Against the Edge by Kat Martin

Against the Edge.  Kat Martin. Harlequin. April 2013. 400 pp. hbk. ISBN #: 9780778314431.

Ben Slocum is a very popular lady’s man.  He’s good-looking and women are automatically attracted to him, but he’s of the “love ‘em and leave ‘em” variety.  Except now he’s in for the shock of his life when a Social Worker, Claire Chastain, shows up at his door and informs him he has a son, Sam.  Ben’s in shock and even more so as he can’t figure out why his ex-girlfriend never told him about Sam but he can’t spend too much time right now as he also finds out that Sam has been kidnapped by the ex-boyfriend of an ex-girlfriend. Confusing, right?  Ben’s shock is immediately transformed to determination to find his son.  The hunt begins!

Laura Thompson, his ex-girlfriend, actually his fiance, cheated on Ben; this is the reason Ben is a one-night stand man with the ladies now.  So he initially has very little attraction to Claire, but that will change throughout the story. Even more worrisome is the question they both worry about, how the kidnapper was so hateful as to make a child suffer because he obviously wanted revenge on someone who rejected him.

The story is a simple one, yet the conversations between Ben and Claire, the added tension coming from Troy Bridger’s goon friends who are more inclined to attack rather than help.  It’s time for Ben and Claire to let go of past hurts, for Ben a huge, wounding betrayal, and consider the possibility of a very different future. 

Add to that the fact that Sam’s not getting preferential treatment, not the kind to make him feel hopeful about a new home anyway!  He basically believes he has no one to help him and so has to accept the abuse that would drive away any kid in a similar circumstance!

Against the Edge is a quick read with a pretty predictable ending but that doesn’t take away the “edge” that holds true throughout the entire story!  Nice mystery/ thriller, Ms. Martin!