Run the Risk by Lori Foster

LFoster-Run the Risk

LFoster-Run the RiskI’ll admit, Run the Risk is the first book by Lori Foster I’ve read. I know, I know. *hangs head* I go to her con and have a great time. Sheis a great person and part of the issue was there were so many books already out in her other series and I only have so much time. Sooo, when I learned Run the Risk was out on NetGalley for review, and the first in a new series, I jumped on it. I was not disappointed.

Nothing can shake a cop from pursuing justice-except a beautiful witness marked for death, in New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster’s sexy new series…

When Detective Logan Riske goes undercover to find Pepper Yates, a potential link to his best friend’s unsolved murder, he vows to gain her cooperation by any means necessary. But the elusive beauty is more suspicious-and in far more danger-than he expected. And the last thing Logan needs is to start caring for her….

Pepper has spent years dodging the corrupt club owner who will stop at nothing to keep her silenced. She can trust no one, not even the handsome new “construction worker” who’s moved in next door. The heat between them is undeniable. But will surrendering to passion bring her the safety she so desires-or will her feelings for Logan draw them both into a killer’s crosshairs?

Where to start? That is the question, heh. Let’s go with our hero, Logan. He’s all male and good cop. Yum! Logan became a cop not because he needed to work, but for all the right reasons….to do good and give back to his community. However, the reason he gets involved in a highly undercover operation has nothing to do with doing good. It’s for revenge….and with that revenge, justice. You can tell Logan is a focused individual and this operation isn’t any different until he finally cracks all the walls his first “target” puts up. Then as he gets to know her, Logan’s focus starts to shift and he fights it. He wars with himself over doing what he has to do to find the real person of interest and his growing attraction to Pepper and what using her will do when she finds out. This internal conflict lets you know that Logan is really a good guy and good cop. He feels bad about having to use Pepper even before he gets to know her, but once he does, you can feel his anguish over it. He learns about her past and his instinct to protect, which led him into his career, goes into overdrive with Pepper. He’s a take charge kind of guy but wasn’t so alpha that he couldn’t step back and hand the reigns to Pepper when necessary. While from time to time I like stories with uber alpha males, it was nice to have one more…relatable, more “real”. More like a guy you’re likely to come across in real life.

Then we have Pepper. She’s also undercover, but for a totally different reason. She’s hiding. When you first meet her, she comes off as this frumpy, self-conscious and kind of whiny woman. But the more you get to know her, the more you know that isn’t true. You get a sense that Pepper may be hiding from not only what caused her to go so incognito but from some horrible things in her past. And she is…sort of. Until she opens up, you see make some assumptions because of what Logan thinks she’s hiding. And well…you know what they say about assuming things. Pepper is far from self-conscious or whiny. She’s that way as part of her cover. In reality, when she’s able to shed that cover and be who she is…she’s strong. She has been through hell all her life. That has made her tough and distrustful. I really liked Pepper, especially after she was able to be herself. You feel for her and you want her to have better than she has ever had.

I love the way Lori writes. Her characters are relatable…believable. They are people you can imagine meeting or being in real life. The pacing throughout was very good. Even when there was no action, I was still caught up. The interplay between characters and the development of the relationships was very well done. Even one of the subplots had some tension that made me second guess myself about the integrity of a character. It’s rare I can find a book that will keep my attention so rapt throughout.

I highly recommend Run the Risk. If you’re a fan of romantic suspense, you’ll love Run the Risk. I am so glad I finally picked up a Lori Foster novel. I can’t wait to read the next book.

Read Order for the Love Undercover series:
Run the Risk
Bare It All (April 30, 2013)

About Nicole 146 Articles
Attorney by day, Publicist for Barclay Publicity and reviewer/LE (assistant) editor by night. I'm a huge book nerd and love to read. I have 2 dogs, both Labrador retriever mixed breeds, who are very rotten and think they run the house. Let's not lie, they totally do, I just can't them know it ha ha! My usual genre is romance or urban fantasy. I love all things having to do with paranormal, with the occasional good contemp/BDSM/erotica thrown in to spice it all up.

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