This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Petie McCarty will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
The Watchers Series–Book Two<
Fallen angels given one last chance at redemption . . .
Come heaven or hell
Someone is watching Rachel . . . but who? And why?
Child psychologist Rachel Kelly has her Christmas stocking full of trouble this holiday season, both personal and professional. Although Rachel and her boyfriend recently split up, she still loves him and is clueless how to win him back. If that’s not enough to cause sleepless nights, she’s unsure how to handle her newest therapy client—a six-year-old boy who claims he talks to Watchers. And now, a Watcher is coming to help Rachel.
Police Lt. Jake Dillon's heart is broken when his fiancée, Rachel, suddenly calls it quits without warning. Yet when a stalker crashes Rachel's Christmas party and takes her young clients hostage, Jake is the first person Rachel calls. Now he has a choice to make—stand down and wait for backup or break protocol to rescue her himself. Time is running out, and Jake might be their only chance for rescue.
Unless Rachel's young Watcher spy is telling the truth . . .
This romantic-suspense tale with paranormal elements is Book 2 in The Watchers series—a captivating small-town Christmas romance that will keep you looking over your shoulder and asking, "Is someone watching me?"
This is the first book of Ms. McCarty's Watcher series I've read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. And, since they are all standalone novels, they can be read in any order.
The characters are all likeable...and the story is multifaceted, with several stories/issues going on at the same time which all come together in one climax. Ms. McCarty does a wonderful job with the characters and their problems. This reader really cared about what happened with each of them. There were a lot of characters and, of course, we were able to get to know some of them better than the others. I have to admit to being a bit surprised at who the Watchers in the story were. I completely had that wrong.
I enjoyed getting to know Jake's cadre of helpers. I enjoyed the rapport he had with them and would be interested in reading a story featuring Jake and his "gang." I bet they would have a lot of excitement together.
I was also a bit surprised about how heavily God-centric the story was... not that it's a complaint. I particularly enjoyed that aspect of the story, but just based on the blurb it surprised me a bit. I think I expected a bit more supernatural and a little less spiritual. But, like I said, with it being a Christmas story, putting the emphasis on the true reason for the season is not out of place.
Thank you for easing me into the Christmas season.
Jake whipped his BMW into the Azalea Center parking lot and switched off his headlights in one smooth motion. Guided by the light from the few streetlamps, he coasted to a silent stop next to Wally’s Jeep, though his emotions had urged him to come screeching around the corner like the cavalry. Common sense and the need for stealth won out. He couldn’t risk driving the trespasser underground only to have him surface later after Jake had gone.
Clicking off his interior lights, he unlocked his glove compartment and drew out his Sig Sauer, then climbed out and quietly pushed the car door in until the latch held. He waited several seconds to let his eyes and ears take in the entire scene. Damn. All the landscaping crowded around the Center provided a multitude of places for a trespasser to hide.
He put a hand on the hood of Wally’s Jeep. Still warm, even in the cold night air. A brief stab of guilt hit him for dumping his team so abruptly in the Beef n’ Barrel. Couldn’t be helped.
He scanned the closest landscape beds for some sign of Wally. A stiff north breeze whipped across the parking area, stirring up leaves and debris. Barely visible through the treetops, the almost-full moon blazed bright.
He made his way past the large perimeter oaks to the interior sidewalk and began a slow circle of the building, checking sections of the garden as he paced. All the offices on the west side of the building were unoccupied, and all the windows were dark, with a few showing vestiges of their interiors due to adjacent emergency lighting.
Rachel’s office, just around the corner, faced the back of the property. At this time of night, her office interior would be entirely visible with her lights on. Jake knew this because he’d snuck over here enough times in the last few months to observe her office from the garden. He was pathetic and, every few weeks, needed a glimpse of her to get by. A wry smile twitched the edges of his mouth. He could’ve been called in as a trespasser on any one of those nights should someone have spotted him and cared enough to make the call.
Careful to remain off the sidewalk, he silently paced toward the back garden. If the trespasser was a stalker, then the perp probably knew the Center had no security guard and no security system. A fact that had always bothered Jake.
At the back corner of the property, he crossed the sidewalk to inspect the landscape areas adjacent to the building. With quick steps, he shifted from one landscape bed to another. Crouching as he left the larger camellias, he moved through the shorter azaleas and Indian hawthorn.
Clearing the corner, his position even with the back of the building, he paused to reconnoiter and stared at the faint pool of light cast by an overhead office. Rachel’s office.
As his gaze rose to the second-floor office, his eyes searched for the all-too-familiar figure. Without thinking, he straightened to his full height, clearly visible to anyone glancing out the window. Yet no one searched for a figure in the garden. All eyes in the office were busy.
Rachel stood with Olivia and her children on one side of the conference room. On the other side of the room, a man in a worn red jacket and baseball cap faced them. Pointing a gun.
This was Jake’s horrible nightmare.
Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World—"The Most Magical Place on Earth"—where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said goodbye to her "day" job to write her stories full-time.
These days, Petie spends her time writing new tales for her Cinderella series, her new The Watchers series, sequels to her Regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and more contemporary romance standalones, along with her two previous releases—Any Fin For Love and Ambush in the Everglades.
Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband and an opinionated Nanday conure named Sassy Smart-Assy, who makes a cameo appearance in Christmas Watch, Book 2 of The Watchers series.
Visit Petie at her website to get to know her, learn about her current projects, and discover her other published works.
Website: http://www.petiemccarty.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petie.mccarty
Twitter: https://x.com/authorpetie
Gooddreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6094579.Petie_McCarty
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/petie-mccarty
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/petiemccarty
Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Watch-Watchers-Book-2-ebook/dp/B0FDSP3RPL/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top
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