Impulse
JoAnn Ross
Pocket, Jun 2006, $7.50
ISBN: 1416501657

In Savannah, Georgia, undercover cop Will Bridger is an adrenalin junkie who loves his rush especially when he deals with a dangerous suspect. That changes when the widower is shot and nearly killed. As he heals, he realizes he is not afraid of dying, but fears that if he dies no one would be there for his teenage son Josh.

Will accepts the job of Sheriff of his hometown Hazard, Wyoming ignoring the objections of a hostile Josh. However, Will's assumption of nothing dangerous happening here is quickly destroyed when someone mutilates and murders Olympic caliber ice skater Erin Gallagher. As he investigates the gruesome homicide that has shaken the 2642 residents of the "Rooftop of America", radio talk host Faith Prescott also investigates. Will knows he is dealing with a dangerous serial killer and fears that the feisty reporter he is falling in love with could be next.

Though serial killers have become too frequent as the underpinning of police procedural romances, JoAnn Ross refreshes the sub-genre with the locale, an isolated small town where the image remains just what Will remembers where nothing bad happens. As Will learns you can't go home since that memory is never the same as the return. He struggles with stopping a killer in front of media frenzy, keeping his son safe and in line, and falling in love with the enemy, a reporter. Fans will appreciate Ms. Ross' strong romantic crime thriller.

Harriet Klausner