About the Book
When cybercriminals hack into the US Marshals’ Witness Protection database and auction off witnesses’ personal details to the highest bidders, the RED Team led by FBI Agent Sean Nichols begins a high-stakes chase to find the hacker. But before he can even get started, the first witness is targeted and barely escapes with her life. Sean believes Phantom, an obsessed hacker who previously outwitted the top minds in the field, is behind the attack, and Sean needs this witness’s help, as she’s the person who has come closest to discovering Phantom’s identity.
Trouble is, she’s a witness under the care of US Marshal Taylor Mills, and Sean is reluctant to work with the captivating marshal who knows his deepest secrets. But Phantom claims he knows where the witness is hiding and will kill her, so to stop the hacker, Sean and Taylor must work through their personal pain and learn to trust each other. . . . The seconds are ticking down before someone dies.
Excerpt
“No. No way, Sean Nichols.” Kiley scooted her chair forward. “Don’t you gape at the screen like that and not say anything.” She pushed past him to view the record. “It’s Taylor? The deputy is Taylor Mills?”
“Yeah,” Sean said, trying to make sense of it. “What’re the odds of us knowing the deputy in charge of this suspect’s protection?”
Cam shifted, planting his tactical boots firmly on the floor. “She was a big help on the Montgomery Three investigation—getting Harold Wilson settled safely in Portland and keeping him alive.” Their prime witness in the investigation feared the person who abducted the girls would come after him, and he refused to talk until he was placed into witness protection.
“She’s the best of the best.” A fond smile erased Mack’s scowl. “That’s why I asked Eisenhower to have Wilson put under her protection in Portland.”
Taylor and Mack had been friends since deputy training academy, so of course he would recommend her when they’d needed to place Wilson somewhere safe. But friends or not, Sean had agreed that her stellar qualifications and record made her the right deputy to take on Wilson’s protection. And she had the necessary clearance to be read-in on the investigation and become a temporary member of the Red team so she could help coordinate between the team and Wilson for the duration of the investigation.
Sean had formed a virtual friendship with her during the investigation, and they’d kept it going. Yet he’d never met her in person. Never talked to her. Mack handled all of that. Sean had never even laid eyes on a picture of her, despite the many times he was tempted to find one, but they’d agreed not to do so. To remain semi-anonymous. An odd relationship to be sure, but it was working.
“Want me to give her a call and tell her you’re on the way?” Mack asked.
“No!”
Kiley’s eyebrow rose nearly to her hairline, and she gave him one of her famous interrogating stares.
Sean had kept his relationship with Taylor from them because of his unease with Mack, and Sean didn’t need them to discover it now. If it got back to Eisenhower, Sean would be off the investigation without question. No way he would let that happen.
He took a breath to calm his nerves. “You can’t tell her about the hack on an unsecured line, and I don’t want her sitting for hours and wondering what I need from her.”
Mack nodded, but a frown said he didn’t much agree with Sean’s plan.
Sean tried to turn his thoughts back to the investigation, but all he could think about was heading to Portland to see Taylor.
Taylor.
He lived in D.C. She lived in Portland. He never expected to meet her face-to-face.
Never.
Well, that was about to change.
Review
This is a difficult review for me to write, because I struggled with this book. If I strip it back to the bare bones of the plot, there’s a good story here, but so many aspects of the execution didn’t work for me that it affected the entire read.
This writer’s style relies heavily on telling rather than showing, and not only that but she explains EVERYTHING to the reader. Not just procedural stuff and acronyms, but every action taken by the characters, every response to something someone else says or does, every motivation. That’s just not my reading jam. At all. Every facet of the characters’ personalities is explained to us through the narrative, and honestly, if those explanations were taken out, there wouldn’t be much of this story left. Certainly not enough to get to know these characters.
Then there’s the fact that the hero and heroine spend a great deal of the book looking at each other and reflecting on their feelings about every last detail of each other’s appearance and manner. Cowlicks, puckered lips, scrunched noses, eyebrows, the arch of a back, even the way one of them puts on those little booty covers they have to wear at crime scenes!—it’s all remarked upon, often at the most inappropriate times as far as their jobs were concerned. As a result, the story became unrealistic and overly sentimental. I mean, they’re getting in position for an op, and the heroine thinks: “How strong he looked with his Kevlar vest and weapon in his hand.” Aside from the fact that I wondered why he would be carrying his Kevlar vest rather than wearing it, we’re supposed to believe this woman is a US Marshal! Again, not my jam at all.
There were other smaller things that contributed to my overall struggle, but the two issues I’ve already mentioned were so pervasive that they dominated my reading experience. I think it’s safe to say this author isn’t a match for me.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.
About the Author
SUSAN SLEEMAN is the bestselling author of over thirty-five novels with more than one million books sold. She writes romantic suspense novels that are clean with inspiring messages of faith. Readers love her series for the well-drawn characters and edge-of-your-seat action. She graduated from the FBI and local police citizen academies, so her research is spot-on and her characters are real.
In addition to writing, Susan also hosts TheSuspenseZone.com. She has lived in nine states but now calls Oregon home. Her husband is a retired church music director, and they have two beautiful daughters, a very special son-in-law, and an adorable grandson.
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Suspense Zone: www.thesuspensezone.com
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