Show No Fear

Marliss Melton

After barely escaping with her life from Venezuala, CIA agent Lucy Donovan is fighting post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She was assigned to a desk job. But she needs to get back into action. She's afraid she's not shaking the PTSD but in order to prove it to herself she wants to get back into the field. She is happy to be called in to prepare for another mission.

Lucy is surprised to see the man who is going to be her partner. James and Lucy dated in college. Then she joined the CIA after surviving a terroism attack and stopped her relationship with James. Now he uses his middle name, Gus, and instead of becoming a businessman, is now a Navy SEAL. While taken a bit aback, she quickly realizes they will be good as partners. They will pose as a newly married couple from Spain on a U.N. Team sent to Columbia to retrieve two CIA agents who have been held captive for over six months. Hopefully they won't need to do anything but assist the real U.N. representatives but they're prepared.

Gus also hopes to bring the SEALS in close enough to catch the Columbian rebels behind the kidnappings. He has a satellite phone stashed in the heel of one boot, knowing that all their clothes will be taken when they arrive. But shoes are usually left with the negotiators even when all the clothes are replaced. On the few occasions they're apart from any of the rebels, he tries to relay whatever information he can. But the satellite phone is out of signal range.

The negotiations drag on. The rebels are hiding more than the hostages. Lucy and Gus spend most of their time together. Lucy struggles against her own feelings for Gus. She had put the past behind - and now it's back. Her feelings for Gus have revived. It doesn't matter. She cannot let her personal feelings get in the way of her job. A person with her type of job has to be a loner. Sd she tells Gus, she can't even keep a plant alive, let alone a relationship.

But just as they have almost finished the hostage exchange, Lucy and Gus are revealed. Now they're separated in the Columbian jungle, both believing the other could be dead.

Two other Marliss Melton Navy SEAL novels have crossed my reading pile in the last year. I didn't read them due to different reasons (one involved kidnapped children and I wasn't ready for another one at that time). I passed them on to others to read. Now I wouldn't mind having them back. Yes, Show No Fear is edgy and borders on too much violence. Melton walks a fine line, keeping the suspense and the romance from going over the top for this type of novel.

Neither Lucy nor Gus come completely to life, yet this novel works. The suspense keeps the reader pulled in. The romance ties it together, but the terrorism situation keeps the book focused and interesting. You have to enjoy romantic suspense with a dark shadow to enjoy this book.

Notice:  Explicit sexual content, Graphic violence

Publicist provided for review

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