Medusa Rising

This is the fourth of the Medusa series that I have read and it was just as good as the others (The Medusa Project, The Medusa Game and The Medusa Prophecy). The Medusas are a team of special forces operatives who are all women - although not as strong as men in the special forces there are some situations in which an all-women team can be an advantage. And Medusa Rising shows another of these examples. A cruise liner has been hijacked, all the men have been put off the boat (apart from the 24 male terrorists) so a male special forces team would stand out like a sore thumb. In this story Aleesha Gautier, the doctor among the Medusas, takes the lead as they infiltrate the ship and she works on surveillance to prepare for boarding by some Navy SEALs. Of course things aren't quite as they seem - when Aleesha finds herself feeling sympathy for one of the terrorists in particular she knows this could be a problem; she also has not yet ever been able to kill a man - her medic training is to preserve life - but she knows that she will have to take lives to rescue the women and children on board. Cindy Dees knows how to write exciting stories. Each of her four Medusa tales so far is set in a very different environment and using different skills that the women have but they are all gripping and interesting. You never really feel that you know the main character too deeply though - these stories are more about action than characterisation. However in this story I felt I understood Aleesha and also the terrorist that she finds herself drawn to - these were painted rather more fully than characters in her other books. It's hard to know whether you're suspending reality, when reading these books, or whether special forces people really can do all the things we are told they can. The Medusas are an impressive team and it's good to read about women who go out and do things rather than just being eye candy for men. There were several loose ends in this story, which I haven't noticed in previous books, so perhaps these are setting the scene for a subsequent book (for example who the American terrorists had trained with, what happened to the female terrorist who had mixed with the women). As with the other stories apart from the first one, the love interest of these women doesn't seem to get a mention in subsequent books, which sometimes makes it hard to imagine the Happy Ever After when the hero and heroine don't seem to mention each other in future instalments. However this is a good read and the romance isn't the foremost aspect of the story which lifts it a little above your average modern romance.

Medusa Rising is the sequel to The Medusa Project, Cindy Dees ground breaking series novel with a team of 6 female soldiers who are trained as commandos and become a new super secret government weapon against terror. The first book saw the ladies going through their grueling training and their first op. Medusa Rising is their first real test... Center to the book is Dr. Aleesha Gautier - Jamaican born she was a Navy doctor before her recruitment to the team. The book opens with Aleesha questioning whether or not she can kill on command and wrestling with the inner demons of conflict and how this goes against her medical oath. Her character is tested repeatedly as the women are brought in to provide intel on a cruise ship taken hostage by a madman and his team of terrorists. Aleesha becomes primary on the op when one of the terrorists , Michael Somerset, takes her into his confidence and helps her get close to them so they can rescue the ship. Michael is a SIS agent deep under cover who was supposed to prevent this tragedy, not take part in it. His conflict and grief for what has happened makes this suave James Bond character come to life with depth and dimension. He and Aleesha share a movie worthy attraction that is heart pounding and sweeps you away as they work together trying to save all of these hostages. The fact that this is an inter-racial romance is not even really an issue- Michael and Aleesha are both warriors and this transcends all other barriers. Sexy, exciting and totally believeable- I loved this book and could not put it down! Looking forward to more from this series! GO CINDY DEES!

Led by Viktor Dupont, who uses his wife and two stepchildren as a disguise to get on board, terrorists hold hostage the crew and passengers of the cruise ship Grand Adventure. Chances of rescuing everyone seem remote. Still the US Navy Medusa force manages to get Dr. Aleesa Gautier on board as a passenger. Aleesha meets Michael Somerset, who insists he is an undercover operative trying to destroy the Operation Defiance group from within. Though she is attracted to him, she doubts she can trust him even if he is telling the truth that he is a British operative. Aleesha ponders whether a few years in close contact could change one's loyalties. However, she also knows without him, she cannot succeed in regaining control of the vessel and saving the lives of the innocent. She also wonders if her attraction to Michael is fogging up her thought processes. MEDUSA RISING, the sequel to the exciting THE MEDUSA PROJECT, is an exhilarating romantic suspense thriller starring a wonderful heroine. The story line is fast-paced, gripping the audience once the wolf in sheep clothing Viktor reveals to the reader his plot. Though the Medusas being on board seems a stretch, no one will care as Michael tries to convince Aleesa to team up with him to battle terrorists and more because they have fallen in love. Harriet Klausner