Close Pursuit

January 6, 2014
In Dees’s first full-length romantic suspense novel, kindergarten teacher and translator Katie McCloud volunteers for Doctors Unlimited’s obstetrical mission to remote and dangerous (and fictional) Zaghastan. She must depend on Dr. Alex Peters, a man with a mysterious past, to protect her from religious zealots who don’t want pregnant women to get medical care. Alex is himself being stalked by someone—hard to know whom, since he’s annoyed the American Mafia, the Russian mob, the CIA, and the FSB (Russia’s national security service). Katie’s brother and Alex’s father are spies for America and Russia, respectively, and many other people are not whom they seem. Alex, a convicted murderer, wants redemption and a new life. Katie wants adventure—and she finds it! They both want to rely on each other, but aren’t sure they can. Distrust and lust interweave as the unlikely lovers run for their lives. Dees (The Medusa Project), a former military pilot and spy, flavors this tightly plotted thriller with military authenticity that’s somewhat undermined by stereotypes of Russia and the Middle East.

February 1, 2014
Humanitarian aid workers battle both the CIA and the Russian FSB, all while trying to rescue an orphaned infant in Dees' latest tale of romantic suspense. When Katie McCloud agrees to travel to Zaghastan to translate for Dr. Alex Peters, a Doctors Unlimited volunteer, she doesn't know they'll be fighting for their lives as Alex delivers babies in the war-torn country. But when she recognizes military drones and advanced weaponry, thanks to brothers who are in the special forces, Katie knows she and the doctor are in trouble. After Alex performs an emergency C-section as a battle rages around them and the child's mother dies, they desperately need help. Alex, the son of a Soviet spy, calls his hated father for an airlift out of the country. Back in the U.S., however, the attacks on their lives continue, making Katie and Alex suspect that they know something they shouldn't. But what is it? In a panic, Katie calls her CIA-involved uncle, putting them in the crosshairs of both spy groups, making for an intense cat-and-mouse thrill ride.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)