Book Review: Desperate Measures by Sandra Orchard

Kate won’t be safe until all of Port Astor’s secrets are revealed!

The third book in Sandra Orchard’s Port Aster series is out. Desperate Measures completes the story of Kate Adams’ attempt to prove a pharmaceutical company guilty of heinous crimes. Read my review for Blind Trust (Book Two).

Determined to find out why GPC wants the rare amendoso plant enough to kill for it, Kate secretly grows several in her cellar. She doesn’t even tell Detective Tom Parker, the man who loves her, what she’s doing for fear he’ll stop her. To Kate, learning the secret to the plant’s healing properties is the only way she’ll see her father again after Tom whisked him off and into protective custody.

My favorite character in this book is Tom. His love and loyalty to Kate keep him from giving up on her when it appears she’s given up on him. His need to protect conflicts with her more reckless trait, though his experience has him going a bit overboard. Kate’s need to trust in both Tom and God wars with Tom’s need to see that he’s not responsible for the bad things that happen to people—such as the death of his former FBI partner.

Remembering Kate’s parting words, There is no we, after he’d arranged, against her wishes, for her dad to go back into hiding, he kicked the dirt. Yeah, wake up and smell the weeds. Stopping by wouldn’t change anything. If he weren’t the only connection to her father—she probably wouldn’t talk to him at all. Never mind the danger he feared she was still in.

It’s difficult to carry on one basic story in three different books released many months apart. As a reader, I found myself trying to remember details to keep characters straight. It tended to take me out of the present story at times. Appropriately enough, I could compare it to a plant. Though all have the same root, the stems (the stories in each book) tend to shoot off in different directions. But don’t worry, they’re all wrapped up in a nice bouquet at the end. 🙂

So …

Though fast-paced, twisty, and with likeable characters, this is NOT a series to start with the third book. The underlying story, and the one Desperate Measures wraps up, begins with Deadly Devotion, so grab that one first. Then, I believe you’ll find the whole series intriguing, absorbing, and well worth your time. 

How do you feel about reading a continuing series such as this one? Do you wait until all the books are out before starting to read? Do you have a favorite of this type of series?

Disclosure of Material Connection: This book came to me free from the author and the publisher, Revell, with the hope that I would mention it on this blog. There was no requirement for me to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.