This book is definitely deserving of the Intrigue title. I was pleasantly surprised that there was so much thrilling action. There was one part in particular that had me biting me nails with the suspense of it all. Also the romance, while tame, was a sweet second chance lovers. It is very evident from early on how much both characters want the best for each other and I found that really heartwarming.

Ali is a character that I immediately liked and was rooting for. Her story is so sad and the things she went through were absolutely heartbreaking. Despite of all of that though, she is someone who still knows their worth and is fighting to do the right thing and get the future that she deserves. Jax, on the other hand, is a character that I didn’t really like. He had his moments of brilliance but overall he just wasn’t for me. I did enjoy the marshal aspect of his character and the steps he took to ensure Ali made it to the trial. My favorite moments of Ali and Jax together were when he was protecting her and keeping her safe.

I am sad to say that I was pretty disappointed by the ending. I felt like there was no payoff for the story as a whole and to a certain aspect that happens closer to the end. I was reading and then I got to the end and I was so confused because it ended in the most random way. I feel like the rest of the book had really great pacing and moved along well so it was shocking to have that ending. The rest of the book was good and a great choice for any fan of romantic suspense.

Allison escaped from her toxic marriage and his family and needs to be alive to take down his crime family in court. Until then she needs to stay alive, unfortunately for her the guy who is supposed to make sure shes alive until the course date is her ex US Marshal Jaxson there is old hurt feelings and stuff they must now face as he makes sure shes protected at all costs.

I was expecting more action with this book and didnt get that but there was plenty of suspense to keep me going. I kept wondering when and if he ex's family would strike and how would thinks go. It's going to be a long four days for Allison and it was interesting seeing how she was determined to get through them all especially with her ex on the scene. There was plenty catching up to do and clearly they both cared for eachother but this mission of staying alive is proving complicated with each unknown factor that kept popping up making them nervous and keeping the characters on thier toes. Overall loved this book it was really good and I really enjoyed reading it.

Can Being in Witness Protection Keep You Safe?

Five years ago Allison James made the mistake of her life. She married Harrison Armone, scion of a major crime family. At first things seemed perfect, but as Harrison challenged his father for control of the operation life became constrained to the point where she was almost a prisoner. Armone Senior didn’t take his son’s defection well. He shot him and Allison was a witness. She fled and is now in witness protection waiting to testify against her father-in-law.

Before she married Harrison, Allison was in love with Jaxson Stevens. She wanted to finish school, and he left her to pursue his dream of being a US Marshal. Due to an accident, he’s now the marshal assigned to keep her safe. Allison can’t stand the idea that he might be harmed. Does this mean she’s still in love with him?

This story is the perfect blend of romance and suspense. The attraction between Jaxson and Allison is palpable, but danger is all around them. The action moves quickly and keeps you on the edge of your seat while wondering whether Jaxson and Allison will acknowledge their feelings for each other.

This is the fifth novel in the Winchester, Tennessee series. Although some of the characters have been in other books, the author does a good job of threading the backstory through the action so that it can be read as a standalone. If you love suspense laced with romance, this is a good one.

I received this book from Harlequin for this review.

In my bookseller days, we sold Harlequins by the truckload – especially during sales. Back then, I thought they were novels geared toward much older ladies who preferred their romances to be a little over-the-top (vikings with hearts of gold, ruthless Scottish lords who can be changed by fair maidens…though I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by the number of billionaires with secret babies). Still, I thought these were books for a certain audience and that was that.

Recently I was approached about partnering with Harlequin on several of their imprints and decided maybe I wrote these books off too soon, maybe I should see what all the fuss is about, and happily signed up.

Allison James was orphaned by her mid-20s and not long after became a widow, suddenly a member of two clubs no one wants to be a part of. Unlike other widows, however, Allison wasn’t devastated by her husband’s death, murdered at the hand of his father. Sheltered growing up, Ali saw graduation as her chance to experience the world and shortly after college took a job at a nondescript company and settled down with a man who lavished her with expensive gifts and exotic trips. Little did she know that business was merely a front and that loving husband of hers? The son and heir of a powerful crime family.

With her husband dead, Ali fled, making her way to FBI headquarters to tell her story. As the trial of her ex-father-in-law looms just a few days away, Ali’s witness protection cover couldn’t be more vital. Unfortunately, the US Marshall tasked with guarding her has been involved in a car accident (bad luck or something more devious?) and a new Marshall is given the job, Jax Stevens…Ali’s ex-boyfriend.

