The earlier 'Troubleshooter' books are Brockmann at her best.
Then it becomes too much of the same ol' same ol.' ( )

I hate romantic suspense and so I don't usually read military-type romances because it's always - the killer is after her and she keeps passing out but the man in the camo pants will save her! Not into that. But I like the general hero part (it is a romance, after all), and I really liked this one. The thing that stood out to me is the amount of back story - the hero and heroine have a history (they've been in love since they were teens! But never said anything!), and their fathers also have a history, told in WWII flashbacks. That made the ending emotionally satisfying, if sad. ( )

Me gusta. I love her Tall, Dark and Dangerous Harlequin series - this is just like that only more so. In the Harlequins, there's one romance per book, with maybe a few hints of setting up others. In this, there's the main characters' romance, the ancient romance, the easy romance (that could easily have been an entire Harlequin book - just would have to add a few more obstacles and a bit more obtuseness on the part of the people involved), plus hints of at least one more major romance and maybe another. And all written with Brockmann's usual style and elegance. Me gusta mucho. ( )

Over on Dear Author, there was recently a post discussing Suzanne Brockmann's books and I thought her Troubleshooters series sounded interesting. Generally, books about Navy SEALs (and there are a lot of them out there) don't interest me at all and I give them a wide berth. But the points mentioned in the article, along with quotes, decided me to give the series a try. (Hooray for libraries!)

I did like this book. The best word I can come up with to describe my overall reaction is solid. This seems like a pathetic word, a real case of damning with faint praise, and I don't mean it like that at all. There was a real solidity to Brockmann's world building that made it seem extremely real. These were people you could believe you could meet out on the street; their actions and reactions, successes and mistakes felt real. And considering a number of them were highly trained and secretive soldiers in a field I know nothing about, that's saying something.

Brockmann easily juggled three main plot lines, one of which was sixty years old, and didn't let either of the secondary storylines suffer from either a lack of "on screen" time or take over the main romance plot. Add to that mix a terrorist on US soil (in a book written pre-9/11) that manages to provide a satisfying climax without taking over the book and you are left with clear evidence of a writer who knows what she's doing.

Tom and Kelly's romance was satisfying (if occasionally frustrating) and David and Mallory's secondary romance was a delight. Personally I was less taken with the World War II plot, although it was as well done as the rest of the book, the trips back in memory beautifully blended into the main story. All the characters were solid and interesting and I suspect I'll be reading more Brockmann in the future, although not immediately.

The Unsung Hero
Suzanne Brockmann
Troubleshooters, Book 1
8/10 ( )

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