The Hunted Heir + Giveaway

After a tragic loss, private investigator Nona Taylor swore off romantic entanglements and distanced herself from the world. Once a year, on New Year’s Eve, she attends church to beg God for forgiveness, haunted by the guilt of driving her twin sister to her death.

Attorney DeMarcus Johnson is determined to climb the ladder to partnership by winning high-profile cases at his Los Angeles law firm, harnessing his ADHD hyperfocus to excel. He’s everything Nona knows to steer clear of–an overconfident ex-jock willing to do anything for success.

Their worlds collide when Nona’s pastor receives a mysterious letter claiming he’s the sole heir to a substantial estate. Desperate for answers, Nona infiltrates a lavish charity ball, only to be found out by a suspicious stranger–so she latches onto DeMarcus and concocts a fib about being his fiancée.

Now bound by a false engagement, the pair reluctantly join forces to discover the truth about the inheritance. But when an unseen enemy strikes, they realize the stakes are higher than they thought. Can Nona and DeMarcus overcome their differences to keep the pastor safe, secure DeMarcus’s partnership, and preserve a future for themselves?

My Review:

“My G’Mama used to always tell me, ‘God gives everybody a basket of gifts and a basket of challenges. He wants us to serve him with both.” (p 94)

DeMarcus’s grandmother’s pearls of wisdom really tied this story together for me. She’s rarely on page but her presence is felt through the faith lessons she’s taught her grandchildren. Love that legacy and the clever parallel in the genealogical mystery which is another kind of family legacy. And the way the author weaves the two together along with a feisty ‘fake dating’ romance is sweet perfection.

Nona has plenty of attitude and a whole lot of buried pain which sometimes makes her snippy and unapproachable which adds some spice to their meet-cute. DeMarcus is intrigued, Nona is not…until her quest to help an elderly pastor discover the truth about his past catapults her into DeMarcus’s high-stakes legal world. Oooooohhhh, but do the sparks ever fly! Loved the sparring and the banter and DeMarcus’s gentle determination to turn the ‘fake’ in their relationship into something real. Happy swoony sigh!

I really enjoyed the way the mystery played out. There’s actually two and the intriguing details of Nona’s PI work kept me turning pages. A good balance between the almost leisurely slow-burn romance and the increasing urgency of the investigation.

This is the author’s debut novel and it is brilliant! She is a lawyer and I was afraid the ‘legal-eeze’ might be too confusing for me, but that wasn’t the case at all. Details are kept to simple layman’s terms and never overwhelm the story. I was completely captivated from start to finish!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback copy and is available to any reader, any where — so, yay, another International Giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of The Hunted Heir,  leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday June 7 2025.