Awesome!

I would give it 10 stars if it was possible! Linda Howard at her best, with her wonderful, likable characters and adorable pets. IMO, Tricks is the main character, and Morgan and Bo the secondary ones, LOL. Bo is the type of heroine I like from Linda H's books, solitary, simple, not pretty but attractive and very intelligent. Morgan is a warrior, cunning, alert, brave, not handsome but very manly, exudes a strong manly aurea. Even though he is big and strong, he still instills a sense of safety in Bo. He likes about her that she doesn't have hidden agendas, or feminine wiles. She's a straight shooter, but also warm, affective and friendly, at least to her dog, in the beginning, then with him. He was shot during a rest in his para-military work, and sent to convalescence at Bo's house while an investigation ensues. They form a quiet routine, made lively by the incomparable Tricks. I loved reading about Tricks, enjoyed the deepening in Bo's and Morgan's burgeoning friendship, then love.

A story about a government official on vacation and a smart dog reigning over an incompetent police chief. They all throw balls, eat bland food, and mope around a barn.

2 stars

This book is really the story about an adorable, clever dog and her humans. The lead human characters are not discussed and featured as much as the dog.

Rounding up to 3 stars. My feelings toward this book are somewhat mixed. This book didn't really pick up for me until about 1/4 of the way through. Even then it was pretty slow going until the action picked up (at the very end of the book) which was pretty short lived and disappointing. Basically my feelings can be summed up as-

Pro:
-I enjoyed the relationship between Morgan and Bo.
-The premise was good - two strangers thrown together without much choice, and one having to help the other recover from a life threatening injury, developing a close bond along the way.
-The small town and townspeople were charming and likable.

Con:
-The dogs was honestly the main character of the book. I liked the inclusion of a dog being involved in the story, but this was excessive. This book was so long because pages and pages of every chapter were devoted to talking about the dog, the dogs feelings, the dogs actions, how special the dog was, etc etc etc. It got to a point where I started to kind of hate the dog and was sick of hearing about her.
-The whole story line surrounding Morgan being shot is still confusing and ridiculous to me, and was overall letdown. This was the catalyst that put the rest of the action of the book into motion and the conclusion felt rushed and disappointing.
-Bo and Axel's relationship needed more backstory! Basically all we got was a few sentences here and there about how much they both hated each other. For Bo's blood to boil and for her to lose it every time he was brought up or they spoke to each other really needed more explanation besides "they'd always hated each other". Their parents were married for a few months back when they were both teenagers, and still well into their adulthood they felt this way about each other. I thought maybe when they finally reunited at the end of the book we'd get a little more, but no. Just more of the same. Very frustrating.

For the most part, I did enjoy this. Listening to the audio book version probably helped that a lot, because I could do other things while listening and lessened the chance of getting bored and abandoning it like I might if I was reading a hard copy.

For reasons too stupid to articulate here, Morgan Yancy is sent to the home of police chief Isabeau "Bo" Maran to recuperate after being shot. While his boss tries to find the person who hired the hitman who tried to kill Morgan, Morgan works on getting better. A romance starts to develop between Morgan and Bo, and it might as well, because there's fuck all else happening inside these pages!

My first book of 2018 was a stinker of the highest order! Why do I keep reading Linda Howard? This has no plot. None. It might as well have been called "Tricks the Troublemaking Magic Wonderdog", because that was the real focus of the plot. Now, I love, love, love, LOVE golden retrievers and golden labradors, but that's not what I picked this book up expecting to read about. The issue of who wants Morgan dead is a distant third in this book, falling way behind the issue of an acrimonious divorce between two townsfolk, and especially the day-to-day life of Morgan, Bo and Tricks (the golden retriever) as they eat, chat, and mingle with the townspeople. It was so DULL.

I think the only reason the stuff with Morgan's stalker exists is so that the book can include a brief climax with some danger that wouldn't otherwise exist, and the publishers can then con us with what they call a "romantic suspense" novel. Don't buy it! It's bullshit! Remove the graphic sex, and you're basically left with a freaking Hallmark movie! This is so awful. I couldn't believe what I was reading. It's so devoid of anything! And to think it took Howard 4 years to write it. I wonder if she was as bored writing it as I was reading it.

I mentioned in my comments while reading about Morgan's tendency to totally freak out whenever he's woken up - if you shake him, he'll try to choke you. Yell out for him, and he'll point a gun at you. He says he needs to be alert because of his job, but this sort of behaviour is not being alert. It's being dangerous, and the book finished with me wondering how long it would take for Morgan to physically injure Bo because she wanted to wake him up for some breakfast in bed. It was just simply non-sensical.

Then we have the occasions where Morgan thinks certain things are "sissy", because they're not masculine enough for him. This includes drinking wine and eating cupcakes. Yes, really. I've had some of the most macho guys tell me they don't drink wine because it knocks them flat on their ass worse than beer does! But certainly never because they think it's sissy. It's an utterly horrid term, and Howard should be utterly ashamed of herself for using it in this context.

I'm glad Howard loves golden retrievers, because they are wonderful animals, and Tricks was indeed a delight, but it wasn't what I wanted to read about, and she was stuck in a book where everything single other thing around her was was stupid, boring or offensive. The pits! And what relevance does the title even have? Who's making the trouble? The only trouble you'll find here is learning you've wasted six hours of your life on an inane pile of crap!