Law and Disorder start with a chaotic hostage situation at the old mansion in Miami. A group of bandits masked as famous robbers of the history is after a treasure hidden for decades. Convinced that Kody Cameron, with her extended research on the matter, is the only one who could ever find it, they kidnap her to find the treasure for them.
One of the bandits is an undercover FBI agent Nick Connolly, who months ago met Kody in New York and is afraid she will blow his cover, and so the whole operation, to capture one of the top ten most wanted criminals in the country.
I love the author's work, Heather Graham writes mind-blowing suspense stories with some romantic aspects in them. Law and Disorder has an extended background story to it, the history of the treasure, the history of the mansion, the history of the famous robbers, the history of the bandits, the history of Nick and Kody's connection and meeting... There is a lot of information in the first quarter at the book, and it does get a bit overwhelming.
But after the scene is set the story picks off and the intensity of the suspense grows rapidly as the hunt for the treasure change locations.
I liked the characters, both Nick and Kody. While at the mansion Nick is doing his best to keep everyone alive and keep his cover. The dance between the tasks isn't easy, and at times it seemed nearly impossible that no one picked up on his duplicity. Nick is a fair, humble and kind man, he loves his career and the work he does. His instant attraction to Kody months ago in New York let to nothing but now he maybe has a new chance to make a move, if they all just survive the coop.
Kody is an actress, a bit flamboyant, but with a heart of gold, and always putting others first. She is a passionate, brilliant, and brave, though she sometimes let her mouth go before her thoughts.
The action is vivid and violent, the leader of the bandits doesn't have much value for a human life, yet has an interesting code of conduct that spikes up at the most unexpected times. The twists in the plot are unforeseen, the constantly growing intensity puts the reader to the edge as the characters slosh around the swamps fighting against the wildlife as much as the insane, murderous leader of the bandits.
With lot of history and scenery from the Everglades, the unpredictable tale of deadly and dangerous action takes the reader for a hunt of a lifetime where human life doesn't have much value, where precarious nature is adding into the hardship, yet a surprising, wonderful, tender feelings take root and a priceless treasure of heart is found. I'm looking forward to this new exciting series from one of my favorite authors!
~ Three Spoons with a teaspoon on the side

Law and disorder by Heather Graham. There are some serious flaws here. Within the first few dozen pages, the author can't decide what to focus on: the main character's history, the location's history, the location's description, and, oh yeah, the plot all get fairly equal page time. The dialogue is clunky and wooden, a better example of how not to write engaging prose.
The pre-pub ebook's formatting isn't doing any favors. The text is in several different sizes within each page, which is difficult on the reader. The lines are in no paragraph form-- they run a full line across the page, a half line across, a full line across and so on. It makes it hard to sort out the dialogue. There isn't anything in the story that makes it worth it to fight through the formatting.

Law and Disorder is the first book in Heather Graham’s Finnegan series. It was a lot of fun and reminded me of an old gangster movie mainly because the villains in the book all had code names that went back to the Prohibition Era. In addition, these criminals were in search of merchandise that had been stolen decades ago by a gangster of that very same era. There was murder, kidnapping, and a massive manhunt. Somehow, Heather Graham was also able to weave in some romance.

Law and Disorder is the story of stage actress Dakota “Kody” Cameron who is taken hostage while visiting the historic manor that her family inherited and operates as a sort of museum in Florida. One of her ancestors owned the manor and was also a criminal who had stolen and hidden jewels and other valuables decades ago. Of course, no one has ever been able to find the stolen goods. However, that doesn’t stop a criminal mastermind who calls himself “Dillinger” from taking Kody and members of the Manor’s staff hostage in an effort to force Kody to figure out where the valuables are hidden. She has proven to know a lot about the area and possible hiding places of the loot. Unbeknownst to Kody, one of the members of Dillinger’s crew is actually undercover FBI agent Nick Connolly. Oddly enough, although he is wearing a mask and using a codename, Kody is sure that she has met Nick before. For Nick, he has to be careful that Kody doesn’t recognize him and blow his cover. Plus, the attraction that they share creates an interesting dynamic between captive and captor.

Although some parts of the book appeared to be a little unrealistic, I did appreciate the cat and mouse game that was played out. Nick’s struggle to keep everyone safe while maintaining his cover was intriguing and I liked how he was able to stay calm. It seems that the Heather really didn’t want to create a gory scene so the body count was nonexistent and there was little violence. As far as the romance was concerned, even the love scenes were fairly tame. Consequently, I felt like she could have turned things up a notch but it was still a good book overall.

