Rachel Grant returns to the top of her game with Into the Storm, the first book in her new Evidence: Under Fire series. This military procedural hits the ground running from the first chapter and doesn’t let up until the very end. There’s little time to draw a breath, and while it’s also a romance, the suspense definitely takes first dibs.

As usual, Grant crafts a high-concept world of intrigue and intelligence, with characters who are both intelligent and capable. Her women are no simpering fools, and her men are not pounding their chests in overt displays of machismo. There’s a level playing field between genders, cultures, and professions. Take, for example, Audrey Kendrick, an archaeologist ‘entrusted to protect all cultural resources within Olympia National Park.’ She had a scorching one-night stand with Xavier Rivera a couple months ago, not knowing he was a Navy SEAL. Xavier was at the park to scope it out for a training operation and was fully aware of Audrey’s protection efforts along the shores of Lake Olympus when he falsified a complaint against her for not approving the training request.

From the very beginning, Audrey and Xavier are at odds with one another. On the one hand, they both have jobs to do and stay on-brand by protecting their respective goals with unwavering headstrong, obstinate purpose. On the other, Audrey, who has recently discovered she’s pregnant, decides a combative relationship with Xavier is a terrible way to raise the baby. Now she’s seeing things from a different perspective when she unwittingly steps into said contested training op.

Xavier knew he was being weaselly when he secured his team’s ability to use the space on the tribal lands, but had resigned himself to the mantra of duty above all else long before he met Audrey. So, it’s a surprise, to say the least, when Audrey stumbles into the middle of the training op. He’s been focused on coordinating his team’s HALO drop in the middle of the night in the middle of a storm, and believes everyone has been cleared out of the park. After the initial shock of Audrey’s appearance, Xavier figures her fury will be the most dangerous part of the night, until it soon becomes evident true danger is lurking in the woods, taking shots at them. His team is not even on the ground and gunfire is discharging, which means the training op is now an actual op, and the only gun with live ammo is Audrey’s Glock… with fifteen bullets.

The stakes are high for their survival, and the danger is amplified when you take into account they have to figure out how to warn the SEAL team that real shooters are in the woods when all signals are jammed, and Audrey is trying to get to a handful of tribal elders still begrudgingly in the perimeter of the training area. Don’t forget she still has to tell him about the baby. And ensure historic areas of the park remain intact.

I wanted Xavier to be a little sorry he betrayed Audrey for his career, and I wanted Audrey to be more flexible with her protection of archaeological grounds when the shit hit the fan. But again, both characters are true to themselves and their callings, so for either to have relented would have actually been disingenuous; it’s probably the romantic in my heart who wants the kissy time to occur sooner. Grant is an enlightened storyteller, and at times the flow of the story can feel bogged down by lessons in good citizenry, but if the alternative is offensive, asshole characters out of touch with the current social climate, I’d rather get a little moral while the characters are improving their morale.

I’m looking forward to seeing where this series will go next. If you’re a fan of romantic suspense or, like me, have Rachel Grant on your auto-buy list, you’ll love Into the Storm.

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