A thriller romance in the Daring Heights series gets under way in Washington D.C. as Josh Chandler works to counter cyber-terrorism. Keeping the state security files safe against hackers is a demanding job. In HIGH GROUND his actions bear poisoned fruit. The hacker escapes the FBI but a woman is killed. Josh is warned that the hacker could come after him for revenge.

Cat Duplessis takes her job seriously. She's providing personal protection to those whose lives are at risk. Assigned to cover Josh, she's not sure if she's the right person. Usually she looks after women, the wealthy or wives of the wealthy. But her boss is Josh's friend, and he thinks this ex-soldier lady is the right choice. There has already been one attempted shooting, but there are potential threats besides the hacker. Cat is a lady with exotic looks and her boss suggests that she pretend to be Josh's girlfriend. But the self-reliant Josh doesn't want a girl in a dress around him. He was hoping for a male computer technician, if he has to accept help.

The work Josh does obviously pays well, given his well- appointed home with Zen garden, and he lifts weights to keep his body as sharp as his mind. He likes high-tech gadgetry too. But I feel that all this has isolated him from genuine women, with his computer screen taking priority. He's less than a gentleman, and Cat has to work hard not to take offence. At the same time, close protection officers usually work in a team of two or three over twenty-four hours, so I can agree that asking one person to cover someone every minute is too demanding. And nobody is available to accompany Josh into public bathrooms. The role reversal from archetype film 'The Bodyguard' couldn't be more pronounced but a lot of the themes will be familiar; Josh has to break from routines, identify possible threats, travel to a rural location and do what he's told. This doesn't come easy to him!

While we're early shown that Josh's life is in danger, there is more drawn-out sexual tension than thriller action until the plot develops. Aside from some jargon I didn't see anything new relating to hacking, but for most readers the adult romance will take precedence anyway. There are references to and characters from a previous story by Madelon Smid about mountaineering, and I think I'll have to put that one on the must-read list. Her hunted protagonists in HIGH GROUND have plenty to occupy them as they try to survive and identify the hunters. HIGH GROUND is a gripping read featuring characters at the height of their careers, who need each other more than they know.