Because of a Boy

by Anna DeStefano

Book Overview

Nurse Kate Rhodes is duty bound to report the abusive father of one of her charges--despite the lawyer who proclaims the man's innocence. Stephen Creighton isn't in the habit of getting involved in his cases. For him, it's get in, fight like hell, get out. But he has to invest more when he finds out Kate's actions have put his clients' lives in jeopardy. And now the father and son have gone into hiding. With the father being sought by the authorities...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0373714491
• ISBN13: 9780373714490
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Harlequin Special Releases
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

Emotionally charged!

Kate Brooks is a nurse who suspects child abuse and feels compelled to report it to authorities. Dillon Digarro is a scared little boy whose father fled South America to keep him safe until they could find a solution to their problems. Manny saw a murder and knows if he is found, he will be next. But Dillon is sick, and now needs help from an illness. Stephen Creighton finds himself believing Manny's story that he did not ever harm his son, and goes to battle for him even though Manny is not legally in the country. He knows in his heart that Kate is only trying to help, but he needs to find a way to keep both Manny and Dillon safe from authorities and the men who want Manny dead. Kate and Stephen's story is a classic tale with a twist. Stephen becomes Kate's knight in shining armour even when she thinks he is the bad guy. She may not want to trust him, but knows that the Digarro's need to be found before the boy's condition worsens. Anna DeStefano's BECAUSE OF A BOY is an emotional story that forces her characters to trust based on gut feeling, and this left this reader in tears more than once. This story comes to readers at a time where America is at war with itself on what to do with illegal immigrants, and this story slants a whole new look into the lives who escape here for reasons most of us will never understand. Ms. DeStefano has taken a tale about a family facing deportation and other evils and made it a backdrop for a beautiful love story. While Kate and Stephen's story may be a happily ever after love story, this reviewer was just as glad to see Manny and Dillon end their tale with an ending that beat the odds. Anna DeStefano is an author already on this reader's auto-buy list and she highly recommends finding the other novels by this author, as well as this one, you will not be let down, she writes a mighty tale filled with emotion. Review Courtesy of LoveRomancesandmore

fabulous look at health care

Atlanta Nurse Kate Rhodes believes that Manny Digarro is abusing his ten years old son Dillon, whose latest "accident" was a fall down the stairs at the Midtown Shelter. Manny insists his son is clumsy, but Kate thinks otherwise as this is not the first incident. She informed the Atlanta Police Department and has legally restricted access to the father. Manny's Legal Aid lawyer Stephen Creighton believes his client is innocent and loves his son. He takes exception to Kate's description of a barbarian insisting the homeless do not have easy access to medical care. He also fears her intervention will cause harm to this illegal immigrant father and son pair, trying to start over after a harrowing experience in Columbia. Now the IMS and a drug lord seek both as the Digarro duo go on the run even though Dillon needs medical attention as his injuries are from internal diminished bone density. Feeling she caused the trauma by her bias, Kate vows to help them; Stephen joins her quest. Except for Kate's ex-husband Robert who is too perfect and caring in everyway (at least he is not evil), BECAUSE OF A BOY is a fabulous look at health care for the homeless and for illegal immigrants as much as a contemporary romance. The story line is action-packed from the first encounter in the hospital between the lead couple and never slows down until the final altercation. Yet with all the non-stop action and the romantic subplot, Anne DeStefano provides a strong exposé on the lack of any health care for the homeless and limited at best for illegal immigrants (Hippocrates must be turning in his grave with some of the Draconian solutions to outlaw help). Harriet Klausner