REVIEW: The Protector by Helenkay Dimon

The Protector by Helenkay Dimon is the fourth book in the Games People Play series. I would recommend reading these in order, as there’s very little background given in this book about the group Damon works for and about his co-workers that are in this book.

In Salvation, there’s a commune where people live and work, keeping the outside world out. Cate Pendleton’s sister went there for an education, but she didn’t make it out alive. Now Cate wants the truth about her sister’s death. In order to do that, she contacts a DC Fixer who assigns Damon Knox to get her into the commune.

Damon has his own connection to the commune and a guaranteed way to get in. But while people are claiming things are different than before and that the commune is now a peaceful place, Damon and Cate learn otherwise as they’re threatened and things start happening to them. When it becomes clear someone wants to stop Cate from discovering the truth, Damon and his friends have to uncover the truth before Cate ends up like her sister.

I enjoyed the mystery in the book. I’ll admit I wasn’t entirely sure who was behind the crime, although I had it narrowed down to two people by the time it was revealed. I also enjoyed the suspense in the book. There’s a few scenes that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

I thought Damon kept his connection to the commune secret a little too long. He had plenty of chances to come clean to Cate but he didn’t, so it was understandable that she was upset when she found out.

I wasn’t crazy about the romance between Damon and Cate. It didn’t feel really developed and, as a result, I wasn’t really feeling them as a couple. I felt their romance was overshadowed by the investigation into the commune. I would have liked to have seen a little more of a balance between the two.

Based on the mystery and suspense, it was a good read. In the romance department it falls flat though. If you enjoy romantic suspense, with more focus on the suspense than the romance, this may be a book that you’ll enjoy.
 

Book Info:

Publication: July 31, 2018 | Avon | Games People Play #4

Salvation, Pennsylvania. The commune located in the small town was advertised as a modern Utopia: a place to live, share, and learn with other like-minded young people. Cate Pendleton’s sister was one of them. Now she’s dead—and Cate won’t rest until she finds out who killed her. Stonewalled at every turn, she approaches a DC Fixer for help and ends up with Damon Knox, a mysterious man with a secretive past. But Cate soon discovers that she not only needs Damon, she wants him, which isn’t good—for the attraction brewing between them will only lead to complications that can turn into danger . . .

Damon has tried to erase the hellish memories and the evil that happened in Salvation ever since he left a long time ago. Still, he can’t turn his back on Cate. As Damon works with Cate to uncover her sister’s killer, he finds himself drawn to her more and more. But how will she feel about him when she learns about his connection to the place?

Joining forces to uncover the truth, they must stay one step ahead of a cunning killer who’s bent on not being exposed.