The Last Honorable Man

by Vickie Taylor

THE LAST MAN SHE WANTED...
Del Cooper was the only person who could spare Elisa Reyes from a fate worse than death. Though she had every reason to distrust the Texas Ranger accused of accidentally shooting her fiance, Elisa knew that without his help her unborn child had no future. And so she made a deal with the devil -- and accepted Del's honor-bound proposal.

AND THE ONLY MAN SHE NEEDED...
Elisa thought a paper marriage would be enough. But that was before Del put his career on the line to protect her. Before his lips unleashed all her pent-up desires. And suddenly Elisa knew that nothing Del could offer her would be enough -- without his whole heart!

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Vickie Taylor wrote her first novel in 1997. Upon completion, she was too chicken to give the manuscript to anyone she knew to read, so she sent her baby off to a few contests to get some anonymous feedback instead. Little did she know how her life was about to change: a few months later, she had won all four of the Romance Writers of America chapter contests she’d entered, was a Golden Heart finalist and had sold the book to Silhouette Intimate Moments!

Since then, Vickie has written numerous romantic suspense novels for Silhouette Books and Berkley Sensation, garnering such recognition as the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence in Romantic Suspense, a four-and-a-half star “Top Pick” review in Romantic Times, and a coveted RWA Rita nomination for her work.

In 2006, Vickie continued her acclaimed paranormal series featuring Les Gargouillen (the Gargoyles) with FLESH AND STONE, the sequel to the smashing debut CARVED IN STONE. The third book in the series, LEGACY OF STONE, is now on bookstore shelves everywhere.

Vickie lives in a small town in north Texas dubbed “The Heart of Horse Country” where she rounds out her writing days raising horses, volunteering with the local Humane Society, and serving on a K-9 search and rescue team

Reviews

[Saly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot going on and I mean really a lot, the plot was convulted.

Elisa our heroine comes to America from her country which is strife with civil war to marry the father of her baby, he is killed in a Texas Ranger operation and the man who killed him, offers to marry her. Elisa has a deep distrust of police and authority figures because of her experiences in her country and says no at first but when she finds out her baby is not healthy agrees and sees a different side to Del, who she thought was bad, a vulnerable side, one that cares for his grandparents and allows his mothers her illusions to deal with the losses life has dealt to her.

Del feels guilty for shooting Elisa's fiancee, he never saw him, and is now being made a scape-goat of an investigation and is marrying a woman to whom he is attracted and feels he owes something.

Well, theirs is not an easy union, because there is something larger going on and we also find out that Elisa wasn't that truthful, she barely knew the father of her baby and suspected he may be working for the bad regime as well as the fact that she is the leader of the rebels in her country. On top of that Del's freedom is being threatened because of his association with Elisa and pressure of the State Department.

Like I said a lot was going on so the romance kind of took a back-seat. I also never really liked Elisa much, can't say why but I just didn't warm up to her, she was not very grateful for what Del was giving up for her IMO.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars! ~ During an arms deal raid, Ranger Del Cooper kills a man who was an apparent innocent hostage. Del can't explain the shooting, he honestly didn't see the man. When he discovers Elisa, the man's pregnant fiancée, Del wants to protect her no matter what he needs to do. To keep Elisa in the US he needs to marry her, otherwise she'll be deported to San Ynez and immediately arrested as a member of the resistance; her baby would never survive. When they marry, Del has to face challenges with his job. His suspension while the shooting is investigated ends up in termination and threat of murder charges when Del refuses to return Elisa to San Ynez. Seems someone in the US government believes Elisa is part of the arms deal that went sour. But Del is willing to do just about anything to protect Elisa, even gong to jail for 20 years.

This was a pretty good read. Not as riveting as some other SIM's I've read but the story moved along with action and intrigue. Del is indeed that "Last Honorable Man" and Elisa shows a strength that matches his perfectly. Though their attraction was there from the beginning, it was a pleasure to see their romance develop more slowly.

This is a prequel to "Her Last Defence"