HEART OF DANGER is the first in the new Ghost Ops series by Lisa Marie Rice.

Tom "Mac" McEnroe, Jon Ryan and Nick Ross were all that remained of a Ghost Ops unit that had been betrayed during their last official mission. Instead of facing a court martial they escaped and began to build a high tech hidden fortress called Haven. Slowly over time other "misfits" have found their way to joining them and offering their talents for the self-sufficient town. The "ghosts" protect and provide for those who join them but never forgot those who betrayed them. But once the truth is found the "ghost" go into action to protect one of their own.

Dr. Catherine Young, a research scientist, believes she is studying the effects of Alzheimer and new drugs, but one of the test subjects whom she knows only as Patient #9 begs her to find a guy named Mac and let him know that what they thought had happened in that final op wasn't true. That the man they thought betrayed them wasn't living it up in the tropics but slowly being tortured and soon to be killed. All Catherine has to go on are images that she has gotten from the patients poorly functioning mind, but she finds herself in search of this stranger for a stranger ... until she finds a home and acceptance that she never dreamed possible with a man who also thought having a real home was only a dream.

HEART OF DANGER is a deeply compelling read that shows what miracles love can accomplish when least expected. This book opens up a new world with a certain freshness amid characters that are not story book handsome and perfect. I loved that the hero is, in fact, considered ugly by most standards with his scarred face but his toughness melts with a woman's acceptance. And though the heroine is beautiful she doesn't really see that beauty in herself but she does find it in the scarred man that she was searching for. It's a marvelous concept, the making of a private self-reliant place for those who need a haven from a world that isn't always accepting of those less than perfect, considered weaker or just in need of place to hide out and live in peace.

Ms. Rice will have you laughing at some of the dialogue, especially the talks Mac has with himself and at other times it's so hot you will be breathless. It will be hard to wait for the next installment of this series, but the wait will be worth it.