Target

I've read Cindy Dees' four "Medusa" books and they were great fun - a group of female special forces operatives. Target follows Diana Lockwood, a conspiracy theorist for the US military and secret employee of the Oracle organisation. She is woken at 3am by an intruder into her house with whom she fights (although he gets away) and from that point onward she's on a relentless search for the potential assassins of the President-Elect Gabe Monihan. I'm no expert on the security services and American presidential protection but unfortunately even I found a lot of the events in this book unrealistic. How likely is it for one woman to single-handedly foil three assassination attempts in one day? And how likely is it that she would identify one terrorist in a crowd of tens of thousands lining a motorcade route? Diana makes lots of leaps of faith, acting on hunches, and they're always right. The shadowy Delphi, boss of the Oracle organisation, also works rather like a 'Deus Ex Machina', able to pull rabbits out of the hat whenever required. Is it likely that an unknown military woman would get an appointment with the President-Elect on the day of his inauguration at thirty minutes' notice? Delphi can always find out any information she needs, when she needs it. I found this too unrealistic, even within a novel, to accept it and it took me out of the story because of my disbelief. Cindy Dees is a good writer, she knows how to keep up the pace and the suspense, but for me this novel wasn't as good as the Medusa ones. There was rather a lot of toe-curlingly patriotic Americanism in the book which, for a Brit, is rather difficult to stomach, even in a novel, and the romance side was necessarily small as the events of the book take place in 24 hours - it's difficult to get into a deep relationship in a day. And unfortunately for poor Gabe, his position as President-Elect meant that he didn't do a lot in the story apart from be protected by his security guards, phone Diana up and twinkle his eyes at her - he was a nice-seeming hero but real life suggests politicians in high office aren't quite that lovely in real life. I've been quite negative about the unrealistic aspects in this book as they are what stood out to me after finishing it. However, this shouldn't detract from the great pace and suspense of the story. It's a book that's fine for light reading with a bit of action - and a strong heroine. Overall it was a reasonably exciting and fun read but with flaws.

As political suspense thrillers go, I must admit that this exciting entry in the Athena Force Adventure series put out by Silhouette Bombshell is a definite winner for this talented author. Additionally, if authors tend to draw on their life's experiences, it certainly seems that Ms. Dees background can certainly lend itself to cloak and dagger, if not covert operations experience. Diana Lockworth comes from a military background, as a Captain in the US Army intelligence branch it was her job to gather intelligence, analyze and assess plots against the country. Additionally, she was a member of an ultra-secret covert operation called Oracle that was so secret, even she didn't know who else was a member besides herself. Beginning with a break-in at her home during the middle of the night Diana would be thrust into a super fast lane to uncover a plot to assassinate the president-elect of the United States, Gabe Monihan - AND to make matters worse - she only had 24 hours before the assassination was to take place. A tall order for our heroine, who is a multi-tasked marvel of efficiency and ingenuity! Are we sure she's human - ah, only too well, because she's also beautiful attracted to, and attracting the very handsome and virile president-elect who she is desperately trying to keep alive! *** WHEW - Now this is what you call edge of the seat suspense. This outstanding, action packed, political thriller will have you reading non-stop from the very first pages. Suspense thriller aficionados should find plenty to like about this tale, along with the descriptive and knowledgeable military maneuvers. One must remember the story covers a span of 24 hours, so definitely not enough time to get anything going in the romance department, though a definite attraction was brewing by the end of the story. With good solid character development, fast action, and a super star strong heroine this is definitely a read I can highly recommend for fans of this genre. --- Marilyn, for [...] ---

As a longtime series reader, I was excited about Silhouette's new Bombshell line. It's not strictly romance, but features strong heroines doing cool things and finding love along the way. Target is part of the Athena Force promotion, but stands well on its own and is a fun, fast-paced read. The heroine, Diana Lockworth, is a military intelligence officer who also belongs to a super-secret organization called Oracle. She learns from her special Oracle contact that the someone is going to assassinate the new president of the United States. Diana has just hours to find out who and why--and thwart the attack. Why she's the only one who can do it is part of the fun--you must read for yourself! Her approach to the president and subsequent rapid-fire adventures are pure entertainment. The author knows the military and makes this adventure come to life. The story is told in 24 hours, much like the TV show 24, making for a unique, innovative delivery of the tale. If you are a suspense/thriller/romantic suspese fan, check this one out, it's good.

Diana Lockworth is a conspiracy theorist working for the Feds seeking out the real terrorist threats from the myths. She catches someone trying to enter her home computer, but he escapes after a brawl between them. The cops not only fail to take her seriously, they become concerned when they see her wall of pictures of President-elect Gabe Monihan. Diana explains to the cynical cops that she has been following him ever since the failed suicide bomber tried to kill him just before the election. Not long afterward she gets a cryptic message from the Delphi of Oracle insisting that a viable threat to kill Gabe exists. Diana begins making inquiries as she tries to learn four of the five Ws (she knows why) to insure the safety of the next president. However, someone knows that she is on to them and plans to kill her first. As she risks her life to keep Gave alive, she is attracted to him; he reciprocates, but the mission comes first. This fast-paced, action-packed political thriller hooks the audience from the moment that the intruder attacks Diana in her home and never lets up until the final attempt to kill Gabe occurs. Diana is an interesting bureaucrat chasing down conspiracies to see if any might lead to terrorist action. Probably for the first time in his political career Gabe plays second fiddle to the courageous Athena Academy graduate. Cindy Dees provides a tense cat and mouse suspenseful novel.