Melinda Leigh

After corporate attorney Hannah Barrett tries—and fails—to stop a kidnapping in Vegas, she can't shake the haunting image of the terrified young girl she couldn't save. She tells herself that a visit to her hometown in Scarlet Falls could be a welcome distraction. But soon, Hannah realizes the kidnappers have all the info they need to track her every move. And when chilling e-mails about the victim appear in her inbox, it's frighteningly clear what happened in Vegas has followed her home. Eight months after a terrible family tragedy, Hannah turns to Detective Brody McNamara once again. Brody is eager to help, though he's embroiled in the investigation of a brutal murder. But the closer they work together, the stronger their feelings grow…and the more they stand to lose when two seemingly unrelated, but equally deadly, cases collide. Minutes to Kill is the pulse-racing second novel in bestselling author Melinda Leigh's Scarlet Falls series.

Minutes to Kill

Lynn Braden

After attempting to prevent a girl from being kidnapped in Las Vegas, Hannah Barrett heads for Scarlet Falls to the home of her brother, Grant, to recover from the concussion and other wounds that she suffered.  While she is there, she re-encounters Detective Brody McNamara from the Scarlet Falls Police Department.  The attraction they shared in the past is still there, but neither of them wants to start a long distance relationship due to Hannah's busy career that takes her all over the world.  While they try to deny their attraction, they are thrown together because of a threat from Las Vegas that has followed Hannah back to the place where she always felt the safest.  

Minutes to Kill is a decent second entry in the Scarlet Falls series.  However, serious issues such as human trafficking, child abuse, alcoholism, missing children, and bipolar disorder are addressed but are not given the kind of time in this story that these topics deserve.  The romance between Brody and Hannah feels a bit lackluster with some awkward dialogue and scenes that seem incomplete.  The mysteries that are introduced in the story really take a backseat to the drama brought on by the main antagonists, Mick and Sam.  The conclusion of the story seems rushed as we finally get the real villains of the book.  Overall, Minutes to Kill has some very good ideas based in a story that held promise, but in the end, it just doesn't deliver on that promise.

Minutes to Kill

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