Sandy M’s review of Guns and the Girl Next Door (Mystery Men, Book 2) by HelenKay Dimon
Romantic Suspense published by Harlequin Intrigue 4 Jan 11

Get ready for one hell of a ride. HelenKay Dimon puts the gloves on, throws punches of action at readers one-two, one-two and never lets up until the bad guys are down and out. You have to hang onto your hats at the risk of being tossed out of the ring at the rate the action moves in this book. Fastfastfast. I held on for dear life and cheered every darned minute of it.

Holden Price is cooling his jets while his Recovery Project team is going through a congressional investigation, all thanks to a congressman who wants more power than he deserves. While fighting boredom waiting for the hearing results, his world is literally thrown for a loop when our heroine crashes a car through the front door of his secluded cabin, his very private sanctuary no one but his team knows about. Trying to figure the woman out and why she ended up in his living room takes a backseat to the mercenaries who are now closing in on them. More questions need to be asked of the sexy blonde, but first thing’s first. A top-notch secret escape to rival any Hollywood movie.

Scared witless and in shock, Mia Landers escapes her deranged boss by the skin of her teeth. Finding herself in the middle of Holden’s home seems to fit with the rest of the craziness she’s gone through this night. She’s even more surprised when she trusts Holden enough to follow directions to outmaneuver more men who want to kill her. Once they’re safe they find they have a common enemy and begin working on a way to make things right. But these bad guys have a way of infiltrating everything Holden and his men do. I think I was more frustrated than the men each time their efforts were blocked and they had to fight for their lives. Every time they turn around they’re having to re-plan and re-attack just to stay a step ahead of those evil-doers.

Amid all the action, what I also enjoy about this story is how Holden and Mia learn about each other as they escape danger time and time again. It’s done effortlessly and seamlessly. They both have issues to overcome, aside from the present danger, and as their attraction grows, so does their trust in each other. The romance, of course, is in the background, but I think that actually enhances those moments between these two when the time comes. Their loving is intense and raw, needed desperately by both. So if you’re a romance-aholic and need it front and center, still give this book a chance. It’s well worth the tone-down.

This is my first HelenKay Dimon book and it’s definitely not my last. I wish I’d read Under the Gun first just to have the feel of the series down, but I don’t feel I missed anything by not doing that. And there’s plenty of questions left open for the next book in the series, which is out later this year. I’m now addicted to these Mystery Men!

Grade: B+

Summary:

Before the recovery project was even up and running, its first case exploded on the scene.

Agent Holden Price didn’t have to go far to find his next case—it crashed right into his living room! Not only had the beautiful blonde lost control of her car, but if she was telling the truth, someone was also trying to kill her. As a recovery agent, he had an obligation to investigate. And he couldn’t deny that Mia Landers interested him more than she should.

Nothing made sense to Mia—especially not the attempt on her life. All she could do was trust Holden, the tall, dark and devastating agent who discovered that he and Mia had a common enemy…and a fierce attraction. But in order to act on it, they’d first have to come face-to-face with their darkest fears and a deadly revelation that might put their newfound love on the line.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: