Veena’s review of Playing Dirty (Bad Boys Undercover, Book 1)by Helen Kay Dimon
Contemporary Romance published by Avon 27 Jan 15
I did enjoy this James Bond-like super-spy thriller with intrigue and treachery around every corner. Ford is definitely the epitome of the debonair secret agent who flies in and out in his cover of computer geek troubleshooter to do the super-spy things like torture, escape out of burning buildings, and commandeer private airplanes expected of his super-spy persona.
Shay is a great heroine. She’s sweet and innocent and even though she’s taken a lot of knocks in her young life, Ford definitely bowls her over. You can well imagine her feelings when she finds out that Ford has been deceiving her. In fact, his lies are exposed in the worst possible way as she is surrounded by secret agents and held hostage by a member of her family.
The story opens with Ford and his team on an assignment which goes sideways as the house they’re about to approach is blown up in their faces. Fortunately, they’re a bit singed but manage to survive intact to continue the story. Ford almost seems to be leading a double life as he performs his day job spying with his team chasing down the clues in search of a missing biological weapon and sexing Shay by night, ostensibly because her cousin is the chief suspect in causing the weapon to go missing.
Clearly the bad guy who’s masterminding this is one step ahead of them the entire way. It’s almost like a television episode as we switch between Ford and his team chasing down clues and doing the stuff that super spies do, along with Ford and Shay in bed. Unfortunately, while Ford knows but Shay doesn’t, his entire team has a ringside view into their sexcapades.
Even though a lot of the scenarios that I kept second guessing don’t materialize, it is a fun, if not spectacular, read.
Grade: B+
Summary:
As an elite Alliance agent—the joint undercover operation of MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service, and the CIA—Ford Decker lives for the adrenaline. But when he befriends sexy property manager Shay Alexander in hopes of finding her cousin, a known national security threat, Ford crosses the line, getting to know her better . . . in bed.
After being burned by her last relationship, Shay wants to take things slow. Yet she can’t keep her hands off the drop-dead gorgeous hottie who’s moved into her apartment building. So when Ford’s identity as an undercover agent is exposed, his betrayal cuts deep. Shay never wants to see him again, but Ford can’t let her go, not when her life is still in danger. He will sacrifice everything to protect her, then be prepared to walk away from the only woman he’s ever loved, even if it breaks him.
Other books in this series:
