Dead Right

I'm picky about what I read--we all are. I tend to lean towards the CIA/spy thriller variety of romantic suspense, rather than FBI/serial killer, and since the former is hard to come by, I bought Cate Noble's debut on the blurb alone. And I wasn't disappointed. Needless to say, this isn't your typical romantic suspense. The book relies heavily on flashbacks to unfold the story, and the main protagonist, Dante Johnson, spends a good chunk of the book being tortured, recovering from the torture, and trying to get his life back together after being rescued from Southeast Asia. In fact, the heroine of the piece, Cat, doesn't show up until halfway through the book. But don't let that scare you because "Dead Right" is a page-turner. In this book the stakes are high, the danger is real and the events are so eerily similar to what information we do get in the news, the narrative could have bounded right from today's headlines--and all without getting political, or the choosing of political ideology over another (which is to Noble credit). Even though most of the book is spent with Cat on the run, and Dante trying to find her, I found the romantic relationship very satisfying. If I could compare this book with another author's works, I would say "Dead Right" is what some of Ken Follett's earlier thriller titles would be if Follett were a romance writer. During the process of unwinding the plot threads of the story, Noble also introduces a couple of very intriguing characters who, by the end of the book, I wanted to know much, much more about. And judging by the rather open-ended manner in which Noble ended the book (don't worry, Dante and Cat get their HEA), she is just as intrigued by them as well. If you're looking for an atypical romantic suspense, or perhaps want a larger dash of romance with your spy thrillers, "Dead Right" is just about perfect. I can't wait for the next book.

STORY BRIEF: Dante works for the CIA. Cat has worked for different European and US intelligence agencies. Dante and Cat worked on a job together. He fell in love with her. He now believes she double crossed him resulting in the death of his team and his imprisonment and torture in a Thailand jail. Dante eventually escapes. He is now searching the globe for Cat, wanting revenge. REVIEWER'S OPINION: Wow. Good. Exciting. Edge of your seat suspense. Spies, imprisonment, torture, escape. I didn't want to stop reading it. Excellent and interesting characters. Well done plot and events. I might have preferred a little more of the development of the relationship between Cat and Dante, but it was ok for a suspense book. The couple had already been together before the story starts. The story is about what happens during their separation and wondering if they will ever be together again. The bad guy is monstrous. I want to thank the author for putting in the happy ending epilogue. It tied things up beautifully. Some authors don't do that. I wanted it, and it was well done. There were some unanswered questions at the end, which I expect may continue as a sequel. I was ok with those questions being unanswered. Initially, I was hesitant about all the jumping around in the book. The chapters go back and forth and out of order, among periods of 3 years ago, 2 years ago, 1 year ago, 4 months ago, and the present. Normally, I do not like this style of writing, but it was ok. It worked well for this story. The author finished most scenes logically before moving to another time and place, which I liked. Only once, page 225, did the author leave me with a cliffhanger I did not like. Someone is on the run and the scene stops before the end of the chase which picks back up again on page 233. CAUTION SPOILERS: I would have liked answers to some of the following questions. Details about how and why Dante was captured. What exactly was being done to him in jail? Why did the bad guy send Dante to a prison in Thailand instead of keeping him nearby so the bad guy could observe and/or do the torture himself? When Dante escaped, the guards should have found him immediately because he was tagged. Then, I didn't understand why he was sent to a different jail. The bad guy must have allowed Dante to be rescued, I assume so he could follow Dante. But Dante was going to die if not rescued, so I wasn't sure if the bad guy wanted Dante dead or rescued? Why was the Thailand jail razed later? Dante was given drugs that caused psychic abilities. The psychic talent story started but didn't continue. The psychic abilities were not used or explained. Even though I have these questions, I still enjoyed the book. DATA: Story length: 344 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 6. Total number of sex scene pages: 9. Setting: present day Thailand, Florida, Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Copyright:

The mission in Cambodia went south resulting in the deaths of two CIA agents and the brutal incarceration of the third Dante Johnson in a Thai prison. He has little hope to escape, but vows to remain alert so if the opportunity arises, he is gone though he is not sure what reality is any longer. The imprisoned operative holds his former lover, contract agent Catalina Dion culpable though she is dead. Rescued after eighteen months in hell, Dante returns to the States with plans to regain his equilibrium wasting R & R time on his boat in Key West. However, he is a bit shocked when his olfactory senses detect the odor of Cat's perfume as he assumed she was killed. Things turn nasty when he picks up a ringing public phone near his vessel; as an explosion follows. Making inquiries he learns Cat is not only alive, but Viktor Zavovsky, a Russian scientist blames her and him for the accidental deaths of his family and her son is an eye for an eye pawn to this obsessed relentless madman. The key to this CIA romantic suspense is the thrills and chills throughout the fine plot as Cate Noble provides an action-packed tale starting four months earlier with flashbacks that might not be real adding to the excitement. The romantic subplot is deftly handled to heat the sheets but not interfere with the cat and mouse game. Fans will root for the good guys, but also empathize with the villain who has an ax to grind and is grinding it into a fine tale that lives up to its title DEAD RIGHT. Harriet Klausner