For the First Time

For the First Time by Stephanie Doyle

Former CIA agent Mark Sharpe is the best at what he does...just ask him.  Having decided to leave the Agency in order to be a full-time dad to his reluctant teenage daughter, Mark has set up as a private investigator specializing in cold cases.  Now, one of those cases seem to have come back to haunt him, forcing him to bite the bullet and hire on a brilliant partner who simply rubs him the wrong way.

JoJo Hatcher is a non-conformist.  If someone can't tell that from her attitude, her tattoos will leave them in no doubt.  She knows no amount of camouflage will work on Mark, but she finds herself oddly drawn to the idea of working with this genius of observation.  Can she keep her growing attraction from distracting her from her job?  Especially now that Mark's daughter has been threatened and he needs her so desperately.

The main characters are transparent.  Sometimes this can be a good thing, other times...not so much.  In this case it is a mixed blessing.  Mark's transparency worked great in the previous book, where he acted as the foil to the main character, Ben Tyler.  In this book, his transparency is a hindrance because there are only so many believable ways he can react to a situation, and none of them are very complimentary to him.  JoJo's transparency works in a way that is unexpected.  The reader knows that JoJo is motivated by her past, and as such will do what ever it takes to keep history from repeating itself.  This works because the reader does not get all of the backstory all at once, so we are kept guessing as to what really happened to her to make her the way that she is.

Once again, the supporting characters save the day.  Greg's story is intriguing, and as we are only given a morsel of it, we find ourselves salivating for more.  Sophie is a typical teen with an atypical life.  We can relate to her angst, but also marvel at her strength while she deals with stuff that most adults will never even deal with.

Overall, this is a good read.  I really enjoyed the story, but often found myself distracted by Mark being somewhat unlikable.    

Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 5

Sex – 4 

Language – 3 

Storyline – 4

Overall – 4