Book Summary: 

Sometimes, love is difficult to prove.

Detective Sergeant Greg Anderson has never been one for following the rules. But even he knows it would be a mistake to give in to the fiery chemistry between him and the cute, young intelligence analyst.

Still … rules were meant to be broken. Especially when Greg finds himself caring for a homeless man’s ugly, foul-smelling, one-eyed mutt. Who better to help him than a country girl?

Becoming another notch on Greg’s bedpost is not in Emily Saunders’ plan. Everybody knows he never dates the same woman for more than a week. And she’s worked too hard to risk her job for a fling. But Emily can’t ignore a dog in need.

When a long-running drug investigation becomes unexpectedly personal, Emily and Greg’s budding relationship comes under scrutiny, forcing Emily to make a difficult decision to protect her career.

And when the case is blown wide open, they’ll have to choose what’s more important: love or pride.

My Review:

Coming in strong with her second novel, Karen Lieversz takes us back to the world of dream worthy police officers – reintroducing us to Jack’s best friend, Greg. Having met him in “With or Without Panties,” we already suspected something was brewing just under the surface between Greg and Emily. “With or Without Trust” picks up at Jack’s engagement party where Greg and Emily’s simmering tension promises to boil over.

“Big things come in small packages,” Em reminds herself as she counters the common misconceptions about her height. Standing just five feet tall, Em is a spirited redhead with a black belt in kickboxing. Her dream of becoming a cop is only hindered by what she sees as an agree-to-disagree point: her impulse control issues. Despite an undeniable draw to a certain detective, she doesn’t believe she has impulse control problems—even if she did impulsively throw herself at Greg during an engagement party. Determined to maintain professionalism, she’s convinced no man should compromise her career. However, her willpower wanes when Silas, a one-eyed sweetheart of a dog, enters her life. As Em becomes more involved with Silas and Greg, the lines of professionalism begin to blur; especially as Internal Affairs starts investigating the Drug Task Force and discovers Em’s whereabouts at night. Presented with an uncompromising proposition, Em is torn between pursuing her career at all costs and protecting the man who has surprisingly captured her heart.

I couldn’t get enough of the internal struggles within the main characters. Their insecurities were continuously projected onto those around them. Emily’s feeling of never being enough—good enough, strong enough—provided a solid foundation to achieve the goals she wanted in life, but it also clouded her judgment and perspective. Did she really want to be a cop, or did she just want to prove that she could be one? Did she truly need the promotion, or did she just want to demonstrate that she could achieve more than merely becoming a womb for future grandchildren? The same was true for Greg. Coming from a political family and being the black sheep for choosing to become a cop, he was determined never to be like his father, not realizing that he was emulating his father’s behavior with women. He was so set on avoiding what happened to his mother and the abandonment he felt from his father that he made sure all ties were sufficiently severed, ensuring no one of substance could get close to him. Watching the character development of these two was incredible because their “ghosts” and “skeletons” created a vast chasm between them. They were so occupied with believing they were not enough that they didn’t realize they were doing an excellent job of convincing each other of the same.

Jimmy and Silas are secondary characters I absolutely adored! When you hear “homeless,” you might immediately write the person off as a drunk or a druggie, as exemplified by Greg’s dad’s views. However, Karen, through Greg, reminds the reader that these are real people with real problems—some self-inflicted, many serving as cautionary tales—all deserving of common decency. Jimmy was a very wise man who used his experiences to help Greg overcome his obstacles and set things right. Silas, being his adorable and irresistible self, was the catalyst that brought Em and Greg together. I loved how Silas challenged Greg to step out of his comfort zone—not by destroying the house, but by simply embracing life and freedom. Likewise, for Em, Silas’s presence allowed her to indulge in the things she loved, like building and being outdoors—the essence of a country girl in the city—without revealing too much about herself.

Similar to “With or Without Panties,” Karen tends to spoon-feed the readers through redundancy and the constant reiteration of pertinent facts. As a seasoned writer, I would love to see her place more faith in her readers—that her writing is engaging and strong enough for the reader to retain the importance of Em’s dreams of becoming a cop, Greg’s avoidance of relationships, and the impact of Internal Affairs. These points, while crucial to the overall story, are emphasized too heavily—so much so that when they are mentioned again later in the narrative, the temptation to skip them is strong because we feel the urge to say, “We know! We get it!”

The intimacy in the book sizzles, with Greg and Em’s connection leaping off the page. That said, the subtle and more sensual scenes that reveal the depth of love between the two characters are more impactful. Honestly, while I appreciate a good dose of spice in a novel, the moments when Greg displays tenderness and vulnerability towards Em rank among the hottest.

Karen also took the time to address several social themes that were truly appreciated: Ethan’s (Em’s brother) relationship with Simon and how it would affect the family, the traditionalist views of Em’s parents, the underbelly of politics and how it can impact a family and marriage, the callousness of miscommunication (or lack thereof), the plague that is Internal Affairs (from the perspective of a police officer), and gender roles in general. 

Overall, “With or Without Trust” lives up to its title. Throughout the book, we learn about the importance of self-trust and placing trust in those around us. The story teaches us that communication fosters trust while lies undermine it. Moreover, we discover that trust manifests in various forms, such as believing someone has your back even when it may not appear so. Kudos to Karen for another job well done!