The Woman He Knows (The Devereux Family: Book 2) by Margaret Watson

4 Stars

Publisher: Dragonfly Press

Date of publication: February 19th, 2019

Series: Devereux Family

A Safe Place—Book 1: Review here

The Woman He Knows—Book 2

Bending the Rules—Book 3

Where you can find The Woman He Knows: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | BookBub

Book Synopsis:

Darcy Gordon is hiding, watching for her past to catch up with her. So when her boss is injured in a suspicious accident, she’s certain it was meant for her. But instead of fleeing, as every instinct screams, guilt forces her to stay and help her boss’s brother run the restaurant where she works. 

There’s just one problem – Patrick Devereux is an FBI agent. His too-sharp eyes threaten to reveal all her secrets. Expose her for who she really is. She wants to lower her guard and let Patrick know her. But when he learns the truth, will he understand? Or will he arrest her? 

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First Line:

Darcy stepped onto the small patio of Mama’s Place and stood in the shadows for a moment, watching.

The Woman He Knows by Margaret Watson

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My Review:

I couldn’t wait to read The Woman He Knows. The blurb was what reeled me in. Plus, I wanted to read Darcy and Patrick’s love story. They had some serious chemistry in A Safe Place. I was curious to see what their story was going to be like. I wasn’t disappointed. The Woman He Knows more than delivered.

The plotline of The Woman He Knows was interesting. Darcy is on the run from her abusive ex-husband, who is also an ex-cop. Assuming another name, Darcy lives looking over her shoulder, waiting for her ex to track her down. Then her boss is injured in a hit and run accident and Darcy is convinced that it is her ex. When Patrick takes over managing Mama’s Place, Darcy needs to keep him at arm’s length. Patrick is an FBI agent, and Darcy has learned, through experience, that the police is not to be trusted. Darcy needs to let Patrick in. She needs to let him know her secrets. Because if she doesn’t, it could prove to be fatal to her.

I loved how the author showed how difficult it is for a woman to get out of an abusive relationship. The stalking and harassment were spot on. I also loved how the police will turn a blind eye to the abuse if it is one of their own committing it. I was not surprised that they didn’t do anything about it. Instead, they covered for their “brother” and acted like it didn’t happen. Even today, with domestic violence more out in the open, it happens. And it needs to change!!

I liked Darcy. I understood why she was so leary of Patrick. She committed felonies to disappear. She was terrified that if he found out, he would arrest her. I also understood her fighting her feelings for him. She felt that she didn’t deserve to have a relationship because of what I stated above. So, it was interesting to see her open up to Patrick about her past relationship. There was a point in the book where I wanted to hug her and say, “Tell him, honey. He understands more than you think he does.”

I couldn’t quite get a grasp on Patrick at first. I knew that he felt responsible for the death of his parents, which was awful because it was in no way his fault. But, by the middle of the book, I started to understand why he felt that way. I also liked that he was able to pick up that something was wrong with Nathan and Darcy. That’s when I started to love him. He was going to do anything and everything to find out what was going on with them. I wish more insight were given into his investigation into Nathan’s finances. By the end of the book, I was cheering him on.

Darcy and Patrick had OK chemistry. I wasn’t immediately struck by how much they wanted each other. Instead, I was more struck by Darcy trying to keep as far away from Patrick as possible. But, if the chemistry was OK, the sex was hot. It was so hot that if my Kindle could have steamed, it would have.

The end of The Woman He Knows was intense. My breath was held during Darcy’s trip, and I was praying for Patrick to turn up, which he did. He did something that I cheered. I also cheered when he stood down the other agent. Talk about taking my breath away. This was one of the better endings of a book that I have read to date.

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I would give The Woman He Knows an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread The Woman He Knows I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**