alternate cover edition of ASIN B07BVPXLT5 Maxwell Thornton isn’t really a people person, but that never mattered to him because he’d lived for his career. After losing a patient during a routine hysterectomy, he’s shaken and afraid to pick up the scalpel again. He resigns his position in the city and takes a job as sole GP in the isolated town of Rainy Dale, Texas, population 1001. Rainy Dale is populated with eccentrics who test his patience and seem to think he’s not only there to treat their illnesses, but that he’s also there to hold their hand and be their therapist. When one of his most annoying patients ends up dead and floating in Maxwell’s pool, he has some explaining to do to the local sheriff. Sheriff Royce Callum is intelligent, determined and more attracted to the new doctor than he would like. He can’t imagine Maxwell is a murderer, but he also can’t exactly ignore a corpse in the sexy doctor’s pool.

I assumed the worst I'd have to endure at a boring birthday party was cheap champagne, and dull conversation. Murder never crossed my mind. After three months of struggling to fit into the small town of Rainy Dale, Texas, Maxwell Thornton is once again thrown into the middle of a murder investigation. While attending Mayor Penelope Granger's birthday party, he and Royce are witnesses to the cold blooded murder of her father. Seeing as he's sheriff, Royce has no choice but to get involved in solving the murder, but he'd prefer Maxwell stay at a safe distance. Maxwell would prefer that too, but when an attempt in made on his life, he's unwillingly sucked into the case. When Maxwell moved to Rainy Dale, he'd hoped for a new beginning. But after two attempts on his life, and his unnerving emotional attachment to Royce, more and more Maxwell wonders if staying in Rainy Dale is the logical choice. Perhaps it's time to run back to Los Angeles, where he can keep his body, and his heart, safe.

I assumed I was done running from psychopaths for a while. I guess I was wrong. Doctor Maxwell Thornton, brilliant ex-surgeon and man most likely to insult you without even trying, seems to have an unwanted penchant for landing in the middle of murder cases. Since moving from the bustling metropolis of LA to a small town in Texas, Maxwell has struggled to fit in with the eccentric citizens of Rainy Dale. He’s made tiny steps forward, but the only person who truly seems to understand him is Sheriff Royce Callum. When one of Maxwell’s new patients ends up poisoned to death, the cold blooded killer suspects Maxwell knows a lot more than he actually does. Avoiding homicidal maniacs is always prudent, but once they catch your scent, it’s fight or die.

Maybe my time in Rainy Dale has run its course. Things are spiraling out of control for our indelicate, but occasionally loveable, Doctor Thornton. His romantic life is already in turmoil, but when someone sets fire to his medical practice his finances are also in jeopardy. Sheriff Royce Callum offers Maxwell a safe place to stay, as he searches for the arsonist. Maxwell can easily rub people the wrong way, which makes it challenging for Royce to figure out if the attack on Maxwell’s business was personal or random. When other fires begin to pop up in Rainy Dale, it becomes obvious there’s a serial arsonist spreading terror through town. Things go from bad to worse when one of the fires turns deadly.

It's beginning to look a lot like murder. Chopping down a Christmas tree has never been something Dr. Maxwell Thornton aspired to. But his boyfriend, Sheriff Royce Callum, has a tradition of visiting Giggly Elves Tree Farm every Christmas to do just that. Trying to prove he’s a team player, Maxwell agrees to accompany Royce on his week-long tree-felling adventure. It’s a chance to spend some quality time with Royce, and also get a break from Rainy Dale. All guests are required to turn in their cell phones upon arrival because Giggly Elves Farm is for people who yearn to escape modern-day stresses. Maxwell endures a lumpy mattress and high sodium meals of bacon, beans, and more bacon, with a fairly good attitude. But when a freak storm washes out the road back home, Maxwell begins to feel the strain. Things turn downright terrifying when a guest is found stabbed to death in the reindeer barn, and all of the cell phones are found destroyed. It seems there’s a murderer on the loose, and he or she has a very different interpretation of how to bring out the holiday spirit in others.

Snakes don’t only crawl in the grass. River Martin has begun to reveal his true motives for being in Rainy Dale, and, shocker, it’s not good news for Maxwell. If Maxwell is going to go to war with River, he’ll need people on his side. In his quest to be more of a people person, he’s roped into attending the wedding of one of his young patients, Janelle Raiden. The bride is stunning in white silk tulle. The groom is appropriately doting. The cake is pure buttercream decadence. Everything about the wedding seems so very, very perfect. Until the groom’s dead ex-wife makes an appearance.

Frenemies and psychopaths keep life interesting. If they don't kill you, that is. Maxwell foolishly hoped things might settle down once he found the perfect new location for his medical practice. Not. So. Much. After a shocking revelation, Maxwell finally knows why River Martin hates him with a passion. And River isn't willing to let bygones be bygones. To put it mildly. In addition to protecting Maxwell, Royce is dealing with a rich, powerful, and very vindictive family in town who have organized a special election to recall him as Sheriff of Rainy Dale. As if that isn't enough for the duo to handle, someone is knocking off potential candidates for sheriff. Will Royce be accused of murdering the competition, or will he become the murderer's next victim?