Some Kind of Hero

April 3, 2017
Brockmann’s reliably sexy Troubleshooters contemporary romantic thriller series continues with this fun, vivid 17th installment (after Do or Die). Lt. Peter Greene is living in San Diego with his teenage daughter, Maddie, having recently gained custody of her after her mother’s death. Maddie is sullen and resents having to live with a father whom she barely knows. She doesn’t realize how much he cares about her, and eventually she runs away. Peter turns to his neighbor, writer Shayla Whitman, a single mom to two teen boys. As she helps Peter look for his daughter, sparks fly, and Peter realizes that he is interested in Shayla as more than just a friend. After they hook up, he’s bemused by her suggestion that their relationship is only about sex. The passion and suspense continue unabated as Peter and Shayla travel across California searching for Maddie. While Shayla reaches out to the girl over e-mail, Peter enlists the help of his SEAL teammates. As always, Brockmann excels at depicting both lusty lovemaking and the genuine camaraderie of friendship. Agent: Steve Axelrod, Axelrod Agency.

Starred review from May 1, 2017
When a white Navy SEAL's teen daughter disappears, his smart, resourceful African-American neighbor steps in to help and becomes an emotional touchstone--for the crisis and beyond.Not even the danger and chaos of the SEALs can prepare Navy Lt. Peter Greene for becoming sole parent of Maddie Nakamura, the 15-year-old daughter he barely knows, after her mother, his estranged ex-girlfriend, dies. Then she disappears. The more Pete investigates, the more he believes she's in real danger, and he's terrified. His neighbor, Shayla Whitman--a quick-witted romance novelist with two teen sons of her own--unexpectedly gets involved in the search, acting as wise confidante, brave co-conspirator, and brilliant partner in fact-finding, and Pete thinks he's found his perfect match. Shayla is wildly attracted to her gorgeous neighbor but so convinced that they can only be friends--she's older and, in her mind, a frumpy housewife--that she nearly convinces Peter, too. She finally decides to explore their potential thanks to Pete's special brand of persuasion and a few brushes with danger. As the couple falls in love, Shayla helps Pete write heartfelt emails to Maddie about his relationship with her mother, and they also connect with Hiroko, Pete's old friend and Maddie's great-aunt, the last living person who can speak about their family's experience in the World War II Japanese internment camp Manzanar. Maddie has also asked Hiroko for help, claiming she's doing a project on the family's internment and needs money to get to the site. Hiroko gives her some, inadvertently sending her and her friend Dingo into even more danger. What started as a quest to bring his daughter home turns into a life-or-death rescue mission for Pete, aided by Shayla's intelligence under pressure and some last-minute support from his SEAL friends. Brockmann's latest takes up the tone and direction of her recent Troubleshooters novellas, which explore love close to home rather than against the international backdrops the series is known for, and in smaller but no less intense ways. Brockmann brings her typical storytelling virtuosity to this new setting and also delves into the dark history of the Japanese internment during World War II and subtly comments on domestic abuse as well as society's continuing racial prejudices through the characters' experiences. A thought-provoking, deeply satisfying romance from a master of the genre.

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from June 1, 2017
Shayla Whitman is just being a good neighbor. At least that's what she tells herself when Navy SEAL Peter Greene flags her down and commandeers her car to find his missing teenage daughter, Maddie Nakamura. As the divorced mother of two teen boys, Shayla is more than happy to do whatever she can to help Pete, who has just moved into the neighborhood, and she doesn't hesitate a moment in putting the pedal to the metal in pursuit of the bad guys. At first Pete is thrilled to have stumbled across someone with the mad driving skills of an Indy 500 race-car driver, but then he becomes even more amazed when Shayla offers to put her full skill set as a romance writer at his disposal in order to find Maddie. It's been a while since Do or Die (2014), the previous installment in Brockmann's Troubleshooters series, and this latest is well worth the wait. Jam-packed with adrenaline-fueled action and sizzling sexual tension, this is grade-A romantic suspense that will delight RITA awardwinning Brockmann's dedicated core of fans, and lure new readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2017

After his onetime girlfriend's death, former Navy SEAL Peter "Grunge" Greene gets custody of their daughter, Maddie, who goes teenage crazy and runs away from their new home in San Diego. Single mom and romance writer Shayla Whitman is there to help. From a two-time RITA Award winner.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2017

Landing her Navy SEALS stateside, Brockmann has made this latest "Troubleshooters" title (since Do or Die) as funny as it is scary and nerve-wracking for her characters and the reader. Parenting issues conflict with duty and grief, while a romance writer gets to save the day. A disgraceful episode in America's past finds itself in the spotlight.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 15, 2017

Trying to be a single dad to the rebellious 15-year-old daughter he barely knows is one of the hardest thing U.S. Navy SEAL BUD/S instructor Lt. Peter Greene has ever done--even on the worst of days. But when Maddie runs afoul of some violent, drug-dealing thugs and goes on the run, it's up to her dad (and his neighbor romance writer Shayla Whitman) to sort things out and track her down on a wild ride from San Diego to Sacramento and back, with a poignant stop at the Japanese internment camp at Manzanar. Peter's texts to Maddie (typed by Shayla) telling the story of how he met her late mom and of their loving but troubled relationship are exquisitely done. With brilliant sexual chemistry, laugh-out-loud humor, riveting action, and flawlessly rendered characters, Brockmann's latest quickly draws readers back into her high-stakes Troubleshooters world. VERDICT Beautifully written and as heart-gripping as it is satisfying. Brockmann (Do or Die) divides her time between Framingham, MA, and Sarasota, FL. [See "Summer Escapes," LJ 5/15/17, p. 76.]

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2017

Trying to be a single dad to the rebellious 15-year-old daughter he barely knows is one of the hardest thing U.S. Navy SEAL BUD/S instructor Lt. Peter Greene has ever done--even on the worst of days. But when Maddie runs afoul of some violent, drug-dealing thugs and goes on the run, it's up to her dad (and his neighbor romance writer Shayla Whitman) to sort things out and track her down on a wild ride from San Diego to Sacramento and back, with a poignant stop at the Japanese internment camp at Manzanar. Peter's texts to Maddie (typed by Shayla) telling the story of how he met her late mom and of their loving but troubled relationship are exquisitely done. With brilliant sexual chemistry, laugh-out-loud humor, riveting action, and flawlessly rendered characters, Brockmann's latest quickly draws readers back into her high-stakes Troubleshooters world. VERDICT Beautifully written and as heart-gripping as it is satisfying. Brockmann (Do or Die) divides her time between Framingham, MA, and Sarasota, FL. [See "Summer Escapes," LJ 5/15/17, p. 76.]

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.