The relationship between the leads in Against the Law starts when Lark Delaney bulldozes her way into Devlin Raines’s home. Unwilling to take “no” for an answer, she needs his help in discovering the whereabouts of her niece. When Lark was 21 and her sister Heather only 16, Heather became pregnant. Their grandparents decided it was best that the baby be put up for adoption. Heather never really got over the loss and recently died at the age of 21. Before dying, she made Lark promise that she would find the child and verify that her daughter is loved and in good hands.

Thirty-two year old former U.S. Army Ranger Dev Raines is mostly retired but a former buddy has asked him to help Lark as a favor. While he is glad to have a chance to do something for the man who saved his life, he knows that it not going to be easy to keep his professional distance from this sexy, gorgeous woman.

Dev is very good at what he does, and soon they are on their way to examine her niece’s home. Almost immediately things take an ugly turn, and a simple quest turns dangerous not only for Lark ,but also her niece. Dev is not going to let anything happen to Lark even it if means spending more time with her,and thus jeopardizing his cultivated emotional detachment.

Ms. Martin has an effortless way of telling an enjoyable story. While her characters are somewhat one dimensional, they are appealing. Even though I know it is shallow of me, I enjoy reading about perfect characters: heroines that are gorgeous, smart, successful, and heroes that are rich, sexy, and ripped.

The sexual attraction is immediate in this book, but I appreciate the fact that both know that a professional relationship needs ethical boundaries. While Ms. Martin got that right, later in the story, she hit a couple of hot buttons for me. Let me just say that some things are best left to the professionals, and when a child’s welfare is a concern, that would be the only thing on my mind. I only bumped the grade down from a B to a B- because I do recognize that this is a common plot device and it didn’t completely ruin the book for me. Still, it brought me out of the story.

If you are looking for a fast paced, effortless read with dazzling characters, and are not bothered by issues that require you to suspend belief, then Against The Law is a book to try.