A military spy thriller, enjoyable and fast paced but I have to admit I find myself shaking my head at the romantic tribulations. ( )

Just as good as the first one. Again, several romances and hints of future ones - the major romance that was set up in Unsung gets a few steps further but it's still hanging fire. The major one in this book is an exercise in frustration on several levels! And the frame is interesting and weird. The tracking burrs are very convenient - but nicely tossed off in an unrelated conversation. And the way Eve managed her captivity was great. I liked the end, though it might be thought something of a letdown. But everyone got out OK, even...(slight spoiler) Bear. ( )

Suzanne Brockmann has quickly become one of my favorite authors. In the second installment of her Troubleshooters? series, the focus is on John ?Nils? Nilsson and a frantic mother, Meg Moore. Meg?s daughter and grandmother have been kidnapped by terrorists in order to force Meg to kill or kidnap a foreign diplomat.

This is my least favorite of the Troubleshooters? series. I love John Nilsson, but it took me quite a while to warm up to Meg. It was not until the very end of the book that I liked her. This is mainly because she was under duress the entire novel, but the Nils' character more than makes up for my dislike of Meg. An extra chapter or a glimmer or two of her treating Nils with the love and trust he deserved from her would have helped. Fortunately, this happens in future books (at least, it is heavily implied!).

Equally captivating was the WWII story and the beginning of the Sam Starrett and Alyssa Locke saga. As many other reviewers have spoken of Alyssa and Sam, I will not delve too deeply in that direction. Their storyline continues in the next two books in this series. This was one of my favorite WWII storylines! Ralph (pronounced Rafe) was by far my favorite WWII hero, and I was as captivated by their story as I was by the rest of the novel. This book also blended the WWII storyline much better than Unsung Hero.

Suzanne Brockmann is a brilliant author and this series has quickly inserted itself in my top ten, along with the Anita Blake series, J.D. Robb?s Eve Dallas series, and Christine Feehan?s Dark series. ( )

Each Troubleshooter novel has at least two romance threads, with one being centered in the present and the other around WW2.

PACING: fast paced, but slowed by multiple plot lines alternating; balanced dialogue and description; CHARACTERIZATION: most important element; revelations during and through action; intertwined characters; series characters; memorable secondary characters; multiple points of view; down to earth; roguish; sympathetic; emotional involvement; reader identification; STORYLINE: multiple plot lines: three romance stories being told alternatively -- one of a past love; episodic; action-oriented; character-centered; resolved ending; plot twists; racy sections towards end; thought provoking sub-themes; sexually explicit scenes, but only a few towards the end -- very little sex for a romance; strong language; family-centered element running through plots 1 and 2; community-centered (military family) running through 1 and 3; FRAME: terrorism; bittersweet; foreboding; humorous; melodramatic; menacing; psychological; suspenseful; nostalgic plot; military special forces; contemporary; conversational style ( )

Meg is a translator for a European embassy. Her daughter and grandmother get kidnapped by an "Extremist" group. Meg's love interest is Navy SEAL Lieutenant John. He's called in by the FBI to help Meg. She specifically asks for him. Alyssa and Sam are the second couple - Alyssa is FBI and Sam is Navy SEAL - both involved with getting Meg because she has become a kidnapper herself. The third couple is Meg's grandmother and her past. She reminisces about her first husband while being held captive by the "Extremists." Got all that? In between the macho FBI/kidnapping violence there is a good amount of romance novel sex - the pantie ripping, throbbing kind. ( )