Dr. Strange Beard

4.5 stars-suspenseful, impassioned, palpable

4.5 stars--DR. STRANGE BEARD is the fifth full-length instalment in Penny Reid’s contemporary, adult WINSTON BROTHERS romance series focusing on the Winston siblings. This is twenty-six year olds, FBI agent Simone Payton, and veterinarian Roscoe Winston’s story line. DR. STRANGE BEARD can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalments is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Roscoe and Simone) DR. STRANGE BEARD follows the second chance relationship between twenty-six year olds, childhood friends and sweethearts, FBI agent Simone Payton, and veterinarian Roscoe Winston. Ten years earlier, at sixteen years old, after professing his love to the girl that he loved, the youngest Winston sibling Roscoe walked away without explanation leaving a grieving Simone Payton to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. Fast forward to present day wherein Simone, now an undercover FBI agent, returns to her hometown of Green Valley, Tennessee as part of a sting operation to take down the local MC believed to be involved in a string of murders and missing men. Enter veterinarian Roscoe Winston, the man who destroyed her heart, and the man with whom she is still in love. What ensues is the rekindling romance between Roscoe and Simone, and the potential fall-out as the sting operation comes to a head placing our story line couple in the direct line of fire.

For close to five years, Roscoe Winston has avoided Payton’s bakery owned and operated by Simone’s mother but a chance encounter found Roscoe face to face with his past when he and his father squared off the bakery parking lot, as Simone played interference between the cantankerous duo. Still reeling from the events ten years earlier, Winston is constantly on the run to avoid a confrontation with the woman he loves.

Throughout the story Penny Reid offers up bits of information from the previous story lines including the dysfunctional Winston family dynamics, as well as the on-going history of the local MCs. The Winston siblings are a tight knit group held together by their tormented pasts including their futile relationship with the man they called dad.

The relationship between Simone and Roscoe is one of second chances; a rekindling romance between two people torn apart by misunderstanding and miscommunication, and the betrayal of heart break and pain. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

Most of the Winston siblings are present and accounted for including the long suffering eldest brother Billy Winston whose own personal life is spiralling out of control. We are re-introduced to Simone’s parents Daisy and Trevor Payton, and her siblings Dani and Poe. The requisite evil has many faces including Roscoe’s father Darrell Winston, and MC member Razor Dennings.

DR. STRANGE BEARD is a well-written, infinitely detailed, and intelligent story line focusing on family, friendships, second chances, murder, betrayal and race. The premise is energetic and animated; the characters are colorful and spirited; the romance is dramatic and edgy. DR. STRANGE BEARD is a suspenseful, impassioned and palpable tale about the destructive nature of secrets, lies, power and greed.