Veena’s review of Heat Seeker (Goddard Project, Book 6 & The Atrati, Book 2) by Lucy Monroe
Romantic Suspense published by Kensington 29 Jan 13

I very much enjoy this author’s paranormal series, and when I saw her name in a recent book search, I ordered the book without reading the synopsis because I thought it was a paranormal.  When it arrived and I started to read it, I was surprised that I had missed a whole series of books by Lucy Monroe.  It is hard to reconcile that this is the same author who wrote the Children of the Moon paranormal series that I so enjoy and anxiously await new releases for.

What does a sniper in the army do when he can no longer face the thought of killing? Why, he quits the army and becomes a mercenary. Kadin Marks went into the army and became a sniper. When he couldn’t face the stain of killing on his soul, he walked away from all that was good and innocent in his life, not even realizing that Rachael Gannon, his childhood sweetheart, felt abandoned and inadequate. In an interesting paradox, she sacrificed the innocence that Kadin wanted for her to become a kickass DEA agent and eventually a mercenary traveling to the hotspots of the world doing what needed to be done.

Now she’s in trouble. She’s been captured during her current mission and is currently undergoing torture. Her mind goes back to her sweet innocence and the one person she knows will never find and rescue her. But fate has once again stepped in and dispatched Kadin and his team to rescue Rachael and bring her back to the US. Imagine his surprise when he hears her chanting his name under torture.

Kadin and Rachael have found each other again, but they have different mission objectives and this is bound to come between them. As they finally talk to each other, Kadin realizes how much he has wronged Rachael by walking away from her that he now does a 180 and is determined to do what it takes to support her choices and help her rescue her contact, who is in danger of being exposed.

Amidst an interesting cast of characters consisting of Kadin’s team, which hosts a doctor and a gay couple who are trying to patch up their differences and find their happily ever after, Rachael’s teammates who have come to help out and take over her mission, Kadin and Rachael start to find each other and finally look beyond their past into a possible future.

I think the story is okay. There is little or no suspense and the action is pretty mundane. I feel the character of the young informant is actually the best developed. I really like her pragmatic approach and her retaliation against her father when she confirms that he is indeed an evil man.  I hear this is the last of the series and I feel that it might be best for the author to apply her talents on some of her other contemporary series which are excellent.

Grade: C

Summary:

Always ready, always deadly. That’s the motto of the Atrati—a mercenary organization of black operatives who specialize in doing what no one else can.

A former sergeant in the Marine special forces, Kaden Marks dreams of one day having a family. But he’s haunted by the deeds of his past and won’t let anyone get close. Then a new mission comes his way. A fellow operative has had her cover blown—and it’s up to Kaden’s team to bring her out safely. What he doesn’t realize is that the beautiful but stubborn Rachel Gannon has no intention of letting herself be rescued…

Rachel will come out only when she can promise adequate protection for her unwitting informant. As a former DEA agent, Rachel still blames herself for her sister’s death—and is unwilling to let someone else get hurt because of her. But she hadn’t counted on falling for Kaden Marks, and falling hard. Now she must convince him to help her bring down the enemy’s entire organization—without risking the life of the man she’s come to love…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: