Overall Rating: 4.45
Action: 3.0 / Emotion: 3.5 / Romance: 3.75 / Sensuous: 1.5 / Suspense: 4.0 // Laughter: 0 // Teary: 3

The Price: 4.45
Re-reading The Price, the fourth book in The Bitter Creek Series, provided many hours of enjoyment and entertainment. Even though this book was a wonderful addition to this series, it is not the best book of the series.

Hero: 3.50:
Luke Creed: The rebellious troublemaker, who didn't follow anyone's rules, turned into a responsible, driven hero. However, the way he continued to cling to his hatred of the Blackthornes was a definite negative.

Heroine: 2.50:
Amelia "Amy" Hazeltine Nash: Lack of development made it difficult to warm up to this obviously compassionate heroine who could also be a bit hard-headed.

Story Line: 3.75:
Being a fan of the Romantic Suspense genre, made it easy to find the story line very appealing. Johnston did an excellent job of weaving a variety of colors into the tapestry of this story. Not only was Luke pursing the girl that broke his heart in high school, but he was also dealing with a wife who was planning to take his two daughters to another state. Meanwhile at work, Luke was trying to prove (with the aid of his friends and associates) that the client he was supposed to be representing was, in fact, killing children with its new miracle drug.

Action: 3.00:
The action involved in the story was procedural. Johnston revealed a lot of details about the inner workings of a large law firm as Luke, Amy, Nicki, and Eddie work to find out if Hyland Pharmaceutical's new drug, D-Free, should be taken off the market.

Emotion: 3.50:
Johnston failed to connect readers to the characters in this book on that deep emotional level that brings forth laughter and tears.

Romance: 3.75:
The romance that existed between Luke and Amy, basically, had never disappeared, even though twelve years had passed. Luke just had to convince Amy to lower her barriers and accept that there was still that something special between them.

Suspense: 4.00:
The best part of the story was that Johnston keep readers wondering about several issues: {1} would Luke be able to keep his job and find out the truth about D-Free; {2} would Luke be able to convince Amy to take a chance on him; {3} would Brynne die of a diabetic coma induced by D-Free; {4} what was going to happen between Drew and Grayson; and {5} was Nicki going to beat cancer and make partner.

Sensuous: 1.50:
Not only did the romance take a back seat to the suspenseful nature of this story, but the lovemaking scenes lacked the intensity, heat and sensuality that Johnston usually delivers in her books.

Secondary Characters: 5.00:
Including secondary characters that can steal the spotlight from the main characters is a skill that Johnston wielded quite successfully in this book. The point of view characters that made this book more interesting and intriguing were: {1} Lauren "Ren" Creed Blackthorne, {2} Grayson, "Gray" Choate, {3} Nicole "Nick" "Nicki" Maldonado, and {4} Edward "Trip" Arthur Mull, III. Several other secondary characters also added greatly to the enjoyment of the story: {1} Jackson "Blackjack" Blackthorne, {2} Brynne Creed, {3} Mary Jane "Midge" Creed, {4} Valerie Creed Hutchins, {5} Drew DeWitt, and {6} Mary Margaret Mull. Cameo appearances were made by: {1} Sam and Emma Creed and their son, Bronc, and {2} Billy and Summer Coburn and their children, Will, Kate and Jack.

A more in-depth, detailed, spoiler-ridden review of The Price appears at Wolf Bear Does Books (http://goo.gl/QlE9LJ). ( )

Attorney Luke Creed displayed confidence and ability to succeed. The case was split right open before he and opposing attorney, Amy Nash, his first love had to go against each other in Court. I was happy the inventer of the diabetes pill was not involved in the fraud. All he wanted in life was to be "partner" in the law firm, but once the brass ring was in his hand, he turned it down. I was sad he didn't set up a practice with his friends that helped him solve the case. He got full custody of his daughters and he and Amy married with her daughter a part of the package, as well. ( )