RECKONING AND RUIN

Headstrong and determined, a woman trying to leave her past behind is forced back to her Savannah home to confront her biggest adversaries: her family.

Glad to escape her past, Tai Randolph is hoping life will calm down now that she’s settled in Atlanta and focused on managing a niche gun shop. She and boyfriend Trey are celebrating a year together—a big commitment for either to make given their fiercely independent personalities. Both dread the upcoming trial of Tai’s no-good cousin, Jasper, and their apprehension increases when Trey is called into the office by Marisa, his boss at a private security firm. Upset by a meeting she sees on Trey’s calendar with Jasper's new attorney's investigator, she gets even more upset when she hears Tai and Trey’s bad news: apparently, Jasper has found a way to sue both of them for millions while awaiting his own trial. Angry, Tai tries to learn more about Ainsworth Lovett, Jasper’s lawyer. What kind of scruples does Ainsworth have if he’s willing to defend a man who makes KKK members look like moderates? In spite of wanting to defend herself, Tai has a much bigger problem when her ex’s current love, Hope, turns up in the gun store shockingly seeking Tai’s help. Because Hope’s testifying against Jasper, Tai feels that she must help her even though it means a return to her relatives and her Savannah past. All her digging doesn’t uncover the secret her Uncle Boone has been hiding, which supplies a final twist that sets up the next in the series .

Readers new to Tai’s adventures (Deeper than the Grave, 2014, etc.) may be put off by all the back story. Those enamored of her will enjoy the way it drives the plot, which is most likely to appeal to those with a strong investment in the heroine.