I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review. Everything that follows is my opinion and no one else. I have not been compensated to review or read this book.

I have read a few Heather Graham books and even got my mom into her. We loved that Graham's stories have a suspense/thriller mainplot with the romance a close second. Yes, she is technically a romance author, but it is the suspense and thriller aspect (sometimes otherworldly) that really pulled me into her work. So, when I found that there was another book from her coming up, I jumped at the chance.

Luckily, I was accepted by the powers that be for my copy from NetGalley. It didn't take long for me to crack it open (despite my list growing rapidly).

I would like to start with the main focus of action and suspense. We start off with the setting of a historic home being invaded by masked men. Right off the bat, you are sent into a highly charged situation. Our heroine, Kody Cameron, instantly shows her chops in a hostage takeover. She remains calm, uses her wit and brains, and doesn't back down despite a gun to her head. She isn't a damsel in distress.

Likewise, our hero, Nick Connolly, is an agent undercover who shows his own cool and collective manner when his mission doesn't go according to plan. For one, the ringleader of the gang is a psychopath. For another, the one person they need to find a mobster's treasure is a smartass woman who doesn't know when to shut up or cares about her own safety.

Personally, I didn't care for the romance aspect of the story. I like the leads and I think they work well for each other, but I'm not sure their romance necessarily made sense. I can see them to the point the book ends them with. Don't get me wrong about that. I just feel that the action and high stakes mainplot took over most of what could help establish a relationship.

Granted, one of the characters is undercover and that does make it hard for a real relationship to solidify. However, I feel that perhaps this book would have been better if their relationship grows in another book. Then again, I'm a sucker for series and I love to see characters grow into what they are intended to become.

However, with the overpowering of the mainplot and not enough chemistry to make a relationship, I wasn't completely sold on Kody and Nick as a couple. At least not to the extent of a couple that the book ends with. The story wasn't bad and the writing is good. I just didn't feel the relationship lived up to their potential.

2.5 Stars

This is my first Heather Graham, but I don’t think it’s her best work judging by her wide fan base. I think the biggest problem was the villain didn’t come off as all that villainous. I never quite believed he would hurt Kody. The plot also seemed a bit farfetched, this criminal thought Kody could find treasure many experts and researchers have looked for without success?

Still, it was an entertaining, and at times suspenseful read, easy to finish fast. I enjoyed the romance, too. I think I’ll try another Heather Graham, since like I said, I don’t think Law and Order demonstrated her talents effectively. I’m always on the lookout for a new (to me) romantic suspense author, and I’ve seen high praise for her work. Anyone have a recommendation?

A copy was kindly provided by Harlequin Intrigue in exchange for an honest review.

Another great mystery by a masterful story teller. Kody and Nick's story was filled with suspense and a sense of urgency. The connection to the Finnegan's was also a nice subplot.

Kody is kidnapped by a psycho who is looking for a long lost treasure. He thinks she knows where it is and isn't afraid to kill innocent people to motivate her. Nick appears to be part of his crew, but he is really an undercover agent. Their search takes them through the swampy Everglades filled with snakes and alligators. Enjoyable romantic suspense.

There is a lot of wrong with this book.. First off, heroine's name kept going back & forth as Kody & Dakota which confuses the reader and makes it impossible to follow through. Then we have a plot with unbelievable cheesy bad guys with stupid names and a heroine that is too stupid and aggravating. As for romance? I must have missed it - and that was the point of this book, no? A fictional romance with some suspense? Unfortunately it was the opposite which is why it didn't work for me.

