I was initially not that excited about this book. Up until this point the main protagonist male as been a cop and I have come to look forward meeting a new detective and seeing a romance sprout between cop and Delphi worker. But this book takes a new turn and introduces former NavySEAL Gage Brewer as the romantic interest with Kelsey being the love interest from Delphi. We have met Kelsey briefly in other books and know that she has called it off with her boyfriend Gage.
Now she is getting her own book and honestly I wasn’t sure where this one was going to go and if I was going to like this new turn in the romance department but I mean come on, does it get any sexier than a NavySEAL? Even if I was unsure where this one was going to go, I was intrigued by the NavySEAL character and curious to see how it was going to play out. I will tell you now, there was no reason for me to be concerned because this book gave me as a reader some thing new and different to explore.
If you haven’t read this series yet then you are missing out. I can fully endorse that reading these books out of order will not matter. So maybe you want to read one book but skip another that is totally fine in this series. Sure we might have briefly met Kelsey in other books but Griffin does a great job making sure new readers don’t miss anything so take heart knowing the author will make sure you aren’t lost! This series is a killer—-pun intended! Do not miss this series!
Summary
Kelsey Quinn set out to trace a murder victim. Now she may become one.
The dead don’t speak, but Kelsey knows their secrets. As a forensic anthropologist at the Delphi Center crime lab, Kelsey makes it her mission to identify bodies using no more than shards of bone, and her find at a remote Philippines dig hints at a sinister story. When Kelsey’s search for answers puts her at the scene of her exfiance’s murder, only one man can help her. The same man who broke her heart just months before, and who is also a prime suspect. Faced with an ultimatum–Kelsey or his job–Gage Brewer did the only thing a Navy SEAL could . . . but that doesn’t mean he stopped wanting Kelsey. Now Kelsey is running for her life and Gage is her last line of defense. As the threats escalate, Kelsey realizes this conspiracy goes deeper and higher than they could have guessed. With the clock ticking down on a madman’s plot, the slightest misstep will have unthinkable consequences. (summary from Goodreads)
Review
Yes initially I had reservations about this book. I didn’t know how the NavySEAL thing was going to work in this one and I honestly don’t care for second chance romances usually. Kelsey and Gage had been hot and heavy at one point and then they called it quits for a number of reasons—-but mainly because Gage wouldn’t give up the SEALs for Kelsey and Kelsey wanted a stable relationship where she didn’t worry about her man being killer in a dangerous mission overseas. But they are thrown together again in this book and I had reservations—-but quickly Griffin put me at ease and somewhere along the way I found myself rooting for them and hoping they would find a way to make things work between them. I was fully satisfied when their relationship wrapped up and felt hopeful for them in the future!
The mystery was much different in this book that in some of the others. Here we have a story that is more military conspiracy and terrorist than the other books thus far. It came at a good point in the series, up until now most of the books have been serial killers or conspiracy to commit murder for a cover up etc. This book was more military heavy and I thought it was a good time to change things up a bit. Plus in this book we meet Derek who is Gage’s best friend and also a fellow SEAL. Derek really hits it off with one of the FBI agents and I just loved him, in a lot of ways he stole the show for me and it wasn’t even his book!
I really loved reading this one for the military bits. I know a little about the SEALs but this book did a fantastic job highlighting the dangers of their job and how involved they are in things like counter terrorism and missions abroad. It was positively fascinating. Not to mention the chemistry between Kelsey and Gage was hot. I felt like I learned a lot in this one but also had a chance to explore the whole murder mystery and terrorism in a new way that I haven’t experienced in other books in this series. I am super excited to read more books that feature the SEALs and I know that this series has more coming up and I cannot wait to meet those characters and read their romances!
Book Info and Rating
Format: 387 pages mass market paperback
Published: October 30th 2012 by Pocket Books
ISBN: 9781451617399
Review copy provided by personal collection. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Genre: mystery, thriller, romantic suspense
The Lit Bitch 