Ride the Tide

September 21, 2020
The addictive third romance in Walker’s Deep Six series (after Devil and the Deep) delivers a high-octane blend of suspense and sexual tension. Former SEAL Mason McCarthy’s ex-wife convinced him that he is “not normal” due to his years in the military. Now Mason keeps to himself save for his partnership with his former brothers-in-arms at Deep Six Salvage and the occasional no-strings-attached romp. Alexandra Merriweather, a 27-year-old historian working with Deep Six to find a long-lost treasure, has it bad for Mason. But Alex is a virgin, and Mason doesn’t believe her repeated assurances that she’s not looking for commitment. Their will-they-won’t-they dynamic comes to a head when an enemy from Mason’s deployment in the Middle East tracks Mason down to avenge his family by killing Mason and everyone he cares about. Though the cartoonish characterization of the Iranian villain is disappointing, the chemistry between Mason and Alex is palpable and the plotting is taut. Snappy prose and hair-raising danger keep the pages of this steamy suspense novel flying. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, the Seymour Agency.

November 1, 2020
The latest in Walker's Deep Six series, following Hell and High Water (2015) and Devil and the Deep (2016), finds the ex-SEALs trying to find the seventeenth-century Spanish galleon Santa Christina in a location pinpointed by historian Alexandra (Alex) Merriweather. They do find something, but their efforts are interrupted by a group of bad guys led by an Iranian bent on revenge for the death of his two sons at the hands of the SEALs in one of their military missions. There is also the "problem" of 27-year-old Alex's virginity, which she has offered--to get the whole thing over with--to Mason McCarthy, who has refused despite being wildly attracted to her. Despite a slow start, everything finally comes together in a wild climax (pun intended) involving, first, sex, then guns. The irreverence of the SEALs' jokes and camaraderie give this story a saltier tone than many romances, and the sex scenes are lengthy and explicit, but once the pace picks up, Walker offers another very good read.

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