Off the Grid

May 28, 2018
McCarty follows Going Dark with a somewhat heavy-handed mix of military romance and international intrigue. Ten weeks ago, an elite and secret U.S. Navy group, SEAL Team Nine, was nearly destroyed in Russia. The survivors are hiding in Norway and trying to determine who set up their team to die. When investigative reporter Brittany Blake starts to write about “the Lost Platoon,” she puts everyone, including herself, at risk. However, Brittany can’t leave the story alone, because her brother, Team Nine member Brandon Blake, is missing and presumed dead. She feels compelled to follow the leads being fed to her by secret sources based in Washington, D.C. When John Donovan, Brandon’s best friend, realizes Brittany won’t let go of the story, he vows to protect her—and leaps at the chance to act on the attraction he felt for her when they first met years before. McCarty once again includes fun romantic adventure as John and Brittany go on the run, but a secondary story line featuring a CIA contact and her ex-husband drags the plot into military conspiracy territory, making it more tangled and less dynamic. Still, fans will be invested enough to await the tying up of loose ends in future installments. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency.

Starred review from June 1, 2018
In the second of her Lost Platoon series, following Going Dark (2017), McCarty tells the story of two relationships tied to SEAL Team Ninesurvivors of a disastrous secret mission in Russia. Brittany Blake, a tenacious reporter, is investigating because her brother disappeared on that mission, and John Donovan is sent by their lieutenant commander to stop her. Their mutual attraction worries both of them, as Brittany fears that John is just using their relationship to distract her from reporting, even after she is attacked while in Norway and her apartment is ransacked. The second couple is Colt Wesson, John's former commander, and his ex-wife, Kate, a CIA analyst who has been sent to stop him from going to Russia. Colt thinks Kate had an affair that destroyed their marriage. In alternating chapters, secret investigations span countries and agencies. This is a great read?with badass SEALs, unknown enemies, smart and stubborn women, good sex, an evolving mystery, and a classic damsel-in-distress rescue. Without hampering this story, McCarty has left room for a sequel, which her readers will definitely look for, while all military-romance fans will enjoy the Lost Platoon series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)