Is it my imagination or do the heroes in Pamela Clare’s novels just get hotter and hotter with each subsequent book? If so, I can’t wait to get to Unlawful Contact.Hard Evidence was a fun book to read. Interesting choice of words since the subject matter was anything but fun. Hard Evidence is the story of an investigative reporter and the world of human trafficking. Tessa Novak is a tenacious reporter, often following leads that lead her into harm’s way. She witnesses a murder and sees a dark stranger in the periphery. Tessa figures that he has to be a bad guy, but is surprised to find him working with the local authorities. Instant chemistry ensues….Well, sort of. You see, Julian Darcangelo (love, love his name) is not the kind of man that is interested in a long term relationship. Julian is a take charge kind of guy, a man dedicated to his life’s work. Julian has been working to close down a human trafficking rink led by Alex Burien and the Russian mafia. When Tessa begins her investigation, she risked exposing Julian’s entire operation. I liked Tessa, however I felt that she had a few moments when she lacked the basic self preservation skills. I understand that it is difficult to investigate a story when you are holed up in a safe house, but really have some basic common sense. I mean, going out to meet scary gang members to question them for a story probably isn’t the safest thing to do on your own. Luckily for Tessa, the gang members respected Julian “The Dark Angel” enough to leave her alone. Now Julian – hmmm – I’ve seen him described as an Alpha male, and that would be a good description of him. A hunky specimen of man would probably be a good description. Well muscled, good looking, incredibly sexy, lethal – would all be good adjectives to describe Julian. I was touched when Julian took Tessa to his house to keep her safe. I laughed when he went shopping and bought out the store for her, especially a cappuccino maker for her lattes. I enjoyed the interaction between the two main characters. The love scenes were hot and steamy – shower scene, anyone? I especially loved the scenes where Julian showed off his hotness to Tessa – once as he got out of the shower and was stepping into his jeans and the other when he and the boys were painting his house. Had to laugh at that one. If you haven’t read this series yet, give it a try. I’m running out to find Unlawful Contact.