Death Echo

Amazon preorder

I enjoyed this book a lot, let's get that straight right away.

The story starts in Seattle and makes a counter-clockwise trip around Vancouver Island aboard a 41', black-hulled performance yacht (powered, I'd guess, by dual Volvo/Penta IPS pod-drives, which feature prominently). The main characters, besides the boat, are a slightly bitter ex-Special Ops sniper (male) and a slightly-more-bitter ex CIA operative (female), both young, extremely attractive, and yes, sex-positive. Their support team includes a married couple (and their infant daughter), now private security consultants and the protagonists' boss, as well as a wicked-smart and well-connected ex-ambassador in a wheelchair who I think is everyone's employer.

The bad guys are Eastern European, sort of mafiya/terrorists with a definite terrorist emphasis.

After finishing the book, thinking about it some, and even talking it over with my wife, I still don't get one of the major plot-points. Much of the dialogue between the protagonists is hard to believe, that characters border on genre stereotypes and the male-lead never quite comes into focus. But, I like boats and I like thrillers, and I'm happy to overlook shortcomings of the latter if I get a serving of the former. ( )

The yacht Blackbird, reported to contain a dirty bomb large enough to destroy a large city, brings together Emma Cross, ex-CIA agent now an employee of St. Kilda Consulting, and MacKenzie Durand, a special forces operator turned transit captain. With seven days to stop a shadowy terrorist plot, Emma decides the best way to get Mac's cooperation is to recruit him. Espionage with the threat of terrorism create an adrenaline-laced, high-action ride. The intense operation with the clock ticking in the background pushes the potent, hurried personal relationship between Emma and Mac. With the components of boats and sailing, lovers of adventures featuring pirates that are revealed to be heroes will enjoy this fifth addition to the St. Kilda series.

Single sex scene is largely off screen. Adventure dominates romance. ( )

agents transport ship that could be involved in terrorism-lethal cargo- St. Kilda's group ( )

The story included too many twists & turns. It often dragged. ( )