Veena’s review of Covert Game (Ghostwalkers, Book 14) by Christine Feehan
Romantic Thriller published by Berkley 20 Mar 18
Zara Hightower is the world’s renowned expert on Artificial Intelligence, but, unbeknownst to the various governments she provides her expertise to, she’s also an expert thief of computer secrets. When in China visiting the research facility of one of the premier computer research and development group, she comes to the end of a successful run. As the Chinese torture her for her secrets, a ghostwalker team is dispatched to rescue her.
Some of the extreme torture and deviant sexual practices add a darkness to the story and might be offensive to some readers, but if you can bypass these, the story will get your adrenaline pumping and keep you involved in the action adventure.Gino Mazza is felled by the innocent, badly brutalized woman he rescues with his team. As they race across the city to the safety of the American Consulate, he is focused on keeping her safe – not just from the Chinese but also from his own government. He brings her to his team’s compound in the middle of the Louisiana swamp, determined to keep her safe from all who might want to harm her.
Once in the swamp we get a chance to catch up with Nonna and the other women who have married members of the team, as well as the lethal triplets. Zara has a tremendous command over her mind, which allowed her to withstand the extreme torture she’s been subjected to, but at the same time she’s deeply submissive and looks to Gino for direction and decisions in all other aspects of her life. She is also not an expert with weapons or martial arts and relies on the other women in the group for protection.
What is Zara’s secret that continues to keep Whitney sending ghostwalker teams to retrieve her? The secrets that are revealed and the science of the data cache are fascinating. Between the insatiable sex and the constant attacks, readers are kept on a nice edge of suspense. The team is under attack not only from other ghostwalkers but also the Chinese businessmen who hoped to detail Zara and learn her secrets. In an interesting finale, the ghostwalker team attacks the diabolical sex club that is owned by Cheng and Zhu, the two villains of this piece. The scenes and descriptions in the club are not pretty and might prove to be distasteful to some readers, but it adds to the disgust and sense of justice when punishment is meted out to the bad guys.
I am fascinated with the author’s imagination on the super powers of each new couple in this series and how they’ve been genetically matched to be a couple.
Grade: B
Summary:
Treason, torture and temptation haunt the GhostWalkers in their most dangerous adventure yet, as Christine Feehan’s #1 New York Times bestselling series hits an explosive new high.
Rescuing an industrial spy from the hands of a criminal mastermind is a suicide mission for the GhostWalkers. And there’s no one more up to the task than Gino Mazza. He’s the perfect killing machine–a man driven by demons so dark and destructive that his blighted soul has given up trying to find solace. But his laser-sharp focus on his target has transformed into something nearing desire.
A treasonous senator dangled top secret GhostWalker data in front of a Chinese crime lord, and he bit. Zara Hightower, one of the world’s leading experts on artificial intelligence, was sent in to psychically wipe the crime lord’s computer network. She succeeded, but at a huge cost. Now she’s the captive of a man who has descended into paranoid madness. Torture and death await her…
But GhostWalkers never leave one of their own in enemy territory. And it’s up to Gino to save Zara, or kill her if it turns out she’s led them into a trap. Either way, heaven or hell won’t stop him…
