Gut Instinct (The Campbells of Creek Bend #2) by Barb Han

FBI agent, Luke Campbell is one of several siblings in law enforcement who is dedicated to his job. Luke was also a dedicated soldier, but when he returned from Iraq with PTSD, his life fell apart, including a divorce from his wife Julie that still, years later, leaves him raw. Luke has been on the tail of a serial killer who has eluded him, but now, Julie is involved and Luke will stop at nothing to protect her, even though his heart still yearns for her.

Julie Davis was devastated when Luke returned from Iraq and shut her out. All she ever wanted to do was help him overcome the nightmare of war, but Luke hid away his pain and pushed away his love in favor of isolation and loneliness. When Julie walks in on the aftermath of a murder and then becomes a target for the killer, Luke appears to her dismay to crack the case and put the murderer away. Only thing is, Julie still has feelings for Luke and the more time she spends in his company, the more she wants him, and he her for that matter. With a killer on the trail, Luke and Julie try to keep it casual, because any slip could lead to Julie being hurt. Now it's a game of cat and mouse Luke, Julie and a violent killer who is more determined than ever to punish Julie for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Only with Luke at her side will she be able to get through the horror of this serial killer's fascination with her downfall.

Gut Instinct by Barb Han is a winner in my book. It has everything that a romantic suspense needs and it has it in spades. I love the way Luke and Julie interact with one another after all they went though when he returned from the military. The way Julie notices every nuance of Luke's personality, the way he has worked so hard to leave that tortured soul that left their marriage in a shambles is a breath of fresh air. I adore the way that each aches for the other and that ache takes over. Barb Han has taken suspense to another level with this brand of serial killer who is cool and collected. Gut Instinct, the second book in the Campbells Of Creek Bend series is temptation rolled up into a little package that I highly recommend.

~KIMBERLY~