( 5 reviews )
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Posted: Mar 7 2005
Millie Criswell is a wonderful author. I liked the idea of the Bodine brother trilogy and thoroughly enjoyed "Rafe's story". Rafe an ex texas ranger kills the murderers of his wife and unborn child and the story ends with his being arrested by 3rd brother Ethan. So, Defiant, the story where baby brother Travis, a lawyer, gets to defend Rafe and prove himself was to be the perfect wrap up. The books' strength is its strong women. They stay feminine while still being bright and an integral part of their relationships. Hannah Louise, Travis ex fiancee is no exception. He broke their engagement when she wanted to have a career and now 5 yrs later she is a successful criminal lawyer whose help he needs to defend his brother. The plot is different, the trilogy is great (the characters stay in your life a lot longer with 3 books........)BUT...Guess I expected more focus on the trial. Perhaps a Hepburn-Tracey or Winger-Redford approach. But there was nothing interesting in that area. The book was mostly about family things and the re-uniting of ex lovers with superficial interest in the courtroom. Hannah doesn't even cross examine one witness!! Anyhow, its cute, a quick read but I wouldn't search for it or keep it...... (P>S> brother Ethan is an arrogant, macho, chauvinist so I didn't bother to read his story but RAFE........ah, that was worth it.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: May 17 2000
Hannah Louise Barkley was happy with her life as an attorney in New York City. She never thought to return to her hometown of Misery, Texas, but return she does when her father becomes ill. She just hopes that she will be able to avoid Travis Bodine, who broke her heart five years ago.Travis can hardly believe that Hannah Louise has returned to Misery. He was finally getting over her breaking his heart and getting on with his life, and he has other things to worry about now: his brother Rafe has been accused of murder, and has asked Travis to be his lawyer, even though Travis' experience is in civil law, not criminal law.When Hannah Louise finds out about the Bodines' predicament, she considers offering her assistance as cocounsel. Criminal law is her expertise and she has been very successful at it. Of course, her offer would no doubt injure Travis' pride, and it wouldn't be easy to work together and ignore their shared past, but proving Rafe's innocence and saving his life are more important.Millie Criswell is a master of sexual tension and DEFIANT is no exception. The trial aspect of the plot is exciting and keeps the reader rapidly turning pages, but the serious passion between Travis and Hannah is never overshadowed. Add a variety of secondary characters, including a sweet secondary romance, the Western setting that Ms. Criswell paints so colorfully, and you have an outstanding one-sitting read. DEFIANT is the third in The Lawmen trilogy, but there is absolutely no need to read the previous two, DANGEROUS and DEPERATE, before diving into DEFIANT--but, like me, you'll probably want to reach for those first two after you've read this one!Kimberly Borrowdale, Under the Covers Book Reviews
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Oct 9 1998
Although I enjoyed this book, I thought that the others in the trilogy were much better. I found Travis to be sort of flat. There just didn't seem to be much to like or dislike about him although he was sweet. The trial also seemed to be lacking. Couldn't there have been more to flesh it out. It seemed like the Will character was going to provide some interesting conflict but not much came of it. Perhaps if I had not read it right after reading Ethan's story I would have enjoyed it more.
