Turn Me Loose

Starred review from May 15, 2017
The third book in Calhoun's Alpha Ops series (Going Deep, Under the Surface, 2016) tells the story of police officer Ian Hawthorn's unexpected reunion with his former confidential informant, Riva Henneman. After he trapped her selling drugs on her college campus when she was just 18, he used her to get to bigger drug dealers. Eight years later, she offers to help him again in order to save a protege at her restaurant. This time the big fish is her own sociopathic father, and Ian insists on going undercover with her. As the stakes get higher and they get closer to catching Riva's dad and finding his incriminating laptop, they finally give in to the sexual tension between them and then have to decide if it is worth the risk. This is a superbly told love story, owing, in part, to Ian's complexity. He couldn't become a SEAL because he had cancer at 22; after surviving that, he became a cop, even as he coped with some leftover hangups from his illness. Calhoun has fashioned a great nail-biter with a perfect ending. Fans of Jessica Scott will enjoy Calhoun.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)