Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, published 2022 by Revell.
How acquired: From Revell Reads Blogger Program.
First line: Her world was spinning out of control.
(Goodreads synopsis below.)
My thoughts: When this book came up for request from the Revell Reads Blogger Program, I hesitated briefly, as cybercrime/cybersecurity are not tropes (if they can be considered that) in the romantic suspense genre that I’m particularly interested in. But I loved the first two books in this series, as well as all of the author’s Uncommon Justice series, so decided I should trust her. And I’m so glad I did. It wasn’t all computers and online shenanigans. There was plenty of real action, real suspense, and real danger.
For some reason I wasn’t quite as drawn to the hero, Alex, a Diplomatic Security Services (DSS) agent, as I have been to previous heroes in Ms. Goddard’s books, but that doesn’t mean I disliked him. He was a really good guy, dealing with some emotional baggage after an op gone wrong. And while the heroes from the previous two books in this series also become involved in the story, they felt a little removed from how I remembered them.
But I loved Mackenzie. She’s spirited and feisty and brave. As a teen she got caught up in the world of hacking, and she and her friend Julian became embroiled in another hacker’s evil doings, which eventually led to Mackenzie and Julian turning themselves in to the authorities. While they came away from the whole event with their juvenile records sealed, when Mackenzie applied to the DSS, (where she met Alex and spent a day with him), she was ultimately not hired, and that has been one of the biggest regrets of her life. Now Julian has sent her a message that she is in danger, her family and their tech business, may be in danger, and she’s come home to warn her brother and sister.
I wondered if one reason I may have struggled to better connect with Alex was because of how secretive he was. He’s also come home to Montana, taking some enforced time off to visit his mother and recover emotionally from that failed op. Once Mackenzie comes back into his life and he finds himself protecting her from an unknown threat, he often wonders what he’s gotten himself into, but he won’t back down. She’s in danger, and he’s not about to leave her to face it alone. But he will not tell her anything about his own past and what he went through. On the other hand, Mackenzie won’t tell him what is going on, why a drone would be following her on a run in the woods, why someone would shoot at her in the woods. As the danger progressively increases, she still keeps him in the dark, and I actually got irritated at her for not trusting him enough to read him into the situation sooner than she did.
Anyway, as always, Ms. Goddard’s writing is wonderful. The scene in the woods, especially when they were trying to get away from the shooter, was pulse pounding. I’m sad that the series is over, but hoping Ms. Goddard has a new one in the works!
*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and have voluntarily reviewed it*
Synopsis from Goodreads: Mackenzie Hanson's special set of skills opened the door to a successful career as a professor of cybersecurity at a Michigan university, allowing her to put her criminal past behind her. But when a long-ago partner in crime delivers a cryptic message about her father's tech company being under cyberattack, she heads for Montana to secure exposed assets, close security breaches, and hopefully save lives.
Diplomatic Security Services special agent Alex
Knight is back home in Montana to decompress from a mission gone
wrong. But even as he's trying to relax, he's drawn into another
mystery, complete with suspicious deaths, lethal threats, and
whispers of espionage that all have one thing in common--a beautiful
cybersecurity expert with a dark past.
When the situation
turns deadly, Alex and Mackenzie will have to work together to find
the answers they need--before someone silences Mackenzie for good.
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