Brynn Holloran is a successful attorney who jumped to the dark side: defense. She is a tough woman who holds nothing back in the courtroom. To her shock, a former colleague who is now a judge is viciously murdered, and her boss wants to hire a bodyguard for her since the murderer could be someone who she helped prosecute. Erik, the bodyguard, is a by-the-book man who is thwarted by Brynn's refusal to take seriously the need for a bodyguard. She doesn't want to comply with his wishes and he doesn't want to see her in dangerous situations, like seeking out the press to keep her client's case presented in a positive angle to the media. Gradually, Brynn comes to realize that she is in danger, and she is forced to deal with that shock while also questioning the facts of the case that led to her colleague's murder.

From early in the story, I felt the tension - those first few pages are gripping. Once we were introduced to the main characters of the story, the unease continued. Now, this could be because every time I read "Brynn Holloran" I was reminded of "Dick Hallorann" from The Shining, which may have made me feel a bit anxious for Brynn. The better answer is that a master of romantic suspense (otherwise known as Laura Griffin) wrote another excellent story that keeps the reader guessing until the end. The well-developed plot has the twists and turns I would expect from a Griffin story. I couldn't quite relate to Brynn, but I think that's because I was impatient with her denial of the danger she was in and the way she actively worked against Erik's protection, but I liked her drive to succeed and her commitment to her client.

Once again, Griffin has written another compelling story. Hit the "pre-order" button and buy this one!

Desperate Girls is a romantic suspense novel that starts out a little slow but steadily climbs to a heart pounding, edge of your seat experience! I was very much engrossed into this story and these incredibly strong characters.

There are multiple storylines going on that all lead back to Brynn. Her defense of a teenager against a murder charge, while being heavily guarded against an escaped convict who she helped convict. This man is on a revenge rampage and going after everyone who helped put him away. With this threat against Brynn, her boss hires a security firm to keep her safe as she goes to trial on her current case.

This introduces us to Erik. Erik is the lead bodyguard helping to protect Brynn as well as trying to help track down the escaped convict and eliminate the threat. Erik is very big on rules for the sake of protection but Brynn is shattering his control every step of the way.

Laura Griffin is fast becoming one of my favorite Romantic Suspense authors. While some of her books are heavier on the suspense and less romance than I prefer, I've learned that she's a very compelling writer and I've loved everything I have read by her so far. I look forward to more from this author. ARC provided by NetGalley.

Laura Griffin definitely knows how to write a suspenseful story. Her characters are interesting and complicated and she does her research when it comes to the courtroom drama and crime scenes. She also knows how to write a good romance, which is always a plus.

This book introduces all new characters. Each felt fairly isolated, which isn't necessarily a negative, it's just that there weren't any real friendships that developed between them. It didn't bother me, but is just an observation. Brynn, our heroine is tough, intelligent, and driven but other than talking to her sister a few times, and a few colleagues, there really aren't really any friends in her life. Our hero is quite similar in that he too seems very alone. He is also quiet, so it was difficult to get any real backstory on him. But again, that was fine.

Our antagonist kept the pages going. We know little about him other than he is smart and unpredictable, which I thought worked well to build suspense.

Despite not understanding the title, this was another great book by Laura and I'm always looking forward to reading her next release--whatever it may be. She never disappoints!

Meet one smart, successful defense attorney named Brynn who also happens to be a beautiful redhead who “dresses for battle in Armani.” Add an escaped murderer seeking revenge against the team that sent him to prison including Brynn, a prosecutor in the early days of her career. As the threat becomes imminent, her boss hires the professionals at Wolfe Security to provide protection. When Brynn meets her personal bodyguard Erik, a retired Marine and former Secret Service Agent, sparks (and bullets) fly.

It’s no surprise that I am a fan of Laura Griffin as I’ve read her entire Tracers series so I am always on alert for upcoming titles. Listed as a stand alone, Desperate girls did not disappoint this fan. It’s the perfect blend of sizzling romance and pageturning suspense. Not only are the characters believable but the plot twists and turns as each new piece of the puzzle is revealed plus an ending that I did not see coming.

This was a very good romantic suspense. It was fast paced with the action moving forward and not getting bogged down in the romance. .

Do you want to read a book with great characters, mystery and suspense? Then this book if for you.!Brynn and Erik are two great lead characters in this book . Love the budding romance! Brynn is a lawyer with a vengeful criminal that she helped prosecute out for revenge. Lots of thrills and suspense. Definitely would recommend this book. Great sit by the beach read!

Well paced, with a satisfying blend of romance, action and thrills.

