Gwen’s review of Night Shadow (TFLAC Night Trilogy, Book 3) by Cherry Adair
Contemporary paranormal romantic suspense hardcover released by Ballantine 25 Nov 08

I think Cherry Adair is having a contest with herself to see how many different series she can have with inter-related characters.  I lost count at eleventy-million.  This trilogy is another of what I call the TFLAC novels, and is part of the Night Trilogy.  It’s the first book of the trilogy that I’ve read, but because it’s related to so many of her other books, I was able to pick up the story pretty quickly. 

I liked this story.  I liked the characters. I liked the James Bond on steroids plot.  It was a quick, fun read with lots of suspension of disbelief, but still exciting and, well, fun.  I won’t spend too much time analyzing the technical prowess of the author or how her scenes are nicely linked together in logical and exciting story arcs.  It’s just not that cerebral of a story.  It was a popcorn action flick with some romance – not a moody period piece.

I liked how Adair kept her characters consistent throughout.  She didn’t let the hero change the heroine and let the hero be fallible and flawed.  In fact, the heroine ends up saving the hero’s bacon in the end (not a spoiler – you’ll see what I mean).  This is something I’ve come to expect of Adair’s books – nicely consistent characters that I can get behind and cheer for.

This was a fun paranormal romantic suspense novel.  Don’t look too deeply into it and just roll with the rather “out there” scientific concepts and you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.  I think you should be able to find it relatively inexpensive as a used book on amazon.com now that it’s been released a couple of months – not sure when the paperback release is scheduled.

I recommend this book to anyone reading Adair’s TFLAC books or fans of the author.  If you’re looking for a little escapist fun with a hot romance, and you’re familiar with Adair’s novels, then this is the book for you.

Grade: B+

Summary:

The passion and suspense of Cherry Adair’s latest killer trilogy, begun in Night Fall and continued in Night Secrets, now reaches its explosive conclusion in Night Shadow, as mismatched international agents take on evil head-to-head-and each other heart-to-heart.

Aside from working for the international anti-terrorism agency T-FLAC (and having the same last name), Lexi Stone and Alex Stone are polar opposites, right down to Lexi’s mere mortality and Alex’s paranormal powers. While straight-arrow Lexi pushes paper at an Internal Affairs desk, renegade Alex is busy pushing the envelope as he pursues the most dangerous global criminals. And though Lexi disdains his rule-breaking bravado and cowboy tactics, she can’t deny Alex’s skills when it comes to getting his man (not to mention any number of women)-just as she can’t ignore how his roguish charm makes her heart race and her temperature rise.

But Lexi’s secret desires clash head-on with her duties when suspicions arise that Alex is poised to switch sides-and join forces with a European terrorist cell. Tapped for her first field mission, Lexi finds herself assigned to shadow Alex’s every move, and if necessary, terminate him. Despite her feelings, Lexi’s willing and able to carry out her orders, as long there’s proof that Alex is a traitor. But getting the goods-and the drop-on her superagent quarry becomes an even tougher task when Lexi and Alex suddenly find themselves partners on an emergency mission in Russia.

When terrorists seize a busy Moscow railway station for ransom, then abruptly massacre their hostages and vanish into thin air, the agents realize they’re facing adversaries possessing of the same paranormal abilities as Alex’s elite T-FLAC/psi unit. But after Lexi kills an armed suspect during a breathless rooftop chase, she makes a series of shocking discoveries about the enemy T-FLAC is facing, the troubling truth Alex has been concealing, and the terrifying plot of a treacherous mastermind that could spell the downfall of T-FLAC’s most powerful and valued operatives. To save precious lives and stop the rise of a superhuman terrorist threat, Lexi and Alex must work as a well-oiled team in a race across the globe-and against time-with lethal shadows looming behind them, and no one to trust but each other.

Read an excerpt (click on the book cover).

Other books in the series: