Daphne Donovan is living her life on autopilot, unable to
move past the tragic events of 9/11 that she feels she
could have stopped. As an FBI agent at the time, she had
the opportunity to take down one of the terrorists who
later was part of the 9/11 destruction, but orders from on
high stopped her.
Five years later, after leaving the FBI, she can't let go
of the fact that her gut told her to apprehend the guy and
to hell with what her bosses said. The guilt is eating her
alive, as she goes about her daily job as a P.I. Even
though she can't shake the burden, Daphne keeps plodding
along, heading to Florida to spy on some rich guy's
girlfriend. A boring assignment, probably in and out in a
couple of days. Except, of course, nothing goes that
smoothly.
In the course of following the girlfriend, Daff wanders
into Rules of Engagement and finds herself enrolled in a
course that teaches women how to get a man to commit. It's
not all hokey stuff, either. The course's teacher, Lillian,
knows that women need to feel good about themselves and
works on self-esteem and being content without a man. Daff
knows she's just fine without a guy, but must admit
Lillian's son, Sam, is hot stuff. Used to going after what
she wants and knowing that most guys are happy with her
love 'em and leave 'em ways, Daff jumps right into the
desire that ignites between them.
While she's burning up with Sam, her case is going a little
hot, too. She ends up with a dead client and a lot of
convoluted evidence that leads in a million directions. Can
Daff unwind the case before more people die? Even more
importantly, can she find her way out of the darkness left
in her soul from 9/11 to find a future with Sam?
Gotta love these Jacey Ford books! This tale of the
last of the three PI partners, Daphne, is really good. (I
wish we could have seen some more of the other two
partners, whose stories were played out in previous books.)
The only thing that rang thin for me was her guilt over
9/11. I doubt stopping one terrorist would have stopped the
whole event, so it seems as if that plot may have just been
a little too neat. But that aside, Daphne's emotions feel
real -- her despair and guilt shadow her personality and her
relationships. It's wonderful to see her begin to come out
of it, and her moment of epiphany is believable. A highly
recommended read!
Former FBI agent Daphne Donovan joined her Partners in
Crime, Aimee and Raine, to focus on finding missing
persons -- and cheating spouses. But even the simplest of
cases lead into territory far more dangerous than she ever
imagined…
Tracking a bank president’s fiancée takes a stunning turn
when the man suddenly dies -- and the woman Daphne is
following turns to her for help. She wants Daphne to prove
that his apparent suicide was really murder. What Daphne
uncovers is the link between an influential Saudi
businessman and vengeful biochemist prepared to unleash a
fatal plot against America’s top CEOs. Fortunately Daphne’s
found an ally -- and an explosively sexy new lover -- in ex-
Navy SEAL Sam Bryson. Unfortunately, Sam has his own
surprises -- like that four-letter word Daphne’s learned
never to trust again. Now, with a relationship and an
investigation in dead heat, Daphne and Sam are plunged into
a whirlpool of extreme passion and dangerous power that
could put more than a woman’s heart at risk.