Wendy the Super Librarian‘s Duckies Do Series review of Mystery Men #3 through #5 by HelenKay Dimon
Romantic suspense published by Harlequin Intrigue Feb 2011 – Sep 2011
I easily get distracted by The Shiny, which means when it comes to connected books, I inevitably fall behind. I’ve really been enjoying HelenKay Dimon’s Mystery Men series for Harlequin Intrigue, likening them to action movies on paper with some mushy “love cooties” thrown in on the side. Because of various shiny bits, however, I found myself faced with the final three books languishing on my e-reader. Seemed like a good way to make myself feel productive was to bang out reading the final three in order. So what have the final three uncoupled men in the qausi-governmental Recovery Project been up to? Well, gee – what haven’t they?
Gunning For Trouble (Mystery Men #3)
February 2011
Caleb Mattern came to the Recovery Project after getting canned from his lab technician job. His job was just to do the work, look at the facts. But no, not good enough for Caleb, who also wanted to play crime-buster. Going rogue got him fired, but it led him to Recovery – where he now works as their in-house science/medical/forensic guru. With their boss, Rod, missing in action and a corruption scandal in the Witness Protection Program they’re trying to get to the bottom off, Caleb really doesn’t have time to deal with his ex-lover, Avery Walker, showing up on his doorstep. Especially since she claims Rod sent her, and oh yeah, there are armed goons gunning for her. Did I mention the bit about Avery being Caleb’s former boss? The one that fired him from his last job? Yeah, awkward.
What we have here is a straight-up reunion story, with some misunderstandings tossed in, and a bit of rescue fantasy thrown in for good measure. Avery knows something about the WitSec corruption that could get her killed, and in fact some very bad men are trying to do just that. Caleb is trying to keep her safe, but their past baggage is making things a bit complicated on a personal level. The suspense here is handled well, with a definite thriller edge. What didn’t work as well for me was the romance, mostly because Avery and Caleb seem to bicker a lot. Right up until the bitter end. Still, they do work past it, the bad guy problem at hand is dispatched, and the continuing mystery continues on….
Grade: B-
Summary:
When he was recruited by the Recovery Project, Caleb Mattern found a new lease on life. Tracking missing persons. Protecting witnesses. But even after stretching his muscles and becoming one of the company’s elite agents, he couldn’t leave his past behind. Avery Walters wouldn’t let him.
His former boss had also been his onetime lover, and now she’s burst back into his life with dangerous consequences. But settling old scores won’t be on the agenda—not yet! With the nation’s security depending on them to act appropriately, Caleb must pull off the most impossible assignment of his career. Now that Avery’s put her life in his hands, what will Caleb do with it?
Locked And Loaded (Mystery Men #4)
August 2011
The WitSec scandal involves the exchange of cash for information on participants in the program. Two women are already dead, and a third woman, Maddie Timmons, is on the hit list. Recovery Project computer expert, Adam Wright, has been dispatched to West Virginia to keep an eye on her. Moving in next door, eating pie at the diner where she works, and watching her every move gets to be mighty tempting though. Even though this woman testified against a brutal drug-dealing ex and presumably was intimately involved in that business operation. When bad guys come calling, Adam rides to the rescue, only to discover a woman who is pretty capable of trying to rescue herself.
What I really like about this story is that Maddie has a bit of a harder edge than the previous heroines. She’s living in the WitSec program, which means she’s never idle, never rests, and always has a contingency plan. Adam has sexy geek written all over him, and I’ll admit that I’m shallow enough that I actually swooned. The ending here isn’t quite as tidy as in the other books, namely because Maddie being part of WitSec means she won’t be totally in the clear until after the resolution to that mystery.
Grade: B
Summary:
Nothing was as it seemed… Not even the protection Maddie Timmons was promised when she’d entered the Witness Security Program. One of her handlers was missing, the other had burned her, and now Maddie was at risk.
All that stood between her and certain death was one sexy stranger.
Deep undercover, Recovery Project agent Adam Wright vowed to keep Maddie safe from the leak at WitSec. But Adam wasn’t prepared for the confident woman he’d rescued, the sensuous lover who got under his skin. He could do nothing about her past being taken away, but he’d do anything to secure her future…even if it meant forsaking his own….
The Big Guns (Mystery Men #5)
September 2011
Sela Andrews is the personal assistant to Trevor Walters, a very bad, very crooked man who is neck-deep in the WitSec corruption. For that reason, the Recovery Project has been keeping an eye on her. Well, not the whole team, just Zach Bachman. An explosives expert, Zach is the strong, silent, borderline aloof member of the team with a haunted past and quiet disposition. Admittedly though, watching Sela gets under his skin. She’s sexy as hell, but rumor has it she’s boff’ing the boss. And given Trevor’s activities, this doesn’t say good things about her. However, when Sela is kidnapped, it’s up to Zach to save the day. Which he does. But not before there’s a lot of gun play, a lot of falling in love, the resolution to the WitSec corruption and missing Recovery Project boss, Rod.
I’ve read all five books in this series, and this one is my favorite. Not only do we finally get the resolution to the overarching suspense, but the romance here is very strong. Zach definitely fits the strong, silent type, is Alpha to the core, and definitely has a bit of a rescue complex. He’s a good, solid man though, and Sela is a smart enough girl to weigh her options carefully. Being Trevor’s assistant means she knows about Recovery, and doesn’t necessarily think of them as “the good guys” – but she’s smart enough to read the signs. She’s smart enough to not constantly fight Zach when it becomes very apparent that he’s keeping her alive. And she’s also smart enough to challenge him at every turn, confront him, and bring him emotionally to his knees.
Grade: B+
Summary:
When he saw his mark being kidnapped, Recovery Project agent Zach Bachman had no option but to rescue her. Even if it endangered his assignment. After weeks of watching Sela Andrews from afar, he was now trapped with the blonde beauty as her bodyguard.
Her brave protector relished the heat of gun battle but retreated from his own emotions. Sela learned that when, in the dead of night in a darkened safe house, the loner became her lover. Still, as her would-be killers closed in on them again, she had no choice but to put her life—and her heart—in the hands of her reluctant guardian.
Harlequin Intrigue is a tricky line because it does put a bit more emphasis on the suspense than the romance. For that reason, Insta-Lurve can creep into the books, which usually operates on a short timeline. The final three books in this series are not immune to that. However, Dimon writes this style of suspense so well, and the overarching mystery thread is interesting enough, that I’m willing to shut-up and enjoy the ride. This has been a fun, exciting series, and here’s hoping for lots more Intrigues from Dimon.
Overall Grade: B
Other books in this series:
