Rogue Christmas Operation

August 30, 2021
Rushdan (Tracing a Kidnapper) launches her Fugitive Heroes: Topaz Unit series with this tense but formulaic romantic suspense novel set during the holidays. Photojournalist Hope Fischer is determined to learn the truth behind her sister Faith’s alleged suicide, convinced that she did not kill herself. To get answers, Hope devises a plan to gain access to the insular town of Benediction, Va., where her sister worked at Nexcellogen Industries’ research facility as a scientist. But on her way into town, she hits an icy patch of road and swerves into a lake. She’s saved from drowning by former CIA operative Gage Graham, who invites her to stay at his home. It’s a risky proposition: Gage is hiding out from his former employers, having gone AWOL after he and his team were set up and the CIA sent a kill team to dispose of them. While investigating, Hope unwittingly alerts the CIA to Gage’s location, forcing the pair to go on the run. The forced proximity of their flight inevitably leads to romance. Though the suspense keeps the pages turning, the romance becomes predictable after declarations of love that come too early. Readers will enjoy the action but will be let down by the flimsy romance. Agent: Sara Megibow, KT Literary.

October 8, 2021

Rushdan (Every Last Breath) launches the "Fugitive Heroes: Topaz Unit" series, starring photojournalist Hope Fischer, who is looking into the death of her sister, a scientist at a restricted military town. Someone doesn't like her questions, and she's run off the road and into the protection of former CIA agent Gage Graham, who has secrets of his own. Attraction forms very quickly between them, and the book's short sentences and paragraphs make it a quick page-turner. Several twists--some more believable than others--are revealed over the course of a few days. VERDICT It will likely be popular among fans of military and spy romances.

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