Thursday, January 21, 2010

Man Behind the Cop by Janice Kay Johnson

Bruce Walker became a cop so that he could protect the defenseless. He grew up in an abusive home and he's determined to help as many victims and put as many criminals in jail as he can. He's also determined not to follow in his father's footsteps. He knows that abused children can become abusers themselves. He's seen it not only in his work, but with his two brothers. Bruce feels that the only way he can end the cycle of abuse in his family is by maintaining absolute control of himself and avoiding relationships.

His determination is tested when he meets Karin Jorgenson while working on a case. They feel an immediate connection that they both want to pursue, but Bruce can't bring himself to let down his guard. As a therapist working with abuse victims Karin understand the dangers posed by abusers, but she trusts her own judgment about Bruce. The question is whether or not Bruce can learn to trust her, and more importantly himself. He wants to try, but the case that brought them together may ultimately pull them apart.



This book had a lot going on. The obstacles that Bruce and Karin face aren't trivial. This isn't the same old same old where the hero is avoiding relationships because one woman done him wrong and now he just can't trust females. He's a control freak with a lot of unresolved issues. He knows that he can't have a meaningful relationship if he doesn't let down his guard, but he's so fearful of his past that he's paralyzed. Karin believes in him, but she can't make his choices for him and if she wants to be his lover she can't allow herself to fall into the role of being his therapist. I think that would have been plenty of conflict, especially for a category-length book, but Man Behind the Cop included not one, but two significant subplots.

The first is the case the brings Bruce and Karin together. One of Karin's clients was murdered by her abusive husband who then took their children and went on the run. Bruce is worried that the man may kill the children and feels that it's his responsibility to find them in time. The second subplot involves a crisis with Bruce's Little Brother, Trevor. Bruce has been Trevor's Big Brother for several years. His mother is an addict and his father is out of the picture because of past abuse so Bruce is the only stability that he has. When Trevor's mom goes missing and is presumed dead his father comes back into his life, claiming to have cleaned up his act. Bruce has to decide if he should step back and give the two a chance to form a bond, or stay close to protect Trevor from further harm.

For me all of this added up to an interesting book about Bruce's journey, but it didn't really work for me as a romance. All the time spent on Trevor and the hunt for the kidnapped children left too little time for Bruce and Karin as a couple. I was left feeling that I hadn't seen enough of them together to believe that their issues had been resolved in the time frame of the book, which only spanned a few weeks. The book was well written and involving, so I would be interested to read more of this author's work to see if they work better for me as romances.

Grade: B-