Review: Love’s Prize by Cara Putman

The third novella in Rainbow’s End is “Love’s Prize” by Cara Putman.

Reagan Graham is a CPA in St. Louis. Tax season has been stressful enough, but more recently than that, she’s acquired a stalker, and not the friendly kind. Someone who poisoned her cat and sent ugly, threatening notes to her. Her younger brother, Garrett, has been growing up lately–even headed off to law school in the fall–and is determined to protect Reagan from the stalker. With a suspect under police watch, Garrett decides he and Reagan should head to Osage Beach, Missouri, for a couple of months and participate in the Rainbow’s End Treasure Hunt. It should be relaxing and fun, and allow the police enough time to wrap up the situation in St. Louis.

Colton Ryan and Garrett met at law school orientation and hit it off, so Garrett invited Colton along for the summer to help protect his sister. Colton thinks the geocaching hunt sounds like great fun and agrees. He puts two side-by-side condos in his name and hangs out with–and cooks for–the Graham siblings. (Colton makes a mean omelet!) He’s immediately attracted to Reagan and spends a lot of time with her, which seems to please Garrett, who apparently has met someone of his own to spend time with as he’s rarely around.

Colton and Reagan are high in the treasure hunt standings when it seems the stalker has caught up to Reagan. How can Colton protect her? How can she keep herself safe? And if they admit they’re falling for each other, what effect will that have on the whole situation?

Of the four novellas in Rainbow’s End, this is the only one with a suspense thread running through it. Cara built the clues one by one very carefully–perhaps as the attorney she is would build a case?–and set everything up for a twisty conclusion. You’re not going to want to miss this novella.

When we all began working together, I hadn’t read anything of Cara’s, but I’ve recently read her newest release A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island, which I’ll review here on the blog in June. Let me just say that Cara writes historical novels, many set around the second world war, and also contemporary novels, usually romantic suspense with a lawyer or two tossed in for good measure.

For another glimpse of how Cara works her contemporary magic, check out “Dying for Love,” her novella in the collection Cherry Blossom Capers, over at Romancing America. But also come back to the Romancing America blog over the next few weeks to read an excerpt of this novella, “Love’s Prize,” and a guest post or two about it from Cara.

Cara C. Putman lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. She’s an attorney and a ministry leader and teacher at her church. She has loved reading and writing from a young age and now realizes it was all training for writing books. An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska and George Mason University School of Law, Cara loves bringing history to life.

Do I need to say that I did NOT get this book from the publisher for the purposes of review, but instead got a boxful of them for the purpose of celebrating? 😀