Law and Disorder jumps straight into a manic hostage situation and search for buried treasure. Kody Cameron and a group of others are taken hostage by a gang who want to use her knowledge of gangster history to find the buried treasure of mobster Anthony Green. The treasure has been hidden for decades and head bad guy "Dillinger" thinks Kody can find it where so many others have failed. She turns to "Barrow", one of the gang, for help. He seems familiar but she can't figure out why. Turns out Barrow is really Nick Connolly, undercover FBI agent who once briefly met Kody in a bar in NY. In an amazingly short period of time the FBI have negotiated for the release of hostages, met the bad guys' demands for motor boats and Dillinger, Barrow, and Kody are heading into the Everglades to find where she thinks the treasure is hidden.
I liked the idea of this story- undercover agent works against crazy bad guy to free hostages and falls in love with one of them. Instant connection between the two heroes, building off of a brief moment months before leading to a deeper relationship may be unlikely in real life, but it's a lot of fun in books.
Unfortunately, I ended up being highly disappointed in this book. Between pages of information on the Florida Everglades, historical mobster data, house architecture, and the dangers of the swamp at night there wasn't a lot of time for a developed plot and even less for a developing romance. Stilted, unrealistic dialogue; a bad guy who seemed more like a caricature from a movie; and a heroine who mouths off beyond the point of bravery and into annoying stupidity left it hard to like any of the characters. We never find out why Dillinger is so obsessed with the hidden treasure that he would kidnap Kody not once but twice to try and find it. And Graham repeats herself so much, and puts tons of details where they don't work that it is impossible to ever really get into a rhythm - the book keeps interrupting itself. When Kody gets a gun held on her in the first two sentences of the book I thought I'd be pulled in and not be able to put the book down. When Kody responds to the gun in her face by thinking about all the times she and her friends played cops and gangsters as kids, leading to her love of historical mobsters and the history of the house she's at, I was thrown off, and never really managed to get back into it. The amount of repetition (always a big pet peeve of mine in books) made me wonder if Graham thought her readers weren't paying attention or if she wasn't.
With a lot of editing, Law and Disorder could have been a good book. However, it read more like a first draft than a polished mystery to me. I've seen Heather Graham books out for years and this was the first one I've read. And while I know everyone can have an off book, I can't say this one made me want to try another of Graham's books to see if this one was just a fluke.

3.5 Solid Stars.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

When I started to read this book I truly didn't know where it was going to go. But what I found was a well thought out story that had suspense, mystery, intrigue and passion. I enjoyed the story-line where they have met before but she can't place him. The dual pov is captivating. To know what Nick was thinking while he was undercover.

Kody has a love for her home, which happens to be a historical landmark. But the past has a secret that is too irresistible for some people. She is sought out for her passion for her home and knowledge of the homestead and the previous owners. Held hostage and demanded to find the treasure that many believe is legend. Will she be able to find it or will countless lives be held in her hand?

Nick is undercover, years of work has come to this assignment. But when a brief encounter from his past ends up front and center of the hostage situation will she blow his cover?

I thought this book moved at a good pace, an easy read, but I also found that some information was repeated multiple times. The characters are well developed and I enjoyed how even thought they went thru a high intensity experience together they didn't let it throw them together. They worked at a real relationship.

I have read every one of Heather Graham's books, I usually enjoy them very much. I have to say this one did not hold my interest. The story and characters were ok. I found Kody being kidnapped twice a little much. And Kody being so mouthy with her abductors was annoying. I will continue to read Heather Graham's books because she is one of my favorites and not every book can be a fan favorite.

I've spent the past week considering what to say about Law and Disorder. My problem with this story is that I ended up quite disappointed in it. The premise sounded great, and I've heard good things about Heather Graham before... but the actual content of the book? Overall--this was a story trying to be something it was not, and because of that, it's just okay.

Let's start with the good bits. The actual crime, while crazy, keeps the story moving and is intriguing. Graham included a lot of history and details for the setting, and while I have no idea if any of it is truly reflective of the area or totally fictional, it was both interesting and in-depth. The mystery and tension were well done. The main story regarding the crime was wrapped up nicely.

However, this is a "romantic suspense" book, yet I think Law & Disorder would have been better served without the romantic component to it. Many times I felt myself wondering why they were having romantic thoughts in such a dire situation, and later why they moved things along unhealthily fast. I can believe the attraction at first sight part, but there still needs to be a foundation for a relationship, and that was missing in this story.

Another minor issue was Dakota's nickname, Kody. There was nothing indicating this was her nickname, and I'd guess that anyone who has never known a "Dakota" will be briefly disoriented before realizing that Dakota and Kody are the same person.

Then we get to the part that really detracted in my enjoyment of this book: the vocabulary. There were several instances where it was unnecessarily dumbed down. Here are a few examples:
-- "...he was an FBI man..." (what's wrong with using the phrase "FBI agent" when speaking of this profession?)
-- "...but, hey, they call bad guys bad guys because...they're bad."
-- "It was dark. Darker than any darkness Kody had ever known before." (I wish I was joking about this line.)

