When her identity’s exposed,

hiding on a lawman’s family ranch is her last hope.

After her mother is killed, Melissa Morgan’s shocked to learn she’s spent her life in witness protection. Now it’s US marshal Miles Avery’s job to keep her and her little boy safe. And with a mole in his agency, the only way to evade the killer is to hide Melissa on Miles’s family ranch…and pretend she’s his wife for the holidays.

My thoughts: What would happen if you found out everything about the life you knew was a lie? When Melissa loses her mother to murder, she discovers that all is not as it seems and that they were in witness protection after her mother testified against a mob boss when she was little. Suddenly, she and her young son are on the run from the same people who killed her mom. You would think that this book would wrap up nicely there, but instead, there are many twists and turns before the final page. This is an excellent story to pick up, especially if you like mysteries!

I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review.

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About the Author

virginia-vaughan-HR-2 Virginia Vaughan is a multi-published author of inspirational romantic suspense. Blessed to come from a large, southern family, her fondest memories include listening to stories recounted by family and friends around the large dinner table. She was a lover of books even from a young age, devouring gothic romance novels and stories of romance, danger, and love. She soon started writing them herself. A former investigator for the State of Mississippi, Virginia utilizes her criminal justice background with her love of writing to transform words into powerful stories of romance and danger.

More from Virginia

What if one day you discovered you were in the Witness Protection Program and didn’t know it?

This is the premise for my October book, TEXAS HOLIDAY HIDEOUT, which releases this month. My heroine, Melissa Morgan, learns she and her mother entered the program when Melissa was a child. Her mother never told her and, when Melissa witnesses her mother being murdered, she becomes the assassin’s next target. US Marshal Miles Avery steps in to protect the single mom and her son from a killer, but a leak in WITSEC leaves him with little options except to take his witnesses to his family’s ranch…and pretend she’s his wife for the holidays.

So, in celebration of TEXAS HOLIDAY HIDEOUT releasing this month, here are 10 things about the Witness Protection Security Program (or WITSEC) I learned during my research for this book.

The program is voluntary. No one can be forced to enter.
You can leave the program at any time—although it is not recommended.
No person in the program, who follows the rules, has ever been killed.
People entering WITSEC sometimes keep their same first name and/or initials so that if they mess up and start to sign their name, they have time to correct.
Since WITSEC is a federal program, many states have their own programs to protect witnesses of gang or street-level crimes.
If you get married while in WITSEC, you must lie to your new spouse to protect your true identity in the event the relationship doesn’t last.
Protected witnesses are mostly criminals. Only about 5% are innocents despite the popular trope in movies and fiction.
Local law enforcement may or may not be notified when a protected witness is relocated to their jurisdiction.
Divorced, non-custodial parents have had their children hidden from them and now must agree to allow their children to enter the program.
WITSEC protected witnesses are expected to eventually become self-sufficient. They do not get to live off the government for the rest of their lives.

Did any of these facts about WITSEC surprise you? I’d love to hear which ones. I had a lot of fun researching WITSEC for TEXAS HOLIDAY HIDEOUT. I hope you enjoy Miles and Melissa’s story! Look out for the next book in the series—middle brother Navy SEAL Paul Avery’s story—coming in TEXAS TARGET STANDOFF in March of 2021.