I couldn't put it down! Has suspense, thrills, mystery, sex and romance. When you think you have everything figured out, there is a plot twist that throws you off. Brynn Holloran is a defense attorney, very good at her job. She finds out that a man she put away for murder years back when she was a prosecutor has escaped from prison. Her boss wants her and her colleagues to have protection, but Brynn is stubborn and doesn't want it. Until people that helped put that man away for murder start dying. Not only does she have to deal with this man finding her, she has a big case that's in trial to deal with. Former Secret Service agent Erik Morgan is assigned to protect Brynn, but she's headstrong and doesn't want his help. There's a lot of fire between them they both try to deny. With a madman on the loose and trying to kill her, people close to her dying or getting hurt, she feels like the world closing on her

What a great book! I did not guess who the bad guy was, which always pleases me. I hope this is the first in a new series. I will definitely make this a staff recommend.

I liked it but did not love it. I was hooked at the beginning and wanted to know what happened. I feel like it lost some steam about 3/4 of the way through. There was too much focus on the relationship and not enough on the twist. It just happened! I would have liked more background, more clues, more of something before the end. I felt like it was missing something. I have read books by this author before and will continue to, This one was just not one of my favorites. (Note: I would rate this 3.5 if I was able to)

Thank you #NetGalley and #Gallerybooks for the eARC. This is my honest review.

In Desperate Girls we are introduced to Brynn Holloway, a defense attorney, working a high profile murder case while also helping detectives solve the murder of her former friend. Brynn and long time friend Jen Ballard worked close together as prosecutors on a case years ago that sent James Corby away for life with no parole in a maximum security prison.

Brynn’s life is in danger, therefore Erik Morgan has been assigned to protect her. Amongst all this danger, an attraction is teetering the edge of desire for a possible romance. Erik is a skilled security bodyguard who has taken a personal interest in protecting Brynn. Even with all the dangerous activity nothing stops Brynn from maintaining her public appearances in the courtroom.
This is a character driven story. The story is divided between Brynn working on cases, Lindsey working on solving the crimes, and Erik providing security protection.

Brynn’s character is confident and self assured. Brynn’s defiant behavior adds an entertaining edge to a dangerous situation. Brynn rattled Erik’s moral code and rules. Never before has a client stepped on his toes going head to head with him. She is feisty. Brynn is a defense attorney trying to prepare for her case while being distracted by threats from an escaped prisoner whom she helped convict three years ago. Her nerves are frayed when her focus should be on her client. Having a convicted murderer loose on the streets causes stress, confusion, frustration and fear to her already frazzled nerves.

Even though this a criminal detective story there are layers of a client-bodyguard relationship brewing. There are three components woven together: the detective, defense attorney, and bodyguard. I love confident and strong willed women who take control of their lives standing up to men. This was a fast paced high energy story that was entertaining and exciting to read.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge Laura Griffin fangirl-- I’ve read her entire backlist several times and enjoyed (almost) all of it. I think she has one of the best modern voices in romantic thrillers/romantic suspense, and her Tracers novels are some of my favourites in the genre… so I was stoked when I learnt she was starting a ‘spinoff’ series based on Liam Wolfe’s (be still, my heart!) security company. DESPERATE GIRLS is what will hopefully be the first entry in another long-running series that channels the essence of what makes the Tracers books so good and yet has a completely different feel. I suspect heroine Brynn will be a pretty polarizing character, but I liked her--despite her given profession, which Ms. Griffin cleverly leverages to get an emotional reaction from readers from the outset. I enjoyed her confidence and kickass attitude in the courtroom, and how her hot mess of a personal life belies all that put-togetherness and makes her relatable and human. Erik is a pretty standard Griffin hero: solid, dependable, and with the right amount of alpha to make you swoon without crossing over into overbearing-- he may be a tried-and-true archetype, but Ms. Griffin does it so well that you’ll forget you’ve basically met him many times over and fall for him regardless. One thing to note about DESPERATE GIRLS--as with all of Ms. Griffin’s work-- is that the romance is not front-and-centre and so may feel somewhat unfulfilling or rushed to readers expecting a more traditional romantic suspense experience, but despite the prominence of the suspense--which will keep you on your toes with curveballs-- Ms. Griffin ekes out a relationship that feels raw, real, and emotionally engaging. Overall, DESPERATE GIRLS is an enthralling page-turner the cements Ms. Griffin’s reputation as one of the best in the genre. Looking forward to more from the Wolfe Security team!

