""Emotional and Intense""

Ryan Lukas has been placed on a desk job for at least a month until he can get himself together. He is the countersniper of the top-notch SWAT team for the town of Destin. When his wife died two years ago, it ripped his world apart. He thinks he can fix it on his own and does not need the services of Dr. Maria Worley, the listener, the psychologist for the SWAT team. She tries to help him but he refuses to talk to her and forgets his appointment.

Maria has her own problems that she is having trouble solving. Her fourteen-year-old son is angry because his parents got a divorce. He is having problems with his grades and is hanging out with the wrong kids at school. When Maria finds him and his buddies drinking beer, she grounds him. She is very upset and doesn't know how to help the son that she loves so much.

Ryan is attracted to Maria but feels very guilty about it realizing how much he had loved his wife. Maria is attracted to him as well but knows that it would be unethical to have any kind of a relationship with a client. She also has a problem with the fact that his job is killing people. He offers to help her son and in desperation, she takes him up on it.

THE LISTENER is another winning book by Kay David. I sure do not want this book be the last in the SWAT series. I could read much more about the fascinating team in black. Ms. David's writing is so "real" and the emotions feel so right. I hated to read the last page, especially when this is the last one in the series!! I loved the hero and the heroine in The Listener and could sympathize with all the teenage problems of her son, Christopher. Ms. David's pacing is excellent, her secondary characters always captivating. This three book series is definitely going on my keeper shelf.

Reviewed by Marilyn Heyman
Posted August 29, 2001

Summary

A SWAT team is only as good as its weakest link. The Listener works hard to make sure that no link breaks. She's constantly watching the team, testing to see if anyone's getting too close to the edge. But she can't do much when her help is refused.

Dr. Maria Worley is the Listener.

Maria's latest case is the hardest she's ever had. In her experience, no patient has walked closer to the edge than Ryan Lukas. Worse, he's convinced himself that he's just fine. And to make things even more complicated, Maria--and her teenage son--need Ryan as much as he needs them.

The Listener is about to learn that helping others is easier than helping yourself.

THE GUARDIANS... This time the good guys wear black.