What Harlequins lack in size, they make up for in drama. Witness Protection Widow had it all: second chance romance, crime bosses, family tragedy and illness, fleeing an abusive relationship. Though it was half the size of a novel, I never felt the story suffered and, in fact, moved along at a brisk pace the entire time!

As someone relatively new to the world of Harlequins, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but am thrilled to add a new one under my belt. Witness Protection Widow is the fifth book in Webb’s Winchester, Tennessee series, but I had no trouble following along with this one and feel it works just fine as a standalone.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

This is not the first book I have read with a big, bad marshal protecting a witness to try and keep her alive until she can testify. However, as I have already seen by reading a few of Debra Webb's books before, she never lets her readers down. This was a fast-paced story where bad guys were always on the heels of our pair.

We have Allison James, who is willing to die trying in her attempts to testify against her ex-father-in-law. Our second player is US Marshal Jaxson Stevens, Ali's ex-boyfriend. Two things are clearly evident, danger is ever-present, and their feelings are as potent as ever. It has been ten years since they have seen one another. Ali since got married - unbeknownst to her at the time, to a man who was a mobster. Ali has first-hand knowledge that WITSEC is not as safe as she was promised.

Will Ali make it to the trial alive? When all of the danger is over will she and Jax have a second chance at love?

When I picked up this book, the action started to quickly that I never put it down until the last page. I haven't read any of the previous books in the series, but this story had no trouble doing well as a standalone. However, Debra Webb is a relatively new name to me, so if there are new books in this series to follow, I will certainly be reading them.

Many thanks to Harlequin and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Anytime I get a new Debra Webb book to read, I get excited because I know that I am in for a treat of tautly written suspense as well as romance that captures my heart. WITNESS PROTECTION WIDOW presents the suspense and the romance in just the right mixture to intrigue fans of both genres. Allison has married into the powerful and ruthless Armone family, unaware that her husband is part of a major Atlanta crime syndicate. Barely escaping with her life after her husband is killed, now Ali is ready to testify against her father-in-law, if she can just stay alive to do so. U.S. Marshall Jaxson Stevens has the enviable task of protecting the new widow until she can get to court. Jax and Ali have a shared past that plays well into the whole intriguing and compelling plot. Fans of romantic suspense will not want to miss out on this one!

After years of taking care of the people in her life Allison met a man who showered her with care and attention until she became his wife. He became the opposite of the loving man she thought he was and made it is goal to control her and every aspect of her life. As happens in a crime family he is murdered and now she’s in need of protection from the people who killed him. She must be kept safely hidden until the murder trial is over and dangerous people are behind bars. When the agent who was protecting her ends up in the hospital after a deer vs. car accident a new agent is called in to replace him. That new agent happens to be Ali’s ex-boyfriend Jaxon, a US Marshal. They haven’t been in contact in years so Ali is shocked when Jax arrives to take over the job. As the trial grows closer the danger amps up. Will Jax be able to keep Ali safe until the mission is over? And what then? I thought Debra Webb did a good job of maintaining suspense with good pacing and details like security breaches and necessary itinerary changes, etc. If that sounds like your cup of tea you’ll want to grab a copy. I recommend Witness Protection Widow to fans of the author and the Romantic Suspense genre.

4 1/2 STARS!

With the fifth book in her A Winchester, Tennessee Thriller series, Debra Webb brings us the story of a woman in witness protection in WITNESS PROTECTION WIDOW. The story was intense and danger chased them around every corner.

Allison James lived a nightmare with her late husband and barely lived to tell the story after escaping his maniacal family. She's an interesting character with a lot of grit and fortitude and it's easy to root for her as the story unfolds.

Jaxson Stevens is the ex that broke her heart all those years ago and happenstance has him stepping in to protect her four days before she's set to testify and bring down the head of her late husband's family. He's filled with regret and snags a reader's heart quickly.

I recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a danger filled, action packed reunion story. It's fast paced, well developed and though the ending felt a bit abrupt, I really enjoyed it!

Allyson James was deceived into marrying into a crime family. Now widowed and definitely having paid her dues she's the star witness in the prosecution's case to put her crime lord father-in-law into prison for the rest of his natural life. Of course this does not come without a tremendous amount of danger for her particularly as the case is fast approaching trial. At the eleventh hour when the US Marshall guarding her is put into hospital her protection is taken over by her ex-boyfriend Jaxson.
A fast moving excellently executed story where the suspense is sky high on whether Allyson will make her court date. The chemistry between her and Jaxson is as strong as ever though Jaxson clearly does not believe that she was innocent in the meeting and marrying of her criminal husband.
A definite second chance at romance if Allyson can survive her testimony but then isn't Jaxson just the right US Marshall to ensure it?

