DARK OF NIGHT

By Suzanne Brockmann
Ballantine Books (2009), 418 pages, $25 (hardcover)

Once upon a time, Suzanne Brockmann wrote sweet, undiluted romances that were not tainted by suspense or intrigue. They were full of passion and tenderness, and brought tears to the eyes of romance readers.
Then she veered into military romance, and her first squad of Navy SEALs still managed to produce touching, tender stories that were heavy on romance.
But she’s evolved away from books that are heavy on romance, to stories that focus more on suspense. She’s also delved a bit into social commentary and burdened characters with some disturbing emotional baggage. As a result, her current novels are a bit more complex to read.
Having said that, her newest book about members of the Troubleshooters private security group – comprised mostly of former SEALs, spys, etc. – has a bit more lighthearted romance than some of her more recent books.
“Dark of Night,” revives recurring characters from those recent books, and pairs them up -- Sophia with Dave, and Decker with Tracy.
Sophia and Decker are two burdened with the aforementioned emotional baggage, and Tracy has a bit of a tragic past of her own. So while we have to be reminded of that, which is a downer, it’s nice to see them distracted by love and even nicer to see Decker and Tracy even dabble with frivolity at times.
The intrigue in this story focuses around Jimmy Nash (hero from “Flashpoint”) whose death was faked to protect him and those close to him. Nash found himself involved with some sort of ultra-evil bad guys and his friends think it’s a good way to keep him safe, and catch the bad guys.
Tracy figures out that Nash is still alive, so Decker decides to bring her into the fold. Which ends up putting her in danger as well, but also makes her an unlikely asset in the investigation.
And ends up pairing him with his soul mate.


Overall rating: 3 of 5 hearts. Well written, and the byplay between Tracy and Decker is really fun to read. The suspense? Well at the risk of spoiling the ending….it would have been more interesting if the bad guys had actually ended up being someone we knew.

Hunk appeal: 10. It’s hard to embrace Decker too much, but you definitely like it that Tracy does. As for Dave? A likeable geek, but not someone you’ll cast for your dreams.

Steamy scene grade: XXXX.

Happily-Ever-After: OK. Decker and Tracy have a touching ending, as does Dave and Sophia, but the intrigue? Well, the ultra-bad guys ended up coming across more like keystone cops gone bad than the ultimate evil machines they were supposed to be.


Also this week…..

The Nanny Solution

by Teresa Hill (2009, paperback) 3 of 5 hearts.

A February Silhouette offering tells the story of a woman betrayed by her husband, who is still being punished for a short-term breakdown. She gets a job with Simon and it’s love at first sight. Only Audrey won’t let herself trust love, or a man, again. Simon is rich, powerful and used to getting what he wants. But the problem here is that he completely understands why Audrey is reluctant to trust him, and can’t blame her for her reasons. It doesn’t stop him from trying, though.