This suspenseful story of working against Russian gangsters in Pennsylvania features a young Ukrainian woman, Kit Danilenko. She was brought to the US and married against her will to a gangster. While that part of her life is over now, she is still being STALKED IN SILVER VALLEY. 

I didn’t take to this tale because of the continual focus on Kit’s past as a survivor of human trafficking, and what I would consider sexual abuse by a fellow employee when she wasn’t in much of a position to refuse. Of course, the author doesn’t see it that way. 

Luther Darby is an FBI agent working with Silver Valley P.D. and Trail Hikers, which is a government shadow agency where Kit works to prevent trafficking. The two of them are assigned to what should be a routine operation to surveil deer hunters. They are checking for ROC or Russian organised crime activities. The surveillance will be carried out from a rebuilt mountain hut in the Appalachian Mountains, on the Thanksgiving weekend. I tend to think it would be more normal for two men to go looking like deer stalkers. But I don’t hunt deer.

For several chapters before going anywhere, the divorced Kit talks about her forced marriage to Russian OC leader Vadim Valensky, mostly with women. Then she gets in the jeep with Luther and he wants to know all about it. I don’t think it’s his business. She’s appointed to him in a support capacity and he keeps looking at her licking her lips or biting her lips. How often do men look at their work colleagues’ lips? Would they do that if the colleague were a man? Then Luther insists they go to the shower block together, which is a rule, but he starts kissing her and putting his hands on her. She has no chance to say no in this situation. He’s armed, he’s in charge, he’s got the only form of transport, and someone’s already been stalking the lady, another Russian gangster called Mishka, so she’s nervous. Not only is Luther’s advance unexpected, it’s unprofessional and just plain rude. Note to author: sexual abuse is not romantic. 

Other romantic suspense books get the two people through the bad times with some personal conversation and learning to trust each other. When the danger is over, they decide to act on any feelings they developed. With time, space and freedom of action for everyone. STALKED IN SILVER VALLEY by Geri Krotow is part of an ongoing series called Silver Valley P.D. I would be willing to try another one to see if I liked it better. The principle of working to eradicate harmful criminal activities is a good one.

For several chapters before going anywhere, the divorced Kit talks about her forced marriage to Russian OC leader Vadim Valensky, mostly with women. Then she gets in the jeep with Luther and he wants to know all about it. I don’t think it’s his business. She’s appointed to him in a support capacity and he keeps looking at her licking her lips or biting her lips. How often do men look at their work colleague’s lips? Would they do that if the colleague was a man? Then Luther insists they go to the shower block together, which is a rule, but he starts kissing her and putting his hands on her. She has no chance to say no in this situation. He’s armed, he’s in charge, he’s got the only form of transport, and someone’s already been stalking the lady, another Russian gangster called Mishka, so she’s nervous. Not only is Luther’s advance unexpected, it’s unprofessional and just plain rude. Note to author: sexual abuse is not romantic.  

Other romantic suspense books get the two people through the bad times with some personal conversation and learning to trust each other. When the danger is over, they decide to act on any feelings they developed. With time, space and freedom of action for everyone. STALKED IN SILVER VALLEY by Geri Krotow is part of an ongoing series called Silver Valley P.D. I would be willing to try another one to see if I liked it better. The principle of working to eradicate harmful criminal activities is a good one.