Hour of Need (Scarlet Falls)

Major Grant Barrett, a career soldier fighting in Afghanistan, receives emergency leave after learning his brother and sister-in-law have been murdered in Scarlet Falls, the suburb where he grew up. He returns home to care for his orphaned nephew and niece. When someone attempts to kidnap the children and their teenage babysitter, Grant realizes the abduction is connected to the murders. Ellie Ross, devastated by her neighbors' deaths, is shattered when her teenage daughter becomes a target. She turns to Grant for help as they search for the killer. As they work together to uncover the truth, they develop feelings for each other, complicated by Grant's scheduled return to Afghanistan. With the killer growing bolder, Grant and Ellie must find him before the children become his next victims. This is the first novel in the Scarlet Falls series. The book was a 2015 Daphne du Maurier Award finalist.