Witness Protection Widow by Debra Webb is a romantic suspense that will keep you turning the pages at a break neck speed. It is part of a series but totally stands alone. I didnt realize it was part of a series until after I was half way through it and recognized some characters.

Ali and Jax were college sweethearts for 6 months. When Jax was offered the Marshall’s training it was his dream. Ali felt that she could not go with him. The author created a very realistic dilemma for the 20 somethings to work through.

Present day, Ali is in the witness protection program after marrying into a very bad family. She is the key witness to take down the leader, her father in law. Some of what Ali went through while married into the family was disturbing. It was all in the past but stayed with me after I read the story. Again the author created a reasonable scenario as to why Ali had not left the marriage.

Jax is a very successful US Marshall. Situations occur that have him guarding Ali for the four days leading up to the trial. The action and suspense were top notch. I was holding my breath to see if she was going to make it to the courtroom.

Sexual content - 2.5 one physical scene with very little details.
Violence 3.5 the violence is in the past, but her husband was evil. And there were not graphic details to describe it.
Language
Drinking - i dont recall any drinking

Allison James was married to a mob boss for five years; three of them as his prisoner. When she witnessed her father-in-law murder his own son in front of her; she knew she needed to escape. Once Allison finally got to to the FBI she was put in WITSEC. Finally, she felt safer than she had in a long time. Soon she learned she was to be moved, the U S Marshall who was protecting her was injured in an auto accident. The replacement turned out to be her former boyfriend...

Alison fell into this mess after her first love Jaxson Stevens decided to leave her to pursue his dream career as a U S Marshall. Jax has never stopped loving Ali but, his heart was crushed when he found out she married a year after he left. Even though he had kept up with what she was doing, he never let her know.
Now that she is in Witness Protection and her current police protection is in the hospital. They call in Jaxson to assist for the next four days of protection before the trial.

I loved getting to see both sides of the story and see how easily things can be misinterpreted. I really enjoyed this book which is a part of Webb’s Winchester, Tennessee series so a number of familiar faces pop up to bring background to the story.. The author did an excellent job of using the backstory from the previous four books along with their characters sprinkled throughout the plot and blended well with the story line. This book could be read as a standalone one however, I feel that the reader would gain much more from reading the previous titles to learn more about the characters.

If you love suspense then this is the book for you! This book is action packed and a must read for anyone who loves suspense. I look forward to reading the next book in this series. I received an ARC of this book for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on Jan 21, 2020

I received Witness Protection Widow from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my fair and honest review.

This is the fifth book in the Winchester, Tennessee series and as always Debra Webb doesn't disappoint. I read this book in one afternoon, this was a fast paced and action packed book. Although the book is part of a series it very easily can be read as a stand alone. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

Witness Protection Widow
(Winchester, Tennessee #5)
by Debra Webb

Paperback, 256 pages
Expected publication: January 21st 2020 by Harlequin Intrigue




Goodreads synopsis:
Can the witness protection program keep her identity secret?

After Allison James finally escapes her marriage to a monster, she becomes the star witness in the case against her deceased husband's powerful crime family. Now it's up to US Marshal Jaxson Stevens, Ali's ex-boyfriend, to keep the WITSEC widow safe. But as the danger escalates and sparks fly, will Jax be able to help Ali escape her ruthless in-laws? 

***

4.5 Stars

Debra Webb never disappoints! This was a truly excellent read!

This is the fifth book in the Winchester, Tennessee series in the Harlequin Intrigue line by Debra Webb.

I have mentioned this before but Harlequin Intrigue is my guilty pleasure series and Debra Webb is the author who sucked me back into Intrigues back in 2000-ish with “Safe By His Side”. I adore a good amnesia, stuck in a cabin story.

This book felt more like a standalone title. All the backstory from the previous four books that was relevant was sprinkled in throughout the text and melded perfectly with the storyline. It was not hard at all to get up to speed on what was happening. Plus, can you say: Awesome Cover! That is a cover buy if I ever saw one.

Allison is a star witness against her husband’s father who is part of a significant crime family in the area. She fell into this mess after her first love Jaxson Stevens decided to leave her to pursue his dream career as a US Marshall. Now she is in Witness Protection and her current police protection has had to go into the hospital. They call in Jaxson to assist for the next four days of protection before the trial.

The back and forth in this was great. I loved getting to see both sides of the story and see how easily somethings can be misinterpreted. I was glued to the page and read this in a day! Loving this new to me series from Intrigue!

If you love a good romantic suspense mystery thriller, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

this Book is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone. I have enjoyed this series and I really like Debra Webb’s writing style. Waiting for more books to be published