Publishers Weekly Reviews Hold Your Breath
Ruggle’s energetic first Search and Rescue romance introduces an ice-rescue dive team in the Rocky Mountains. Louise “Lou” Sparks escaped her calculating fiancé and controlling mother back east and eagerly joined the SAR crew near her new home in Colorado. Lou is ditzy and inexperienced but enthusiastic about her new responsibilities, even when she discovers a dead body on a routine jump into a frozen reservoir. Determined to solve the mystery of this corpse before the police do, Lou is suddenly dogged by a stalker, triggering the protective impulses of her stern team captain, Callum Cook. He offers to help with the investigation. Their developing romance is punctuated by threats from a killer. Puppy-like Lou manages to soften dour Callum, and she rises to the occasion when her newly acquired rescue skills are all that stand between Callum and death. The characters are not very well developed, but romantic suspense fans will enjoy the unusual setting, and Ruggle’s ice-rescue certification adds an element of authenticity to the rescue descriptions. (Apr.)
RT Book Reviews gives Hold Your Breath 4 Stars
Review: This initial entry into the Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue series is off to a promising start. The teams of first responders include law enforcement, fire department and an ice rescue dive team. The women in their lives are no shrinking violets either, if the heroine featured here is any indication.
Summary: Louise “Lou” Sparks moved to Colorado to escape her smothering ex and meddlesome family and take control of her life. She joins the dive team, under the command of Callum “Cal” Cook, and then proceeds to turn his orderly world on its ear. On a training exercise, Lou accidentally discovers a headless body and makes it her mission to identify the victim (also known as “HDG,” or Headless Dead Guy) and find the murderer. At the same time, Lou is the object of an increasingly violent stalker. As Cal makes her safety a priority, the two become more than work teammates. Lou’s stalker is determined, but she is resilient. Her family connections turn out to be more sinister than she knows, and she and Cal both face life-threatening attacks before all is said and done.