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Navy SEAL
Chief Cosmo Richter took a month’s leave when his mother broke both her
wrists
in a fall and he wanted to be with her.
Not one to sit around idle for long, Cosmo takes on
a temporary
assignment with Troubleshooters Inc., while his mother’s recovery moves
smoothly along. But the assignment soon
becomes almost more than Cosmo can bear. Being around film producer,
Jane
Mercedes Chadwick 24/7 is soon a complication he doesn’t need. As he is one of the many Troubleshooters
operatives assigned to protect Jane, Cosmo finds himself willing to be
in her
company more and more. Though they butt heads constantly, the movie set
and the
Hollywood fast lane
interferes, and Cosmo
finds more than meets the eye in Jane Chadwick. But Cosmo would never
break the
one rule of the bodyguard business would he? Will Cosmo become involved
with a
client?
Jane
Chadwick wants bodyguard’s around 24/7 about as bad as she wants a bad
movie
review… Certain her studio is blowing
the email threats way out of proportion, Jane humorously, yet with
annoyance,
stands by and lets Troubleshooters, Inc. invade her life. Jane puts up
with it
all because of her passion and heart for the World War II epic she is
filming,
which tells the story of a homosexual real-life war hero. The Neo-Nazi
Freedom
Network seem to be willing to close the production down – even going as
far as
killing to get it done. With round the
clock security, FBI agents, her brother’s troublesome relationships and
her
life becoming nothing but a circus drama, the last thing Jane needs is
to feel
anything for Cosmo Richter. But
surprisingly enough, the bond they form seems to be unbreakable…
After seven
previous stories in the Troubleshooters series,
with some misses along with the mega-hits (for this reader), Suzanne
Brockmann
fantastically shines with the eighth of the series, Hot
Target. With an abundance of characters who all
captivate a reader, this story is one of the best works of
romance/suspense I
have ever read. While we might think
going into Hot Target that the
story will revolve around Cosmo and Jane, the secondary characters leap
off the
pages and nearly steal the show. Ms. Brockmann has always had secondary
storylines going on along with the primary ones, it’s nothing unusual
but I
think this time, these are some of the best storylines to ever
cohabitate in
one book.
Jules
Cassidy, reader’s beloved FBI Agent/gay man, shines within this story.
The
heart of this man that we have seen many times before is explored in
depth and
I think I fell for him harder than ever.
We come to learn more about Jules, his past with
Alex (an old lover),
who emotionally drained Jules and even made him somewhat leery of
relationships. With his interactions with Jane’s brother, Robin, and
other
characters in Hot Target, we
learn more about Jules and even crave more of him! I could read a story
about
Jules daily and never get tired! Jules
is one of those fantastically addictive characters, much like Lt. Sam
Starrett
(Gone Too Far – Troubleshooters #6).
Cosmo and Jane
are equally great characters, and though I was eager to read more of
their
journey, I couldn’t help but want to get back to Jules and the things
going on
in his life. This didn’t really retract
from the Cosmo/Jane storyline at all and I can say that their story was
an
adventure and gripping as well. Cosmo was always a character who seemed
to fly
“under the radar” in previous stories, but he had caught my attention.
I never
really gave too much thought to any sort of relationship for him, nor
did I
think it was time for his story just yet. But Ms. Brockmann of course
knew the
time was right and it was a splendid story.
Readers really come to know Cosmo and it was
coupling with a woman like
Jane Chadwick to be a work of genius on the author’s part.
Where Cosmo is quiet, the strong, silent
type, Jane is anything but. Jane is
bold, so much fun and relishes in the standing toe-to-toe moments with
Cosmo,
much like a reader does. These two
really shone in this story and when the book ended, I felt I had made
new
friends.
Hot Target by Suzanne Brockmann has
it all for
readers. One thing I enjoy most about the Troubleshooters
series is the emotional and thought provoking
storylines involved. We are
never given just one couple to learn more about, but we get double the
action,
romance, charismatic characters and suspense.
Hot Target is right on
target for all the above and a reader continues to crave more of this
series,
the incredible writings at the hand of Ms. Brockmann, and the recurring
characters we have come to know like family.
I always
thought Gone Too Far (book six
of this series – Sam & Alyssa’s story) would be my favourite of
this
series. However, Hot Target
compelled me even more so than it did. Ms. Brockmann’s message in Hot Target – the acceptance of
homosexuality and the changes society has faced from the time of war to
the
present, was profound and right on target.
The author doesn’t harp at her readers by giving her
opinions or
political stance (which I feel would have came through to readers if
she did),
but she showed everything from all sides and wrote with the realistic
emotions that
many feel and think when faced with the subject and of what should be
and
shouldn’t be. Suzanne Brockmann shows
that people have the freedoms to choose, to be who they are and never
waver
from their true selves.
Reviewed by Tracey West
for The Road
to Romance
February 31st, 2005
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