**ARC from publisher via NetGalley

This book is told from three angles: attorney who has close ties with the victims, a bodyguard who has an attraction to someone he is protecting and the detectives who are trying to catch a killer who escaped prison. The story starts out with a judge coming home from work, getting ready for a date. I liked these characters and couldn't wait to finish this book. Can't wait for more in this series. Thank you NetGalley for an honest review.

This was such an engaging book. It had twists and turns, action, suspense and sizzling attraction. It was a page turner for sure. It had feels and angst. I really loved this book. Superb writing as usual by Laura Griffin.Received an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley.

I enjoyed this story. I enjoyed the pace and even the characters. Just enough suspense, action, and romance to keep a reader intrigued. The blurb doesn't do this book justice. While I picked up the book based on that, this story is about so much more than Brynn. yep, she's the main characters but there are a lot of other things going on too.

In Desperate Girls by Laura Griffin, Brynn Holloran is a tough as nails defense attorney who is in control and very capable in her professional life. Things are quite different, personally. Brynn is unapologetic and can be off-putting because she is so straight forward with a no nonsense attitude. She is literally fighting for her life as she becomes involved a revenge murder mystery tied to her past.

This was my first time reading a book from this author. This is a very engrossing read that has a bit of everything. Sex, intrigue, suspense and a woman who is just as flawed as she is fearless. I'm looking forward to more from this author. Beware, you will be reluctant stopping once you have started reading.

Full review to be published online in August.

DESPERATE GIRLS is the first book in Laura Griffin’s new “Wolfe Security” series. If this first book is any indication, this series looks to be every bit the powerhouse reads as the stories in the author’s riveting ‘Tracers’ series. Defense attorney Brynn Holloran and her co-counsel Ross Foley were part of the prosecution team team that put James Corby in prison. Now, people who were part of convicting him are being murdered. Brynn and Ross know they are on his list. Their boss wanting to take no chances, hires Wolfe Security to protect them from a madman.

Erik Morgan is a Wolfe Security operative who is tasked with running the security detail for Brynn and Ross. He is a former Marine who then becam a Secret Service agent. He resigned after an particularly nasty op went bad. That mistake from the past makes him even more dedicated to protecting the clients.

Along the way, we meet the rest of the team that make up Wolfe Security. Standalone read, first book in a new series.

Another great read by Laura Griffin. It took a while to really like the main character but after that I was hooked. I love a book with a good twist at the end

This story is told primarily from three angles: an attorney handling the most important case of her career, a bodyguard who’s attracted to his client, and detectives carefully combing through evidence in order to find a killer who escaped custody. Each POV contributed a different aspect to the story without seeming too similar in voice and the action scenes were much appreciated!

The first four pages of this story really grabbed me! But then the story headed into lackluster territory and only a few areas really kept my attention until the end. The courtroom drama was so-so and I felt indifferent towards the characters. They were just okay, but mostly meh. The epilogue was a nice wrap up, though.

► Overall, this book nicely balanced romance with the crime fiction bits, was light on the legal terminology, and lightly held my interest. The characters were entertaining to a point but I wasn’t swept away by them, sadly. Would still recommend this book to romantic suspense readers even though it didn’t quite work for me.

A new series kicks off with a manhunt for an escaped vicious murderer turned vigilante killer who is on the quest for revenge against those in the legal world who he feels did him wrong.

Fans of the Tracer series will remember Liam Wolfe and his wife Tara from Shadow Fall. Liam runs Wolfe Security and this new series will be about the men and women that work for him and the clients they are tasked with protecting.

Clients – Defense attorney Brynn Holloran and her co-counsel Ross Foley. They were part of the prosecution team team that put James Corby away. Now people that were part of convicting him are being murdered and Brynn and Ross know they are on his list.. Their boss wanting to take no chances hires Wolfe Security to protect them.

Wolfe Security – Erik Morgan is tasked with running the security detail for Brynn and Ross. He is a former marine who then become a secret service agent that resigned after an op went bad. That mistake from the past makes him even more dedicated to protecting the clients. Along with Erik we meet the rest of the team that make up Wolfe security who I assume will be getting future stories.

There are multiple plots going on at the same time. The hunt for Corby which involves a task force of cops and US Marshals. The current trial Brynn is head defense lawyer for trying to prove her client innocent all while being protected by Wolfe Security.

I have to say that it took me a while to warm up to Brynn – she was not the most likable character at the start of the book. She is a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom but outside of it she was a bit of a pushy witch.

With a great cast of secondary characters and a surprising twist at the end this was an enjoyable read and start to a new series. Look forward to more.