romantic suspense

The Guardian is my definitely my favorite book out of all the O'Malley Series books. I completely fell in love with Marcus and his story. His struggle with believing in God again was so real and I loved how he really wrestled with it, instead of just having an immediate overnight conversion like so many other Christian Romance novels portray. I also love how close all the O'Malleys are to one another...and how they'd stick by each other through anything. Dee Henderson has done another masterpiece with The Guardian!

Dee Henderson has produced another winner in the Christian suspense genre with *The Guardian.* The O'Malley troupe are a force to be reckoned with. The group met up at an orphanage where they adopted themselves and became the O'Malley family. They take care of one another, follow career moves, and yes, they even interfere in the love lives of each sibling. Typical family interaction as usual.

In this second installment of the O'Malley series, we follow the love story of the eldest O'Malley sibling, Marcus and a directionally challenged and sweetheart speechwriter Shari. Marcus, a U.S. Marshall, becomes responsible for watching over Shari's family when Shari witnesses and almost becomes victim to murder. In between tense action scenes and the dawning of new love, we also keep up with the rest of the O'Malley clan and their activities.

Once again, I can't say enough about Dee Henderson's writing. I can't wait for the next O'Malley novel!

I've read The Negotiator and The Guardian and I have the same basic opinion about both: unrealistic. But then, I don't read a lot of romance novels, so maybe this genre isn't supposed to be. Just a few examples...

The characters are very black and white. They're either sickeningly perfect or completely bad. Marcus, Jennifer, Kate, Dave, Shari, her mom, her brother, her dad, Carl, the rest of the O'Malleys... I don't know anyone like these people. They're all saints, all beautiful, all educated, all financially well-off. Sure, they've had bad things happen to them, but they're always the victims. I got the impression they've never done or said anything hurtful, inappropriate, or irresponsible themselves.

Their jobs! The O'Malley's are ALL heroes of some kind. And they're all exceptional at their jobs - among the best in their fields. Please.

The family is a little too enmeshed. Especially when it comes to Marcus. I understand he sees himself as a father-figure to the others. But it gets to be a bit much. Example:
p. 203
If something happened to him, who would keep Lisa out of trouble?
[She's a grown woman. She'd keep herself out of trouble.]
Who would give Rachel a hug?
[Is he the only person who hugs her?]
Who would talk to Kate in the middle of the night when she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders?
[This one I can understand. But she does have Dave now.]
Who would ensure Jennifer got everything possible to help her get well?
[The others? Her fiancee? Herself? She's a doctor, after all.]

Another example. Kate, Jennifer, and Marcus all fret over getting married and changing the dynamic between the rest of the family members. It's almost like they feel they'll be betraying each other if they become involved in serious relationships. That doesn't sound normal, but it comes across to me like the author intends it to sound as if it is.

I thought the best parts had to do with solving the case.
Again, maybe my problem is just with the genre. If so, I apologize to Dee. I just didn't see my viewpoint represented anywhere else in the feedback section and wanted to give others like me fair warning.