Lethal Redemption

Starred review from September 30, 2019
The second romantic suspense entry in the Steele Ops series (after Deadly Obsession) smartly takes the action in a new direction and out of D.C. metro. When D.C. detective and former Army Ranger Cade Wright joins his childhood friends the Steele brothers as a member of the Steele Ops team, he’s thrown back into contact with their cousin, and his ex-girlfriend, Grace Steele. Their romantic history and unrelenting sexual chemistry goes back to when they were teenagers, and Grace moved in with her cousins after escaping from a cult called the Order of the New Dawn. When Grace, now an FBI profiler, is asked to return to the cult undercover to rescue a high-profile new member, she and Cade pose as a married couple to infiltrate their ranks. Their pretend relationship keeps Grace and Cade in close proximity and forces them to rely on each other and rebuild their broken trust. Hunt expertly balances suspense with fake dating and second-chance romance tropes. Fast-paced and action-packed, this swoon-worthy nail-biter is sure to keep readers hooked. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary Agency.

October 15, 2019
An FBI profiler gets sucked into extracting the vice president's daughter from the frightening cult she herself defected from as a teen--which means going undercover with the man who broke her heart and facing her mother, who's now the right hand to the cult leader. At 13, Grace Steele escaped The Order of the New Dawn, the cult her mother had dragged her to when she was 5. Enfolded into her Aunt Cindy's family, she immediately gained four male cousins and fell in love with their best friend and neighbor, Cade Wright. The two were inseparable until Grace graduated from college, when Cade reenlisted for another tour as an Army Ranger instead of beginning their well-planned life together. Hurt and furious, Grace joined the FBI as a profiler and kept Cade at arm's length. However, when the vice president's daughter joins the cult, Grace is brought in to help and must work with Steele Ops, the security company Cade runs with her cousins. It's clear the cult's recruiters aren't taking the provided bait, though they'd bite immediately if it were Grace on the hook. Cade and Grace go undercover as a couple and allow themselves to be reeled in. Soon they find themselves on the compound in the middle of nowhere and have to play the part of acolytes even as Grace's mother, now partner to the cult leader, is suspicious and hostile. Yet as she's thrown back into the nightmare of her childhood, Grace remembers what's truly important: Cade and the family of her heart. The mission may be the catalyst for her true happiness...if she and Cade can survive. Hunt's pace and tension are spot-on, though a complicated backstory and some details that demand a bit too much suspension of disbelief occasionally weigh the book down. High-stakes, sizzling romantic suspense.

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November 1, 2019

Years after escaping a cult as a young teen, Grace Steele is tasked with an undercover operation to rescue the daughter of an influential politician living with that same off-the-grid group. Seeking a second chance at a future with the FBI, profiler Cade Wright, who just happens to have broken Grace's heart years ago, is using his military and detection skills to help her infiltrate the cult and continue to heal from the open wounds of an early childhood shaped by brainwashing and a lack of love. Uncovering the true reason for their heartache nine years ago is as harrowing for the duo as escaping the clutches of the radical and violent Order of the New Dawn. Following Deadly Obsession, the family of Steele Ops is back, bringing Grace and Cade's tenacious battle to save each other and their relationship to the forefront. VERDICT Fans of military and private security series with brave and vulnerable men and women will enjoy this gritty romantic suspense, which features levity and a tight-knit group of characters.--Jenna Harmison, Champaign Cty. Lib., OH

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