Shay Bassett, a trained nurse, works at a small community
center in a not-so-nice neighborhood of Cleveland. The
underfunded and understaffed center has a suicide hotline,
provides vaccines, counseling and activities for teens both
in and out of gangs, and Shay does her part to get them
medical care or jobs however she can. Shay will give
testimony at a congressional hearing at Case Western
Reserve University the next week and hopes her speech will
result in legislation to get more money for her "kids." But
she doesn't know that FBI cell-phone surveillance has
uncovered a connection between one of her teens and known
terrorists, putting the committee and her life in danger.
Unbeknownst to Shay, her father, Don Bassett, who works in
the CIA, has asked Major Vince Deluca to protect his
daughter. Deluca, a member of a top-secret Dark Ops team,
owes much to Don, who pulled him from gang activity and
helped him get his life together 17 years ago. And 17 years
ago, Vince had an unbridled attraction to Shay, but never
acted on it out of deference to Don, although Shay
interpreted his reaction differently. Protecting Shay could
prove dangerous, both physically and emotionally, as the
two must stick close together for her safety and for him to
help discover the roots of the plot.
Catherine Mann has written a poignant romantic
suspense tale in HOTSHOT, the follow up to DEFENDER, the
first installment in her Dark Ops series. Where DEFENDER
possessed more of a military focus, HOTSHOT explores gang
activity in Cleveland, but it is representative of what
happens in any poor, urban neighborhood. While I can't
speak to the authenticity of the dialogue and slang used
throughout the text, it appears to ring true, giving the
reader a feel for the type of environment in which the
story takes place. Mann gives her characters strong
personalities and enough backstory for the reader to care
what happens to them. Danger, betrayal and passion fill the
pages of HOTSHOT and the plot zips forward with just a few
snags. Mann includes a subplot of Shay's father's romance
that works well as it might impact the heretofore
uncommunicative relationship between father and daughter. I
look forward to seeing which member of the Dark Ops team we
will meet in RENEGADE, the next book in this series.
Major Vince "Vapor" DeLuca may have just accepted his most
difficult recon mission ever—keeping an eye on Shay
Bassett. As a pilot in the Air Force’s top-secret test
unit, Vince keeps a cool head at the controls. But ever
since they were teens, Shay’s had a way of jamming his
radar. Now she’s scheduled to tell Congress about
Cleveland’s escalating gang activity, and someone out
there is trying to cut her testimony short. Living to tell
the tale may depend on trusting the one man who burned her
so badly years ago—and still makes her feel warm all over.
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