Suzanne Brockmann addresses serious social issues like
homophobia and alcoholism in her latest installment in the
Troubleshooters series, FORCE OF NATURE. That aside, she
still manages to throw in two equally compelling love
stories with the right amount of humor and suspense!
First introduced in GONE TOO FAR, Ric Alvarado is a private
investigator and former police detective who has his hands
full with Annie Dugan, his receptionist who wants to be his
assistant, and Pierre, her neurotic mini-mutt. Ric and Annie
are working what they think is a missing person case and end
up in the good graces of a local crime lord, Gordon Burns,
after saving his son's life. Things only go downhill. It
turns out that Ric and Annie have stumbled into an ongoing
FBI terrorism investigation.
Enter Jules Cassidy, openly gay FBI agent extraordinaire, a
regular in the Troubleshooters series since THE DEFIANT
HERO. Jules is leading the FBI team looking into Burns since
their undercover agent went missing. Anyone who was eagerly
anticipating Jules' story will not be let down.
This was a great read that I did not want to put down.
Several past characters in the Troubleshooting series make
appearances, but this book can be read as a stand alone. For
this long time reader and fan, it will definitely be a
keeper and one that I reread. Jules finally gets his happy
ending! Of course, Annie is a strong character and one I
hope will appear in future Troubleshooting books because she
starts out as a tomboy but becomes a woman who does what
needs to be done no matter how painful. Who doesn't love a
heroine with a lot of spunk, a good sense of humor and a
canine sidekick?
When Ric Alvarado, a quiet handsome P.I., and his new
assistant Annie Dugan, a tomboy trying her hand at law
enforcement, prevent a client from murdering the son of
Florida crime lord Gordon Burns, they suddenly find
themselves welcome in Burns' inner sanctum. But the FBI
informs Ric and Annie that there is more to Burns than they
originally thought: He is believed to be smuggling
terrorists into the United States, although they've yet to
get details on when and where. And their one undercover
agent--their only real hope--has disappeared.
Meanwhile, sparks are flying between Annie and Ric--first
introduced to readers in the blockbuster Gone Too
Far--and the heat between them is rising as fast as the
mercury in a Florida thermometer. Trying to resist the
passion growing between them, they soon find themselves on a
desperate, dangerous hunt--the outcome of which could
threaten their own lives and the safety of the entire country.