Review: 10-Code (Rock Point Series Book ) by Freya Barker

10-Code by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

FBI Agent and the Single Mum

This is the fourth in a series of connected books. The story stands alone but the characters and history carry over from the previous books. Reading the first three books in the series give you a more complete understanding of the main characters in this book, who were supporting characters in the others.

TRIGGER WARNING: This book has discussion of child abduction and sexual assault. There is also discussion of spousal abuse. If these subjects cause you emotional difficulties, you may want to avoid this book.

Marya’s ex-husband walked out on her and her three sons five years ago and she hasn’t heard from him since. She got involved with a man a few years ago and he used her to get information on her boss and friend, Kerry. When she caught him he kidnapped, drugged and beat her. She is very wary of getting involved with another man. She’s also constantly working in order to provide for her sons.

Dylan is a single dad whose wife walked out on him and his son. He’s an FBI Special Agent and is the junior member of his team at 33. He’s lucky that he gets lots of help from his mum and step-dad and the rest of the time he’s not working he’s with his son. He’s known Marya for a while, but only superficially. When Marya’s middle son, Liam, and Dylan’s son Max end up playing soccer for the same team they find themselves spending time together and Marya finds herself looking forward to seeing him at the games, despite her being 8 years older than the handsome man.

This book is quite a lot darker than the rest of the series as it deals with child abuse and kidnapping. It also deals with the subject of grooming victims online. It’s not an easy subject matter and it certainly does not make for comfortable reading. However, it does make it challenging and gripping.

There was so much going on in this book from medical emergencies, to abduction and to drama with exes. The book also deals with the problems of blending two families together during a difficult time. The author deals with all these issues with a gentle hand, giving the reader time to relax at moments during all the difficulties to recover enough to handle the next side swipe.

I really like both Marya and Dylan. They are both devoted parents who try their absolute best to put their children first. Marya in particular wants her boys to have some fun things even when she can’t afford them, so she works extra jobs to provide for them. At the same time, she doesn’t stint on the discipline. There are some pretty funny moments in her mental musings on the joys of being a mother of three boys.

This is currently the end of this series, but the next series, Arrow’s Edge MC, shares some of the characters from this series, so you can still get to hang out with them.

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