Gwen’s review of Phantom in the Night (B.A.D.: Bureau of American Defense, Book 6) by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love Snell
Contemporary romantic suspense released by Pocket 10 Jun 08
I normally do a lot of eye-rolling when I read one of Kenyon’s BAD books. Mind you – I still read them, I just read them with the knowledge that my suspension of disbelief reflex won’t be triggered. I’m happy to report that this entry in her sometimes far-fetched B.A.D. series was actually the best I’ve read so far.
According to Kenyon’s site, this book was to have come out March 2007 and Joe and Tee’s story in August 2007. I’m guessing that Kenyon decided to not keep up her punishing release schedule – the woman has been a writing machine for several years. I hope she was able to slow down a bit and that’s the reason for the delay, and that this book benefited from the extra time spent on it.
Phantom begins with the hero – a Special Forces soldier in the jungles of South America, tracking down bad guys and saving women (naturally). While wrapping up his latest mission, he finds out his brilliant but prone-to-screw-up brother is in trouble again. Trouble that only his twin brother can get him out of and only if he goes AWOL. Naturally, he rides to his family’s rescue. As odd as all this may sound, it’s actually presented in a way that is riveting.
We then meet the heroine – a former DEA agent now B.A.D. operative in post-Katrina New Orleans trying to find her dead partner’s killer (naturally). In the course of investigating a local drug lord, she meets up with the “Phantom” – a man who scares and excites her, saves her from the bad guys several times, seduces her in very sexy ways, all while never showing his face to her. I’ll give you two guesses who he is.
The sexual tension between the H and H is palpable from the beginning. I like how naturally flawed both are – they’re not perfect, not cookie-cutter hero and heroine. I also liked the development of their “relationship” and how Kenyon/Snell helped it feel more organic and not forced. I enjoyed both characters’ interaction with the secondary characters. I grieved for both over their losses and was rooting for retribution right along with them.
What didn’t really work was the heroine’s distant past – the storyline of her mother’s death seemed an afterthought and wasn’t fully realized, in my opinion. And the introduction of the hero’s old Special Forces buddy at a critical moment in the book was a little deus ex machina. But, that those are small sacrifices to what turned out to be a really fun story to read.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who has given up on this series or who is a fan of either author. If you like romantic suspense, you’ll love this book. It can be read on its own with little trouble, if you’ve not read any of the past B.A.D. novels. The sensuality is steamy, the suspense gripping, and the main characters very sympathetic. I liked this book.
Grade: B-
Summary:
After losing her mother to a vigilante killer, Terri Mitchell has dedicated her life to justice. Working covertly as a new agent for the Bureau of American Defense agency, she’s consulting with the New Orleans Police Department to bust an organized crime ring suspected of funding terrorism. But when rumors surface of a phantom ghost terrorizing and killing the very people she’s investigating, she’s suspicious.
Nathan Drake has spent his life protecting his family, the only thing that matters to him…until the most feared drug lord in the southeast takes everything Nathan holds dear. Now he’s a man on a mission with nothing to lose. He figures he only needs to stay alive long enough to protect the innocent lives the killers are out to destroy.
As the two of them seek a similar goal by different means, Terri and Nathan are drawn deep into an evil underbelly that cuts through all levels of society. Now two people who have no reason to trust must trust in each other or die. And if they die, a deadly attack will be unleashed on thousands of innocent people.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in the series:
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