DEGREE OF RISK finishes Lindsay McKenna's story about Ethan Quinn and Sarah Benson from RISK TAKER. Both are stationed at Camp Bravo in Afghanistan. Ethan is a SEAL and Sarah flies medevac helicopters into hot zones to extract wounded military. Both are extremely good at what they do. Ethan and Sarah have fallen love with each other and gotten engaged. They are not supposed to show any kind of affection on the base, and since their work schedules often conflict, it's been hard to develop their relationship. Occasionally they steal a few minutes alone, and Ethan's boss is great to help them find time for each other. His SEAL buddies have adopted Sarah and set up a room for her at SEAL Headquarters when she is not on duty.

As Sarah is flying a load of explosives into a hot zone, a Taliban missile is fired at her helicopter. On the ground, Ethan sees everything that's happening. Sarah does her best to elude the missile and land the helicopter. The missile misses the aircraft body, but not the tail blades. She manages to land, but the vehicle begins to slide down the mountain. Realizing her co-pilot has been killed, Sarah jumps from the helicopter before it crashes and the ammunition explodes. Sarah is alone on Taliban infested ground. Can her inner toughness help her survive until someone rescues her? Will they even know to look for her, or will they think she died in the crash?

I'm so glad Lindsay McKenna chose to finish Ethan and Sarah's story and fully develop it in a second book. DEGREE OF RISK is a real thriller, action-packed and fast- paced. Her characters are hard-nosed warriors, yet very sympathetic. Ethan is helping Sarah work through the tragedies of her early life. He is a true SEAL, but has a wonderful tenderness about him. Sarah draws on her background to help her survive a gruesome adventure. This one is even more riveting than RISK TAKER and hard to put down. Look for other books in Ms. McKenna's new Shadow Warriors series.