True Shot
By
Grade : B+

True Shot is a novel with so much going on that it was hard to categorize when I submitted my review. I said at first that it was a Contemporary, Paranormal, Romantic Suspense. Its very contemporary without tossing around a lot of pop culture references, the heroine has significant paranormal talents, and the suspense is...wow. And that's not to mention action worthy of a Bond film. Whatever label you want to apply, this book is great.

The hero, Mac, travels through a deluge to the mountain cabin of a friend for some much needed down time. What he finds when he arrives is not peace and quiet, however. The key to get inside is not in the spot he was told it would be, and it takes him a while of standing in the rain to realize the front door is already open. When he finally enters the cabin, he finds a woman sprawled on the floor, bleeding from an obvious gunshot wound. A nightmare trip back down the mountain with a bleeding woman followed by a nightmare trip back up the mountain when he finds the road washed out leaves Mac just about at the end of his rope.

Samantha Trudeau, long lost sister of the friend who loaned the cabin to Mac, is a psychic operative in a special branch of the FBI. Having witnessed the murder of a fellow operative and been shot herself trying to escape, Sam is left with few of her accustomed resources. Supposedly her fellow operative had "gone rogue," but Sam's psychic ability showed her the truth - that the upper echelon of her team was corrupt, which leaves Sam with no one to trust. After barely making it to the cabin in one piece, she still tries to get Mac to save himself. Mac knows that he'll become a target if he stays, but heroically refuses to leave.

Beta heroes normally make me impatient, but Mac is a special character. He's alternately amazed and shocked by Samantha's abilities and the arsenal she carries, and knows that he's in over his head almost from the first. But he keeps plugging along, stalwart and true, even though he's asked to do things he would never consider, normally. At one point he has to take a knife to Sam's back to remove a transponder that allows her superiors to follow her, and then he has to listen to her recite her memories so that she can retrieve them psychically when a drug forces her to forget. The whole situation is insane, but Mac takes it all in stride. What a guy.

I really enjoyed learning about spy stuff. Before reading this book I didn't know that if you steal a car you have to make sure the owner didn't leave a cell phone in it, because the phone can be tracked. A phone hidden in the center console almost got Sam and Mac caught in one of the more exciting scenes from the book. There were numerous tips and tricks that Sam used to stay under the radar that I had never known about or considered before. If I ever need to go on the run, I'm going to email Joyce Lamb for advice first.

Sam is just the coolest character. She's kick-ass without being cartoonish, tragic without being a wet whiner, and vulnerable without being weak. I didn't read the first two books, but I imagine the reason for her disappearance from her family's life was a mystery there. Those sad reasons are explained here, making Sam an even more sympathetic character. Her life has been hard, but she hasn't allowed it to completely harden her. Watching her attempts to reintegrate were rewarding and refreshing.

As I said before, True Shot is a great book. Well written and engrossing, with lovely characters and a great plot, it reads like a much shorter book because the action just flies along. The action isn't the only focus, though, because the love story is equally appealing. I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by Wendy Clyde
Grade : B+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : December 20, 2011

Publication Date: 2011/12

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Wendy Clyde

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