Cody Moore is no stranger to tragedy and death, but the murder of the young Deputy’s friend pushes him past his breaking point, awakening the monster sleeping deep inside him. With Cody’s heart shattered and the beast within him growing more powerful with each day, he refuses to leave the investigation solely in the hands of the mysterious stranger dispatched to Stallion Ridge to hunt down the culprit. The events by the river had changed him irrevocably, but nothing could have prepared him for the strength of the current drawing him to the dark and charismatic Quellin. 

As the third book in the Stallion Ridge Series, Suspects & Scales felt like a final coming of age moment for MMC Cody. There were hints of this element in books one and two, where he featured as a key supporting character, but his journey is central to the emotional narrative of this novel, which deals with themes of grief, survivor’s guilt, and self-acceptance. The topics are handled thoughtfully through some earnest moments between characters that resonated deeply with me. As I’ve come to expect with Maz’s writing, the romance between MMCs Cody and Quellin was the right balance of sweet, steamy, and tense, but I admit that I especially enjoyed learning more about the lore of the Stallion Ridge universe (yes, I am that nerd). This novel had, by far, the best insight into the paranormal western setting and many of the non-human characters without being overwhelmed by exposition.