Book Review: Tough Justice by Tee O'Fallon

Tough Justice was an exciting read with great characters that had me guessing until the very end. This story made for a great series starter and I am definitely looking forward to more.

Tough Justice (K-9 Special Ops #1) by Tee O'Fallon

It should have been a routine investigation. Instead, DEA K-9 agent Adam "Deck" Decker watches in horror as one Denver hospital seems to be Ground Zero for overdoses of a new drug. Now Deck can only hope a certain icy, green-eyed ER doctor will help him and his canine partner track down the deadly source.

Dr. Tori Sampson has her reasons for not trusting federal agents, especially ones working for the DEA. But the rash of overdoses—including a heartbreaking case involving a teen—is alarmingly high. And the new opioid is not only extremely dangerous, it defies all the usual medical treatments. So Tori has a choice: work with the big, brawny, and annoyingly hot DEA agent...or watch more innocent people die.

Tori's the only person who can help Deck break the case, and they'll need to trust each other, no matter how high the tension and attraction sizzling between them runs. But with every question answered, they realize there's something more behind these typical teen overdoses. There's a pattern here, and a pattern can only suggest one thing. There's a killer on the loose.

4 out of 5 stars

Tough Justice was an exciting read that had me guessing the entire time. I loved the action and suspense as Tori and Deck came together in the middle of an intense situation. It was really entertaining with the perfect amount of drama and heat that had me on the edge of my seat.

I loved learning about Tori and Deck and their motivations for their jobs and how dedicated they were. I liked the tension and push and pull between them when they meet since they’re in a high-stress situation. I liked them getting to know each other, working together, and letting their guard down as feelings come into play. It was wonderful to see Tori stepping outside her comfort zone and Deck facing issues from his past. All the while there is this really excellent mystery developing about the bad guys and I loved the build to the details.

This was a great series starter. I liked meeting Deck’s friends and the bonds they have and am looking forward to more stories since some really good groundwork was laid for them. The romance was sweet, sexy, and passionate, though it did feel a little fast-paced at times. I really liked Deck’s K-9 partner Thor, he was incredibly charming and smart and made me smile. The details were good but not overly in-depth, giving me just what I needed to keep me fully invested, looking forward to what would come next.

This was my first time reading this author and I'd definitely read her again. There were a lot of great elements in play that kept me turning the page. Even though there were bad guys doing horrible things, it never felt heavy, it was more on the lighter side for me. I didn't feel stressed out, just really excited as everything unfolded. Exciting was pretty much the theme. I totally enjoyed this!

Complimentary copy received from Entangled Publishing.