Romantic Suspense
Date Published: 9/21/2020
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Racing to lock down the CDC’s deadly virus samples from terrorists, ex-Special Forces medic Henry Lee partners with Ruby Toth on the Outbreak Task Force. But the terrorists always seem one step ahead. As they work side by side, Henry’s taken with how Ruby accepts and respects him, instead of pitying him for all he lost overseas, including his leg. Ruby’s hiding something, though, and Henry fears she’s been leaking sensitive information.
Terrorists have kidnapped her brother, and now microbiologist Ruby Toth faces a horrible choice. If she doesn’t give them a vial of Small Pox as ransom, her brother will die. She knows her prickly—yet very hot—boss, Henry, could provide the help she needs. But she joined the CDC to root out insiders plotting to unleash a bio-engineered pandemic, and she can’t trust anyone. Not even Henry.
Review:
Reviewed on my blog, Becky on Books, on 9/24/2020.
Though it’s a teensy bit disconcerting reading an Outbreak Task Force book during a legitimate global pandemic (Wait…*that’s* not the head of the CDC right now! Hang on, since when do I actually *know* the head of the CDC? What have I become???), this was still a whole lot of fun, once I managed to get my news-of-the-day saturated brain to be quiet and let me read. Henry and Ruby are wonderful characters, and work really well together both while actually working and while doing…other things. Their relationship moved quickly (love how this one ended!) but the fact that they’d been working together for a bit before the story begins makes the timeline feel more doable than is often the case in romantic suspense.
As for the story timeline, though–OMG, it moved at breakneck speed! The chapters were labeled not just with the date, but the time of day, helping to underscore both the urgency of their mission and the speed at which everything was moving. Truly, reading this is a case of sit down, open book, and hang on for your life…
This is the fifth book in the series, but would probably work okay as a standalone as well (confession time–I’ve only read this one and the first in the series– Viable Threat –so far, and I had no problem following what happened here. I absolutely plan on reading the rest, since I really did enjoy the two I have read, justt maybe once everything IRL has calmed down a bit? Or maybe not…patience isn’t my strong suit 😉 ). Two major antagonists are unveiled by the book’s end, which probably means this is where Ms Rowe leaves us with this series, though not all of the terrorist group has been captured, so maybe not…
Either way, whatever she comes up with next? I. Am. Here. For. It. 🙂
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
About the Author:
Full-time author and workshop facilitator, Julie Rowe’s first career as a medical lab technologist in Canada took her to the North West Territories and Fort McMurray, Alberta, where she still resides. Her most recent titles include Search & Destroy book #4 of the Outbreak Taskforce series and Trapped with the Secret Agent book #1 of the Trapped with Him series. Julie’s articles have appeared in magazines, such as Romantic Times Magazine, Today’s Parent magazine and Canadian Living. Julie facilitates communication workshops at Keyano College in Fort McMurray, and has presented writing workshops at conferences in the United States and Canada. You can find her at www.julieroweauthor.com , on Twitter @julieroweauthor or at her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JulieRoweAuthor.
Contact Links
Author Twitter: @julieroweauthor
I like the romance and mystery books. I want to read how it ends.