Into the Night

Into the Night is the 5th book in the Troubleshooters series and I liked it the least of all I have read so far. I was expecting another romantic suspense. It was not romantic suspense. The majority of the book featured three couples and their stories. Several other characters from past Troubleshooter books also made an appearance. The three main couples are:

Mike Muldoon & Joan DaCosta
Sam & Mary Lou Starrett
Vince & Charlie DaCosta (Joan's grandparents)

Mike and Joan's story was a younger man/older woman story which I usually love. I loved Mike, but Joan went through too much angst over whether she should get involved with a younger man. Couple that with her smart mouth and I wanted to slap her upside the head! The story of Vince and show more Charlie was told through flashbacks and present day accounts and I enjoyed it.
The worst part of this book was Sam. He was a complete SOB and if Brockmann had killed him off I would have applauded! He was a lousy husband and a lousy father, complete anti-hero material. I know he is supposed to be a hero in the next book in the series but I'm going to have to cool down a bit before I read it. I know I have read that many readers didn't like Mary Lou, but I liked her. She was a flawed human being but she was a good mother and was trying to create a good home, so I give her points for that.

For those looking for romantic suspense, there is a short tacked-on, insignificant story at the end where terrorists are trying to assassinate the president. My thought was "why bother?" ITN is a contemporary romance with a little dab of suspense. (Grade: C-) show less

Into the Night
4 Stars

White House public relations staffer, Joan DaCosta, arrives at the Navy SEALs training base to coordinate a presidential visit. Her SEAL liaison, Lieutenant Michael Muldoon, would prefer to have nothing to do with the "dog and pony show", but is unable to resist his growing attraction to Joan. With the obstacles to their romance emerging at every turn, Mike and Joan will have to decide if their future is worth fighting for.

Similar to the previous installments, the narrative focuses on three separate threads that ultimately merge together. In addition to Joan and Mike's romance, there are flashbacks of the relationship between Charlie Fletcher, a WWII widow, and Vince DaCosta, an injured marine. Finally, readers are show more provided with insights into the life of Mary Lou Starret (Sam's wife).

Joan and Mike are an adorable couple and their witty banter and teasing are delightful. Mike is my favorite hero in the series as he is simply too delicious for words. That said, this is the 3rd book in which Brockmann has included the age difference trope and, as with the others, Joan's preoccupation with it is excessive and annoying. It creates a conflict where none actually exists. Who cares if Joan is 6 years older than Mike? He is a Navy SEAL whose personality and life experience are mature and advanced for his years.

The secondary romance between Charlie and Vince is wonderful. Their story is just so heartwarming although it is sad that he spent so many years incorrectly believing that he was Charlie's second choice.

As for Mary Lou, it is virtually impossible to care about her. She made her bed and now she has to lie in it. If it was Brockmann's intention to evoke sympathy for her, this is a dismal failure as not only is she selfish and self-absorbed, but her nasty thoughts and appalling racist views make her completely unlikable.

The action isn't as intense in this book, and the climax is rather lackluster given the buildup. Nevertheless, this series is entertaining overall and I look forward to the closure for Sam and Alyssa in in the next one. show less

Another great entry in the Troubleshooters series! I've been waiting for poor Michael to finally get the girl--his sad, Stan-enforced encounters with Teri in Over the Edge were just so...well, sad! He absolutely deserved to get his own happy ending. The WWII subplot here was one of my favorites--not a lot of high drama, but a really satisfying story of a young war widow finding a second chance with a guy who ends up being one of the first SEALs ever. The events that will play a big part in the next book are set up in this one, so some items aren't quite resolved at the end of this novel. I was glad I had book six cued up on my MP3 player and ready to go (Sam and Alyssa? You bet I want to get to their story pronto!), because I wasn't show more ready to leave SEAL team sixteen behind just yet when Michael and Joan's story was wrapped up. show less

As usual in this series, there are three related storylines woven together. The main story features Mike Muldoon and Joan DaCosta. Mike is extraordinarily nice and incredibly handsome. Joan is a White House staffer in charge of keeping the president’s adult daughter on the straight and narrow. The angst between them us that Joan is seven years older than Mike. How horrifying!

The second story line involves Joan’s grandparents. Charlotte Fletcher DaCosta lost her first husband in the attack on Pearl Harbor and then married her second husband, Vince, who was wounded in Tarawa. They have had almost sixty happy years together as a couple. They reveal the poignant story of how they met and fell in love throughout the book.

The third story show more involves Sam Starrett and his wife, Mary Lou. They have a miserable marriage. Sam's former girlfriend, Mary Lou, told him she was pregnant at the end of Book 3, but didn't mention the part about sabotaging his condoms so she would get pregnant. He and Alyssa Locke had recently declared their love for one another. I know readers are supposed to be rooting for Sam and Alyssa but my heart broke for Mary Lou, a young woman who's battling alcoholism, but is an incredibly kind woman and wonderful mother. Yes, I know she tricked him but I was happy to see how hard she worked to try and make up for that.

This wasn't my favorite Troubleshooters novel but I am interested in what happens in the next book, [b:Gone Too Far|759156|Gone Too Far (Troubleshooters, #6)|Suzanne Brockmann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388291108l/759156._SY75_.jpg|1778301], which is supposed to conclude the Sam/Alyssa/Mary Lou triangle. show less

Another one of my favorites. I know it seems like I always say that.
I like how clueless Mike Muldoon is about women since he is so handsome that he never has to work at it. He is however very good at being a SEAL. Joan Da Costa is a pretty good character but the way that their age difference bothers her, bothers me. There just isn't that great a difference in their ages and I know from my own personal situation,(hubby is 7 years younger) that this small age difference is virtually unnoticable once you're into your late 20s early 30s. The bigger problem is that they live so far apart. It is difficult for a career woman to give up her situation to follow a man around.

I did enjoy this WWII story about the most of any of the WWII stories. I show more would have loved to read an entire novel about it. But I would prefer that it not be in this novel.

I was astounded how well I liked the Mary Lou story. Brockmann can really create a sympathetic character from someone you swore you would never like. Some reviewers have said that they didn't like her and couldn't forgive her for trapping Sam into marriage. But I think that people make mistakes and change and grow and I'm happy to accept that in a novel also.

That's one of the things that is so compelling about this series. show less

The President's coming to town and no one's happy. Commander Tom Paoletti calls the demonstration SEAL Team 16 is putting together a "dog and pony show". His instincts are telling him that trouble's on the horizon and tries to get powers that be to stop the demonstration, but no such luck. Happily, he's got the best team in the business ready and waiting...

Lieutenant (jg) Mike Muldoon features in this book as he romances and works really hard to convince his love interest, White House Aid Joan DeCosta that he finds her charms and her personality to be what he really wants. Joan is reluctant at first and tries to divert him by having him escort the president's daughter to a party, which does not go well since the president's daughter show more turns out to be quite the lush.

At the same time we have a side story featuring Joan's grandparents and their experiences on the home front during WWII and a third strand following the strained relationship between Sam Starrett and his wife Mare Lou - which will lead up to [b:Gone Too Far|759156|Gone Too Far (Troubleshooters, #6)|Suzanne Brockmann|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320440565s/759156.jpg|1778301] in which Sam and the love of his life, Alyssa Locke, finally find common ground.

This book is a setup and turning point for the series and now one of my favorite books in the series to date (along with the one named above). show less

Muldoon and Joan. I wondered for nearly the entire book why they worked as a couple. I'm still not sure; but I did like the book.