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Suspicious / The Sheriff of Shelter Valley

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Cold-blooded predators lurk in the Everglades�and not all of them are gators 

When Jesse Crane returned to his roots to serve on the Miccosukee police force, he'd hoped to leave behind the violence of the city and the memories of his murdered wife. But bodies start to pile up in Jesse's corner of the sultry Florida swampland… 

As he probes these crimes, Jesse is drawn to the beautiful Lorena Fortier, a new hire at the local gator farm and research facility. Lorena is a little too interested in Jesse's investigation, but before he can uncover her true motives, they're both pulled into a dangerous web of greed, ambition and animal cunning. To survive, they'll have to decide whether they can trust each other…before the hunters become the hunted. 

BONUS BOOK INCLUDED IN THIS VOLUME! 

The Sheriff of Shelter Valley by USA TODAY bestselling author Tara Taylor Quinn 

Six months ago, Beth woke up with no memory of her past, a bruised face and a little boy who called her "Mama." Until her memory returns, the most dangerous thing she can do is to fall for the sheriff�the one man who can uncover the truth and destroy the person she's become.

544 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 26, 2015

41 people are currently reading
293 people want to read

About the author

Heather Graham

584 books6,922 followers
Also published as Heather Graham Pozzessere and Shannon Drake.

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write, working on short horror stories and romances. After some trial and error, she sold her first book, WHEN NEXT WE LOVE, in 1982 and since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas including category, romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. She wrote the launch books for the Dell's Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette's Shadows, and for Harlequin's mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books.

Heather was a founding member of the Florida Romance Writers chapter of RWA and, since 1999, has hosted the Romantic Times Vampire Ball, with all revenues going directly to children's charity.

She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty languages, and to have been honored with awards frorn Waldenbooks. B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, and more. She has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, People, and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including local television and Entertainment Tonight.

Heather loves travel and anything have to do with the water, and is a certitified scuba diver. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.

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5 stars
87 (35%)
4 stars
90 (37%)
3 stars
54 (22%)
2 stars
7 (2%)
1 star
4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Tracey .
908 reviews56 followers
June 4, 2023
"Suspicious" by Heather Graham is an entertaining, well-written, romantic suspense novel. It has a vividly described setting, likable characters, mystery, intrigue, twists and turns, a heart-warming romance, and a happily ever after ending. Ms. Graham always does a fabulous job weaving her wonderful stories.
"The Sheriff of Shelter Valley" by Tara Taylor Quinn is a well-written, entertaining, romantic suspense novel. It has a small town setting with likable characters, mystery, suspense, cute kids, and a happily ever after ending. It is the sixth entry in Ms. Quinn's Shelter Valley Stories series and can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone. The glimpses of the secondary characters have piqued my interest in reading their stories. I listened to the audio version of these novels, and the narrators, Erin Bennett and Cris Dukehart, do excellent jobs depicting the characters and their personalities.
758 reviews9 followers
January 25, 2018
Both books where amazing, Heather Graham writes stories with a good mix of suspense, mystery and hot steaming love. You also get to learn about the area where the story takes place, it's like a love story, a mystery, a geography lesson all rolled into one.

the Sheriff of Shelter Vally was the 1st book I've read by Quinn, and I don't usually start in the middle of a series but this time I did. this book had a lot of surprises, strong characters, and good flow to it. I look forward to reading more of her books.
Profile Image for Lynn.
3,045 reviews85 followers
February 27, 2021
Really an interesting read, Lorena has gone out to the Everglades to take a nurse as a job at an alligator farm. Her father had been killed as he had found a way to make the reptile not only bigger but better in every way and was hoping to use it as a food source, had been killed and someone had stolen his research. Not only are there wild alligators wandering the everglades, but the farm has a ton of them – murder is happening pretty much everywhere. An Indian fishing, gets eaten by one an disappears. A an old couple get killed for no apparent reason – alligator hunts, FBI, police, Reservation police – help to make many twists and turns as the killers are found along with romance between the nurse and a sheriff who promised never to get involved with a lady again. Quick fast read and fun!
122 reviews
January 29, 2025
One of Graham's stand-alone novels, she returns to the Louisiana bayou/swamps for this nicely nuanced murder-mystery. The novel has great depth and descriptions as she introduces new characters. The mystery has some good twists and turns. Quick satisfying read.

The Sheriff of Shelter Valley was also a quick read - and very engrossing. Competing storylines - or are they??? Good intrigue. The book resolved far too quickly which was a bit disappointing. Not sure if it was shortened for the two-book content in which case I might suggest reading the novel on its own.
2,378 reviews
September 3, 2020
An interesting story set among the alligators in Florida.

Jesse has returned to work on the Miccosukee police force. Lorena has arrived to work as a nurse on the local alligator research and farm facility.

While this is a romance, there is something nefarious going on with the alligators. Both Jesse and Lorena have to work together to get to the bottom of the mysterious large alligators and deaths that are piling up.

111 reviews
November 5, 2017
I liked it because it was based in Florida...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
1,844 reviews1 follower
September 28, 2025
This was a 2 books package. Neither was great but it was a nice pass time.
Profile Image for EvaLynn Merrill.
149 reviews
November 25, 2019
This was a double book. The second author TARA is the only reason it’s getting a low rating. The first book by itself, I would have given a higher rating. At the same time I give the books together a three star because of the first book.

I enjoyed the book by Heather Graham “Suspicious”. It was interesting learning a few new things about alligators. The story was written well and I even was a little surprised by the villain. Just what I like in a book

The second book by Tara Taylor Quinn, “Sheriff of Shelter Valley”, was annoying, repetitive, filled with nonsense filler it literally drove me crazy. It would be safe to say I will not be reading another book from her. She repeated herself so much in every scene like we can’t remember descriptions of what people are thinking from one paragraph to the next. It took FOREVER, and was very frustrating, before Beth would confide in Greg. This book could have and should have been a very short story.
Profile Image for Jeanne Tomlinson.
3 reviews
January 17, 2016
Entertaining. Two heartwarming stories with a couple twists keep them interesting

Two heartwarming stories of romance and mystery. Enough twists to keep them flowing and wanting to know what is next
Profile Image for Theresa.
409 reviews
October 21, 2016
Suspicious

Enjoyed this little Novella. I'm sorry it wasn't a full length book thought. Could have been especially good.
I didn't read the second book though
869 reviews3 followers
September 16, 2016
I love this book, I have always liked reading heather graham, this one kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out the bad guy.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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