UKNOWN THREAT by LYNN BLACKBURN
*I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to give a positive review.*
A vendetta again the Secret Service. A trail of bodies. One mysterious victim. Secret Service Agent Luke Powell is less than thrilled to be working with FBI Agent Faith Malone or any FBI agent for that matter. But a killer who will stop at nothing forces him to push aside his prejudices to prevent any more of his friends and colleagues from an untimely death. As they race to solve this harrowing case, Luke and Faith will risk their lives…and possibly their hearts.
I have mixed feelings about this book. It delivered in some areas, but also had parts that felt out of place or were awkward. I got invested in the story around 1/3 of the way in and enjoyed most of it to the end.
First, the good:
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Hope - I LOVED Hope as a character. She added great comic relief and was perfectly written as Faith’s sister.
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Conflict - Luke and Faith had a legitimate conflict scene that lasted beyond just that scene. I’ve read many books in this genre and this felt fresh and added good story tension. Both characters felt genuinely flawed, which made them relatable. They also had interesting backstories.
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The mystery - There were enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. I felt this story also had a nice balance between action and traditional sleuthing/fact-finding.
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The other agents - I enjoyed the secondary agents, especially Tessa and Zane. I’m only sad we didn’t hear more of their story and about the conflict that was loosely explored near the end.
What needed work:
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Luke and Faith - I found them very inconsistent in the beginning. They flip flopped on being hot and cold - the flow of it just felt off. A more consistent, gradual shift in how they perceived each other would have worked better.
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Janice - Oh, Janice. I understand she was the antagonist in this story, and, in the end, we find some motivation for her actions. But overall, she was written as too much of a hyperbole for me, and I didn’t find her to be a believable character.
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The end - The actual takedown scene was fine, but after that I felt like everything was explained as a rapid summary (mostly the last chapter).
Overall: I mostly enjoyed this book and would read another by the author. The story was there, but it needed some fine tuning to be a knockout.