Beowulf

Beowulf by Ronie Kendig

The third in A Breed Apart series brings Beowulf, an explosives detection dog, and his handler, Timbrel Hogan. Beowulf and Hogan are assigned to assist with sniffing out some potential WMDs with a team in Afghanistan. A member of the team, Candyman, took a liking to Timbrel when they met. Using Beo as a buffer, Timbrel does her best to avoid him and get the job done. When Beo hits on explosives and it turns out to be a false hit, Timbrel's confidence takes a hit and she returns stateside. However, she was on a collision course with Tony "Candyman" Van Allen and the proof she needed that Beo has a perfect track record without a false hit. Add in a Hollywood starlet mother and Timbrel must face her past to march on to her future.

Kendig kept the action rolling in Beowulf.  She never fails to deliver a story which will increase your appreciation for our military men and women. I have to admit though Beowulf failed to keep my attention as her other books have when not focused on the action portion of the story.

I found Timbrel to be a tough-as-nails chic. The problem is that she never showed a vulnerable side which justified Candyman's attraction to her. Of course Candyman's internal monologue showed exactly what he was attracted to and it wasn't her personality. In order to account for Timbrel's lack of personality, Kendig increased her physical attraction. Honestly between Timbrel's attitude, Beowulf, and  their bond;  I don't know why Tony stuck around or pursued her as he did. She never cracked enough to give him hope.

When she did finally crack Tony was the one pushing her away. Tony's family history complicated his recovery from a potentially career-ending injury. His fears of a dim future created a distance that Timbrel had just attempted to close.

Beowulf seemed overwrought with romantic drama. I don't recall any of Kendig's previous stories being centered on the love story before. The epic love story or OTP as TV viewers would refer to it was the weak section of Beowulf. When moving through the military action or even the tracking of the WMDs, Beowulf was a story I couldn't be pulled away from. The drama from the romance bogged the book down.

I still have to rate this book high because I'm not sorry I read it. Compared to Kendig's other works it is probably her weakest in the A Breed Apart series. Kendig continues to deliver on the action though and it appears it will be Dean Watters turn in Raptor 6.