December 3, 2007
At the opening of Butcher's tense, fast-paced latest, First Light Foundation do-gooder Lana Hancock is still recovering from being kidnapped and tortured 18 months before in Armenia. Covert Delta Force operative Caleb Stone, who allowed her to come to harm instead of blowing his cover, learns that the group that tortured Lana is still active, and comes to alert her and see if she remembers anything. Lana doesn't trust or forgive Stone, and withholds the identity of one of her attackers. As the two grapple with their growing feelings for each other, evildoers bent on killing her to protect their own identities close in. Lana's PTSD and quiet strength are believable and gut-wrenching, while Stone is more of a studly caricature. Their chemistry, however, is excellent, and the other Delta Force men have a nice rapport. On the whole, Butcher (No Regrets
) is in control.
February 15, 2008
Tortured and brutalized in Armenia by a terrorist group known as the Swarm, Lana Hancock is shocked to be rescued by one of her captors. What she doesn't know is that Caleb Stone had infiltrated the group in order to bring it down. It doesn't really mattershe still doesn't trust him. Now, months later, the Swarm has reemerged with a more ruthless leader who will stop at nothing to see both Lana and Caleb dead. Explosive passion and a touch of tenderness combine with fast-paced action and gritty, vengeful violence in this high-speed thriller that is blissfully reminiscent of some of Suzanne Brockmann's terrorist romances. This is Butcher's ("No Regrets") second novel, and it's a winner. She lives in Missouri.
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