Freedom's Price

In this Suzanne brings us one of her re-issued novels. Liam Bartlett spent time in a prison in San Salsutiano and the ghosts from his time there still haunt him, the one memory he can't forget is of a certain 15 year old freedom fighter named Marisala Bolivar. Well Marisala is all grown up now and has come to Boston to go to college and at the request of her uncle is relying on Liam to help her get settled the trouble is that each of them has held a flame for each other for years and now that flame is becoming a forest fire. A wonderful story told only the way Suz can.

Suzanne Brockmann is my FAVORITE author. Hands Down. She has been for the last several years, ever since Linda Howard knocked herself off the throne she'd held for about 10 years. However, after reading several of her re-published contemporaries, I've discovered a horrible trend. If it's not part of her "Troubleshooters" or "Seal Team 10" series, it's probably not worth reading. I've realized this after reading a number of re-published duds, "Freedom's Price" being one of them. I'm beginning to realize that I'm going to have to leave these earlier published contemporaries in the bookstore. Still, a boring Brockmann is definitely better than any of the current offers. That's why she still gets 4 stars. But...I'll just wait and get my Brockmann fix from the next Troubleshooters book that's released. (Should be soon!) They NEVER disappoint.

It's been five years since journalist Liam Bartlett returned from a harrowing two year captivity in San Salustiano. When an old friends asks him to look out for his niece who will be attending college in Boston and who also happens to be one of the freedom fighters who fought to keep him alive, old ghosts and a passion for the young girl (now a woman) return. As she is more comfortable with a gun than high heels, her uncle also asks Liam to help Marisela to act more like a lady. A mix up with her college housing forces the two to share close quarters. Liam, clearly uncomfortable in his role as Henry Higgins, fights his attraction while Marisala challenges him, as she feels the same. Will the journalist keep a cool head or lose himself over the only person who can probably understand what haunts him? A follow up to "Forbidden," there is virtually nothing to link the two stories together (no update on Liam's brother Cal and wife Kayla either), other than the main two characters appearing in both books, making it a stand alone novel. This could have been a pretty topical and brief story (as many older Brockmann novels tended to be). Instead, she pulls out all stops, adding intense emotions and fears to the mix, really delving deep into Liam's psych. This is one of Brockmann's better stories and unlike some authors who re-release material, hers is worthy of the paper it's printed on.

7 years ago Liam met Marisala at when he was invited as an investigative reporter by her uncle Santiago, to chase down the story of political corruption in the country of San Sulistiano. She was only 15 at the time, but even then there was an undeniable attraction between the two. Marisala wasn't your typical 15 year old, she was fighting alongside the freedom fighters. But Liam kept his distance because of her age and they became great friends. Liam was eventually taken as a prisoner where he endured torture for 18 long months until Marisala and a group she organized rescued him and helped him heal, physically. Eventually Liam's brother Cal, and friend, Kayla, came to take him home to Boston. It's now 5 years later and Marisala is in Boston to start her freshman year of college, her uncle has asked Liam to take charge of her care and to help her become more refined. Well with a small mistake with her college housing application, Marisala is forced to live under Liam's roof where they discover the tension they experienced years ago, hasn't mellowed. Ever since reading about Liam and Marisala in Kayla and Cal's story, Forbidden, I have been dying to read their story. They kind of remind me of Max and Gina from her Troubleshooters series; the older man with all those pesky morals and codes, the younger woman ruled with her heart and feelings. I loved it. I started reading it with my Sunday morning coffee and had it finished before lunch. My only problem with this story is that we get absolutely no update at all, beyond the mention of a wedding photo, about Kayla and Cal; apparently the brothers aren't too close anymore. ;) Freedom's Price was a very emotional and sexy read, a fantastic way to spend the morning. Cherise Everhard, March 2008

SUZANNE BROCKMANN OUTDID HERSELF THIS TIME. I ENJOYED EVERY MOMENT OF THE BOOK