Customer Reviews

A Texas State Of Mind (Harlequin American Romance)

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A Texas State of Mind by Ann DeFee
Harlequin American Romance # 1076 - July 2005

Nominated for a RITA in two categories - Best Long Contemporary Romance and Best First Book

Christian is an undercover narcotics cop, and he and his partner CJ are in Port Serenity because dead drug dealers keep washing up on their beaches. Lolly is the sexy, sassy blond bombshell of a Police Chief, and she's far too smart to get herself involved with a state cop. Christian's leather and pony tail tell of his dark side, but deep down he's pretty attracted to the wife, kids and picket fence life that Lolly has to offer.

This is Ann DeFee's debut. It was a wonderful, witty and sexy read. The sparks flew from the moment Lolly and Christian met. There are a lot of oddball residents in Port Serenity, adding colour and charm to the town. This was a pure delight!

also from Port Serenity ...
Texas Born - HAR-1115 - May 2006
Somewhere Down in Texas - HAR-1155 - March 2007

Lavinia "Lolly" LaTullipe was a single mom, after divorcing Wendell when he walked out on her, raising two wonderful [almost] children and acting as Chief of Police in Port Serenity, Texas.

Their little pond doesn't have any crime to speak of until "dead" bodies started showing up along their coast line.

Then two agents show up, one of which she recognized as "Cookie" Baker, a prior resident of Port Serenity and "a mean-looking son-of-a-gun" in a black T-shirt with the physique of a pro linebacker and a slicked-back ponytail the color of midnight who could be a poster for "America's Most Wanted"
C.J., with his gun popping methods of concintration, drives Chris batty.

Now we run into the great humor that runs through this excellent story. Lieutenant Christian Delacroix doesn't know what hit him.

Next we meet the Hispanic beauty, Olivia Alvarado, "Lolly's" best friend and acting coroner and Marcela Hamilton, aka Mee Maw, Lolly's mother.
Lolly has a hang-up about getting involved with men living on the edge, her father took a bullet with a ruetine traffic stop.

Delacroix is fed up with his life, his job as an undercover cop for The Texas Department of Safety, Narcotics Division - what he really wanted to do was settle down with a good woman.

Yup! this is leading to a great romance - but first they had to find out who was dumping dead bodies in the drink. Drug king-pins no less!
Was there a gang war going on?

This is hilarious yet romantic with a bit emotional storm waiting to erupt.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - this is a keeper.

Port Serenity, Texas Police Chief Lavinia "Lolly" LaTullipe has a filled plate between raising a fourteen years old son and a ten years old daughter alone and the small crimes that occur in her jurisdiction. The Peaceful Cove "Inn" calls to have her remove underage drinkers when she notices a high school crony Cookie Baker at the bar with a stud. She says hello, but the hunk yanks her onto his lap so she zaps him with her stun gun.

Texas Department of Safety Narcotics Division undercover agent Christian Delacroix knows he deserved the shock, but that he thought she could have just shown him her badge instead of leaving him on the floor. Christian is in town working on a case of dead drug dealers floating onto the nearby beach. As they share an office and work closely together, they fall in love, but she has two kids with a picket fence while he has always lived on the edge.

A TEXAS STATE OF MIND is a wonderful police procedural romance that works on two levels: the investigation and the relationships. The murder mystery is cleverly handled so that the two law enforcement officials must work as a team following up on that opening zap. Lolly is a strong amazon who does Herculean work as the chief and as a single mom. Christian is her ideal counterpart as he is intelligent and courageous. However, kids, dogs, and fences are outside his norm so the audience will wonder if he chooses to stay out in the cold or enter the warmth of a loving family.

Harriet Klausner