Finally, I'm not certain if the author was trying to be funny, but several times the similarity to Stockholm syndrome is alluded to, yet our heroine is apparently too daft to know it exists. There was one line in particular that stood out regarding this: "And that Nick had been her captor--who had turned into her savior. There was surely a name for the confusion plaguing her!"

Heather Graham is one of my favorite people and favorite authors. Her talent is so big that she can write in almost any genre and make it work. In Law and Disorder, she is back to writing thrillers and what a good read this was. Kidy and Nick are well drawn characters involved in a tight little mystery that thrilled me.

Nick is an FYI agent that is working undercover with a bang that use major criminal Nick names such as Capone, Dillinger etc. At the time of a kidnapping all the bad guys are wearing masks. Suddenly Nick realizes he recognizes the major person to be kidnapped. Kody is kidnapped for her knowledge about a historical mobsters hidden stash. Now there are numerous hostages and kidnappers. Will Kody recognize Nick and blow his cover? The story is full of twists and turns as well as intrigue and suspense. The author writes so that the reader is pulled into the story. I received a complementary copy of this book via NetGalley and chose to write a review. I look forward to reading future books by this author.

A real page-turner I didn't want to put it down. Heather's ability to keep the suspense going is amazing. I can't wait to see what character Heather chooses to write about next because I'm sure it will be as amazing as the others in this series have been.

This book is bad. I hate writing that because I was very excited to read something that wasn't in the "Krewe" series".

I picture an author watching some B movies like Expendables and thinking, "Hey, I'm going to write dialogue like this so it sounds cool." But it's not cool, it's just bad.

This was such a disappointment.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

3.5 Hearts I am a fan of Heather Graham’s. I love her Krewe of Hunters series and usually pick up every one of her books so I didn’t pass this one up. And mostly enjoyed it. But here is the thing the writing seemed early. What I mean is I went back to see if this was a reprint of one of her earlier works but I can’t find that it is.

Kody is a strong woman willing to do what she needs and I liked her. She was willing to put herself out there in the midst of danger to protect her people. But yet when it comes to Nick/Barrow she is a bit girly. She has feelings for the guy that just kidnapped her. But it is a little early for Stockholm Syndrome when it has only been a day. Nick doesn’t seem like a very good cop. I mean Kody does all the heavy lifting but he does seem sweet.

I will of course pick up the next one in the series when it comes out.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big Heather Graham fan! This was a fun, quick read with a few historical facts about South Florida thrown in. I will continue with the Finnegan Connection series.

While I will continue to explore Graham's work, this particular tile is not one I would recommend starting out. It seems to have all the right characteristics for a good romance novel and if there is a recipe to follow she has nailed it, but I enjoy a little more complexity and nuance to the characters.

From the very first line Heather Graham hooks readers into a novel of steamy suspense. Dakota Cameron, actress and part-time bartender, is working at her family's Crystal Manor museum in Florida before heading back to New York for work. She doesn't expect to be taken hostage, along with other members of staff, by a gang wearing masks of notorious gangsters. The leader of the gang, Dillinger, is on the hunt for Anthony Green's hidden treasure and it's up to Kody to find it before anyone is hurt.

Lost treasure possibly hidden in the swamps and bogs of the Everglades makes Law and Disorder all the more intriguing. A great majority of the novel is taken place in the Everglades. Just imagine all the trouble Kody and undercover Agent Nick Connolly get into while trying to survive an expanse of nature and an obsessed criminal. As much as I like the idea of the story, I wasn't a big fan of the dialogue. Dillinger managed to sound like a cheesy villain and the other characters didn't really stand out from one another. In other words, it was hard to imagine their speech coming from actual people. The romance is an interesting blend of instant connection and mutual attraction as Kody realizes one of the kidnappers is a man she bumped into in New York, and Nick does everything in his power to remain undercover while keeping her safe. The romance scenes feel like they actually belong in a regency romance because of how tamed and modest they are, but it goes in hand with the fast pace of the novel.

I've always been a big fan of stories featuring FBI agents and romantic thrillers. While Law and Disorder hasn't made my list of favorites, I still enjoyed the first novel of Heather Graham's latest series The Finnegan Connection.

*ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*