouble. Claire Wallace witnessed her boss’s murder…and the killer is tearing her quiet life apart to find her. Luke will do anything to protect the childhood friend he never forgot. But as their secrets become an inescapable trap, will they survive to have any future?
  • From Harlequin Intrigue: Seek thrills. Solve crimes. Justice served.
  • Discover more action-packed stories in the
  • San Antonio Security
  • series.
  • All books are stand-alone with uplifting endings but were published in the following order:
  • Book 1:
  • Texas Bodyguard: Luke
  • Book 2:
  • Texas Bodyguard: Brax
  • Book 3:
  • Texas Bodyguard: Weston
  • Book 4:
  • Texas Bodyguard: Chance

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(329)
★★★★
25%
(137)
★★★
15%
(82)
★★
7%
(38)
-7%
(-37)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Awesome

It's nonstop suspense, danger and action.
The players are four men who are owners of a top notch security firm , they are brothers by bond and adoption
Claire and Luke - book number one
When Claire finds out her boss plans to do something illegal with the program she wrote, she is more than willing to help get the information to the authorities
She runs to Luke for help.
A big race started to prove her innocence, get the bad guy, and stay alive.
Awesome story line and I can’t wait for book two!
Well done Janie
✓ Verified Purchase

Good read

I was surprised to see all the 5 star reviews as to me this was not as good as Janie's other books.
It was a little slow to get to any action and there wasn't much of it. The best being when they were escaping from the library.
I would have liked more interaction with Luke and his brothers to get a feel of their dynamics. I didn't feel I got to know them at all.
However, this is a pleasant book to read and maybe I've been spoilt by Janie's Linear series, which is very good.
Luke and Claire are likeable characters and the Maine Coon cat-dog is a star !
✓ Verified Purchase

Loved it

Fantastic start to the new series. The San Antonio Security series is about four men, adopted as youths from the foster care system, who form their own security company. The adoptive parents who raised them are a fantastic couple, and I enjoyed meeting them all. This book focuses on Luke and the girl he never forgot. After Claire was sent to another home and Luke was adopted, they lost track of each other. Luke leans on the introverted side of the spectrum and is least likely to be asked to deal with their customers. He's gruff and grumpy (especially when it's his turn to deal with the paperwork) but has a talent for reading people that has served the company well. He has a great relationship with his brothers and his parents.

Claire has been an introvert all of her life, preferring to live her life and do her job with as little attention as possible. A computer genius, she has a job writing software and apps for a big company. When she and her boss, Julia, figure out that the CEO plans to use the app Claire has been working on to steal personal and financial information from its users, they know what they must do. As Julia gets the proof they need to stop him and sends it to Claire, she is murdered, and Claire witnesses it all on the video link. She knows she is in danger and goes to the only person she can trust for help - Luke.

I liked the first meeting between Luke and Claire. Luke never forgot the sweet girl he nicknamed "Kitten" and protected from the bullies at their foster home. He is determined to protect her and clear her name when she comes to him. He doesn't expect the burst of attraction he feels for her or the stirring up of emotions he's buried for years. Claire discovers that even after years apart, Luke is still her hero. I liked seeing them get to know each other as they worked together. I loved seeing Claire soften Luke's rough edges and laughed out loud at his brothers' teasing. At the same time, Luke's belief in Claire, her intelligence, and her strength gave her confidence and helped bring her out of her shell. I loved the scenes with Luke's parents, their unquestioning love and acceptance of Claire, and its effect on her. I loved the ending and seeing them come together.

The suspense of the story was outstanding. The intensity never let up from the minute Claire connected with her friend and boss. When Claire finds out her boss plans to do something illegal with the program she wrote, she is more than willing to help get the information to the authorities. She was not expecting to witness her friend's murder and find herself the next person in the crosshairs. She knows she's in danger, which is driven home when she goes home to get her cat, Khan, before going on the run and barely escapes the thugs sent after her. She runs to Luke for help.

I was on the edge of my seat as she and Luke barely stayed a step ahead of the men after them. The bad guy's influence and resources enable him to do anything he wants to stop Claire from exposing him. But Luke and Claire aren't in it alone. I loved seeing how his brothers had his back and worked with him. The final confrontation was a nail-biter as it looked like the bad guy might succeed in his quest. But not only is Claire smarter than he is, she also has a secret weapon that saves her life. I loved seeing it all go down, and the resolution was excellent.

One of my favorite secondary characters was Claire's Maine coon cat, Khan. He is a large cat and acts more like a dog than a cat. It was fun to see other characters interact with him. I loved the moral support that Khan provided Claire, as someone she could confide her fears and dreams and who kept her company in her lonely life. I liked seeing his antics as a guard cat-dog, plus he was an excellent judge of character.

I liked Luke's brothers. From what has been revealed so far, it sounds like all four men had rough lives in the foster care system. Luke's story was heartbreaking. The book's prologue was an emotional look at what it meant for him to be adopted by the Pattersons. I can't wait to read the stories of the other brothers.
✓ Verified Purchase

Great start to new series!

This book introduces readers to the Patterson brothers: Weston, Chance, Brax and Luke. They're not brothers by blood, but bonded when adopted together by a loving couple. The four brothers now own San Antonio Security and we meet them briefly during this book. This story features Luke.
Claire Wallace is a computer specialist on the run from dangerous men and their ruthless boss after she witnesses the murder of her boss and realizes the app she created is going to be used illegally. She knows Luke from a brief stint in a group home where he was her protector and comes to him for help. He's determined to do everything he can to keep her safe and catch the men responsible for the murder of her boss. A very nice addition to this mix is Claire's huge cat, Khan, who also plays a pivotal role in the story.
As the story unfolds, it's exciting, heart-pounding and filled with action and suspense, but also has some touching moments. We're also introduced to Luke's wonderful adoptive parents when Luke and Claire hide out in their cabin and they're all together for a couple of days. Of course, Luke and Claire fall in love, and I appreciate Janie's handling of the sex between them (because it's not graphic like so many authors). It will be interesting to read about the other three men and where the action takes them.
I'm grateful to have received an ARC of this book; the opinions expressed are strictly my own.