The author states that The Listener is the last in The Guardians trilogy. I really hope that’s not true. I would enjoy more stories about the Emerald Coast SWAT team, especially if all the heroes are as wonderful as Lt. Ryan Lukas. Special note: Don’t let the cover fool you. Ryan isn’t nearly as childish and petulant as the cover portrays.

Dr. Maria Worley is a psychotherapist. She’s a single mom whose fourteen year-old son, Christopher, has been giving her a lot of grief ever since his father walked out on them. Maria is specially trained to handle not only the crises the SWAT team has to deal with, but with the members themselves. She has counseled many of the cops in the past, and has now been assigned to work with Ryan Lukas, a SWAT sniper and widower.

The problem is, Ryan doesn’t think he needs Maria’s counseling. He’s been put on leave by his boss, Lena McKinney (who is in The Commander) and is angry and resentful. His wife died eighteen months ago, and he misses her terribly. He doesn’t know how to cope, but he doesn’t think spilling his guts to Maria is the answer.

Maria and Ryan are instantly attracted to each other and are instantly put off by that. She’s his therapist; he’s her patient. Or is he? They have yet to have a full session since Ryan keeps changing the rules about when and where he’ll see her, and how much he tells her when they do meet. It is only due to Christopher, who Ryan identifies with and who he wants to help, that Maria and Ryan finally come to grips with their feelings for each other.

I liked this book equally as much as I liked The Negotiator, and in some ways more. Ryan is used to calling the shots (literally) and he’s furious that not only has he lost his wife, but may lose his job as well. He feels helpless, as though he has nothing solid to hang onto anymore. Ryan’s a great hero in every sense of the word. Author David has created a very human, very believable man in Ryan and his pain and confusion are palpable.

Maria is Ryan’s equal and the reader can easily see how they could fall in love. She’s smart and dedicated to her patients, but it is her love for her son that rings truest. He’s “at that age” where a parent hasn’t got a clue (not even a professional therapist) as to how to reach him. But Ryan knows what Christopher lacks, and he steps in to fill the gap.

In the end, Ryan proves he’s known all along what he really needs and he and Maria do finally find their happy ending. I can’t say this book appealed to me in the usual sense of the word; it’s simply too intense. I enjoyed it because of its good writing, universal themes, real characterizations, and genuine heart.

If you’re looking for lightness and froth, you won’t find them in this series. There is virtually no humor and only one brief love scene. But if you appreciate a good story with characters you can care about, who face up to the hard challenges in life, and who understand that love, while not always easy to come by, is the force that enables us as humans to cope with anything, I gladly recommend this series to you.