In the Dark (Navy SEALs, Book 2)

In The Dark
3.5 Stars

Kidnapped and held captive in Cuba, DIA agent, Hannah Geary, swears vengeance against the rogue SEAL responsible for the murder of her partner and mentor. Following her rescue by SEAL Team 12, Hannah and Lieutenant Luther Lindstrom must work together to clear his commander’s name and find the evidence to bring the real culprits to justice.

An improvement on the first book, especially in terms of the heroine. However, there are still several problematic elements.

To begin with, Luther and Hannah’s romance is rather lukewarm. They have some solid chemistry but their constant whining about being incompatible gets very tedious very quickly.

The suspense plot is also disappointing as the villain is obvious from the start show more and his motive is underdeveloped. Moreover, the criminal charges against Gabe (the hero of book #1) feel contrived and neither the FBI nor NCIS behave is a manner that makes sense to the reader -Gibbs and Fornell would be very annoyed!

The secondary romance between Leila and Sebastian, which starts out so well in book #1, fizzles in this one mainly due to the fact that Leila does a complete about face that is not consistent with her initial characterization.

In sum, although In The Dark is certainly better than Forget Me Not it does not completely live up to the potential of its premise. Hopefully, the next book will be more successful. show less

Although IN THE DARK is a stand-alone book, I would highly recommend reading Ms. Melton's previous release, FORGET ME NOT, before you start this latest Navy SEAL story. You'll have a better feel for the supporting characters, not to mention that FORGET ME NOT was a wonderful book! In this second SEAL installment, the danger is notched up, the passion burns hotter, and the saga continues.

Navy SEAL Lieutenant Gabe "Jaguar" Renault has been caught in the crossfire of a cover-up. Only a short week ago, their Admiral had assured them that Commander Edward Lovitt would stand trial for the crimes he had committed, not the least of which was trafficking in stolen weapons. Somehow, though, Gabe is now the one sitting in jail, awaiting sentence show more from the NCIS. Not to be deterred, Lieutenant Luther Lindstrom and his fellow SEALs are determined to see justice prevail, and there's only one way to get it-find Defense Intelligence agent Hannah Geary and have her testify as to Lovitt's crimes.

The problem is that Lovitt has done a good job of keeping Hannah away from anyone who can cause him trouble. He had her partner killed, and now Hannah is far away on the other side of the world, in a prison in Santiago , Cuba , under the watchful and cruel eye of General Pizon. When Pizon pushes his torture too far and attempts to rape Hannah, she kills him-then realizes she still has to find a way out of her prison. Thankfully, Luther and his men have come to Cuba to rescue her, which will in turn save their fellow SEAL, Gabe. Having killed the general, Hannah's escape is facilitated by the SEAL team, and now all of them are on the run from a regime bent on revenge.

Now not only do Luther, Hannah, and the SEALs need to get out of Cuba, but they need to make sure Hannah returns to the States alive, in order to testify as to Commander Lovitt's crimes against the Navy. In the course of their trip, Luther and Hannah attempt to fight the ever-growing attraction that's between them. Luther's not a man who wants to give his heart to another woman, having already been tricked once by a cheating fiance. And as for Hannah, the death of her partner and the almost-rape by General Pizon have damaged her to the point that she's not sure she can readily be close to man again.

Marliss Melton has penned another winner. Fast-paced action, nail-biting suspense, and passion all intertwine to make this story well worth the read. show less

A really good fast paced action packed story with both an alpha hero and alpha heroine. The plot moved from one exciting event to another and I especially liked how the heroine was frequently resourceful on her own among elite military. Navy SEAL Luther is part of a team to rescue Hannah who was kidnapped.

Good story about a rogue SEAL commander. The SEALS from book 1 - Forget Me Not - are back along with a new DIA Hannah Geary whose partner has been killed.