Behind His Walls by B L Mooney

Take all the preconceived ideas you have about this book from the blurb and chuck them, honestly just forget the whole lot because what this book contains is so much more than those few sentences could ever convey and I think how it will make you feel is more than the author had perhaps anticipated. I was sure I knew what I was getting when I opened the first chapter – after all the author has laid it out – NOT a chance!

This was a story that not only snuck up on me, it left me gobsmacked.

On face value Joseph is the consummate professional, the man that helps abused women to rebuild their lives, to find the strength to move on and start again.

But behind his suited and booted exterior is an altogether different man, under that perfectly groomed exterior lies the most beautiful alpha man who without fail is more than enough to raise the temperature more than just a few degrees. But with all that he is, he also has a lot more hiding beneath the surface, he has demons that he desperately tries to keep locked away but for how long?

Lindsey on the other hand, spends her days delving into the minds of criminals, the probing and questioning the very people that society would rather forget exist. She gives off an air of authority and control that is so far from the truth, outward impressions are deceptive and her strength isn’t as deep as she would like. She wants nothing more than to have someone to love and that will love her back, someone to take control and be the man that she needs but that simple wish no matter have hard she has prayed has failed to materialise.

Could she have that with Joseph, could these co-workers have the all elusive something more?

Initially I was 100% certain that they were too far apart and even if they did get together there were too many forces pulling and vying for their attention that they had no chance of surviving together.

Joseph doesn’t do relationships, he has a past that means that having someone rely on him in that capacity is somewhere he never wants to go, and with Lindsey he cannot be the man she needs, being together is something that will only end in disaster or so he has convinced himself. He is his own worst enemy and I just wanted to yell at him to give himself a break, his past is an anchor he seems to wear around his neck and until he lets someone in he will continue to drown self-doubt – Can Lindsey be the woman to save him from himself?

Like a great novel, the need cuts both ways and as much as Joseph is trying to keep his distance, when he takes her home to care for her whilst she is ill, the walls that he has constructed around his heart begin to be chipped away at little by little.

Lindsey is being threatened by a criminal that she helped to convict and as their friendship has slowly begun to morph into something more Joseph feels an unnerving need to protect her. Knowing that the convict is coming after her takes precedence over his fears, he needs to keep her safe.

As the walls begin to crumble and they start to let each other in, a tiny bit at a time, I still had my heart in my mouth and my fingers crossed that they could make it work and when they cut loose, the resulting read was exceptional and they were fabulous together.

The relationship between the two of them when they finally got into their stride was just breath-taking, they were everything they needed to be and more and they set the pages alight!

There are questions galore throughout the book that will have you searching for answers. Characters that will engage and mystify you, situations that will have you shaking your head and others that will leave you aghast.

The mystery element of this book is first rate, it loses nothing as the romance between the two of them intensifies, if anything it gathers apace and refuses to be left on the side-lines.

This is a book that has a foot firmly planted in both camps, Romance and Mystery and neither of them give way to the other – they are perfect bedfellows.

Superbly written with an astonishing attention to detail and a sensitivity that was beautiful to read.

Five stars is doing it an injustice – it is worth so much more!