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The Bodyguard

A Novel

by Katherine Center

Narrator Patti Murin

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Length 9 hours 44 minutes

Language English

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Bookseller recommendation

“Hannah Brooks is more than she appears, with her slight frame, no one would believe that she is a professional high-profile bodyguard. After tragedy brings Hannah's world to an almost complete stop, she begins to think it is time leave the bodyguard business. However, before she has a chance, she is called to one more assignment to protect the heart throb actor, Jack Stapleton, who is being stalked by an overly enthusiastic fan. What is one more assignment for a professional who has globe trotted around the world, right? Wrong! From the beginning of the assignment, nothing seems to be going Hannah's way. First, Jack refuses to stay in his secure city home, and instead heads to Texas to his family ranch. Second, Jack does not want to alarm his family, especially his mom who is very ill, by telling them about the stalker or the need for a bodyguard. Instead, he convinces Hannah to act like his girlfriend while he is with his family. The Bodyguard is a fast paced, outrageously funny and heart-felt romance that will keep you on the tips of your toes to the bitter end.”
— Gretchen • Fiction Addiction

Bookseller recommendation

“The Bodyguard is the perfect comfort read. You’ll feel your shoulders drop in the safety of the world of this book. There’s great chemistry between the characters and it’s a joy to get to know them. I’m already rooting for a movie version.”
— Tiffany Phillips • Wild Geese Bookshop

Summary
About the author

Author's note read by the author.

New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center's The Bodyguard is unabashedly romantic, laugh-out-loud funny, and the perfect summer read.

She’s got his back.
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka "bodyguard"), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker.

He’s got her heart.
Jack Stapleton’s a household name—captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, famous for, among other things, rising out of the waves in all manner of clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid.

They’ve got a secret.
When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah—against her will and her better judgment—finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover. Even though her ex, like a jerk, says no one will believe it.

What could possibly go wrong???
Hannah hardly believes it, herself. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done.

More Praise for The Bodyguard:

"Patti Murin gives a terrific performance of this heartwarming contemporary romance." -AudioFile Magazine

“Great rollicking fun! Prepare to laugh and swoon and grin your pants off.”—Helen Hoang, New York Times bestselling author of The Heart Principle

“My perfect 10 of a book. As funny and sweet as all the very best nineties rom-coms, but with Center’s signature heart-tugging depth. I wish I could erase it from my mind just to read it again for the first time. A shot of pure joy.”—Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers

"The Bodyguard is absolutely, unequivocally delightful!"—Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wish You Were Here

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.

Fiction Romance Humor

BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She’s the New York Times bestselling author of over half a dozen books, including How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, and What You Wish For. Katherine writes laugh-and-cry books about how life knocks us down—and how we get back up. She’s been compared to both Jane Austen and Nora Ephron, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Her books have made countless Best-Of lists, including RealSimple’s Best Books of 2020, Amazon's Top 100 Books of 2019, Goodreads' Best Books of the Year, and many more. Bestselling author Emily Henry calls her summer 2022 book, The Bodyguard, “a shot of pure joy.” The movie adaptation of Katherine’s novel The Lost Husband (starring Josh Duhamel) hit #1 on Netflix, and her novel Happiness for Beginners is now a Netflix original starring Ellie Kemper. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two kids, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.