Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Thriller Romance
Triggers: Rape, Abuse, Cult

Pippa has been on the run since she was 18 years old. When she realized what her life would consist of, she took a chance and ran with her friend. Now, years later, she decides that she might want to take a chance and live a little – be normal for a little while. When she meets her new neighbor, Malcolm, she is intrigued by him. He's handsome and an ex-cop, so she's also very wary of him. She can't get too close or he could find out about her past.

Malcolm is an ex-cop who is trying to figure out where he goes next. When he's recruited for yet another undercover operation. What he doesn't expect is Pippa. He is trying very hard to be two people – both a little bit of his real self mixed in to undercover people. When push comes to shove, he will do anything to protect Pippa. He knows something is wrong but can't seem to figure out all of the pieces of the puzzle.

This was a fast-paced thriller and I especially enjoyed the secondary characters. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
This book seriously messed with my head! I loved the twists and turns in this story and I love that I couldn’t completely trust any of the characters. When a former undercover cop moves in next door to a woman hiding from a dangerous cult, they are both being manipulated more than they know.

Malcolm doesn’t know it, but he’s been recruited to a new team charged with investigating Pippa and the cult she once belonged to. Pippa doesn’t know that her sexy new neighbour is investigating her. The chemistry between Malcolm and Pippa is crazy hot but it is impossible to know where the lies stop and the truth begins. The further Malcolm embeds himself into the cult, the more frightening it seems. The many threads of this investigation are carefully woven together. The pace is exciting and the story is structured well enough to allow readers to investigate alongside the Requisitions team. I love that while readers get to know and like Pippa, we never quite know how far to trust her.

I always struggle a little bit with action stories that double as erotic romance. There are some wince worthy sex scenes in this story where badly injured characters manage to take time from their life or death missions to have passionate and inventive sex. Without thinking too hard, the sex is hot and the action is exciting – so I guess the combination works here.

I love Angus Force’s Requisitions team. The highly skilled group of misfits is full of secrets and bizarre personality quirks. I love that I found it impossible to trust any of the team members completely and I can’t wait for the series to dig deeper into each member of Angus’ team. This might be the start of my favourite Rebecca Zanetti series yet – and I’m already excited for book two.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
I really enjoyed this story. The premise is not something I've read a lot about and I think the author did a wonderful job of explaining how a cult lures people into the fold. I could relate to Malcolm and how he felt when he experienced the manipulations of the cult.

Pippa's story is heartbreaking. Her freedom came at a great cost and her guilt weighs heavily on her. Trying to live, learning to live is something that she has a hard time doing. Always on the run, always wondering where the next threat will come from, and the only place she feels relatively safe is her home.

Everything changes for both Mal and Pippa when Mal moves in next door and joins the Deep Ops team headed up by Angus.

There are many stories left to be told and I'm excited about reading them.

This was so great! I loved it. Great characters, lots of emotion and plenty of action. I can't wait to read about the rest of the team. And honestly, I'm suspicious about Roscoe!

This is the first book I've read from this author and I'm pretty impressed. Even though the blurb didn't exactly grab me, the cover did. I'm glad I took a chance on this one.

Malcolm has some guilt. He's an undercover cop who quit after his last operation went terribly wrong. He's bought a house and just wants to recover quietly until he's recruited by the Homeland Defense Unit who wants him to go undercover again. Not exactly his idea of recovery, but he takes the job anyway. Now he's got to figure out what his neighbors deal is.

Pippa is running scared and a complete and total recluse. She's hiding from the leader of a cult her mother joined years ago. Trusting others is something Pippa just doesn't do well. In fact, there's only one other person she trusts and she was part of the cult too. But after watching (spying) on her gorgeous neighbor, she just may find herself trusting more.

This book literally has it all. Lust, hot sex scenes, humor and suspense. And man oh man, the suspense is crazy good. This was so well written. I'm surprised this is the first time I've heard of this author. Best believe I'll be picking up the next one. Well done!

reviewed by Chris

Pippa watched the gut move in next store from her kitchen window. Pippa knew instinctively knew he wasn’t a guy to cross but she wasn’t the type to cross others. Pippa saw the guy catch her watching him and his gaze was straight on her. Pippa falls to the .floor on her butt. In the process Pippa crawled to her bedroom and locks the locks. Then Pippa’s chest tightened and her vision fuzzed. Not know …..She took several deep breaths and she acknowledged the panic attack coming. Sometimes letting the panic in actually abated it. Not this time The took her full force. The door bell had rung now there was a hard rapping sound- he was knocking on the door. Had he been sent to find her? Pippa rarely left her house . He knocked again. The sound stronger and more insistent this time. Then he said ‘Lady ‘ then he added he seen her fall and he just wanted to make sure she was ok. She didn’t have to answer her door he said. Then Pippa yelled she was ok and he left. Hours later Malcolm wondered about the pretty lady next store Malcolm knew the sound of terror and he knew it well The women had been beyond scared seeing him in front of her window.. Malcolm bought the house without seeing it but he liked the pictures and he loved the name of the town Cottage Grove . It sounded peaceful. He’d never truly see peace again and he knew it. Malcolm had been a detective who worked underground. His last mission he brought-down the bad guys- a Mafia family but at what cost of a lot of lives and would someone come for him? Then Malcolm heard someone enter his home, he pulled out his gun and then he heard a deep male voice say “ Detective West, don’t shoot. The mas Angus Force and he was with a new unit of Homeland Defense Department and they needed a guy with his skills. They had actual set Malcolm up with the exact house he was looking for. Force said they needed him because he was the best undercover cop they had seen and they needed him now. The shut in next store was the key to one of the biggest homegrown threat to the entire country. Pippa noticed her neighbor had a visitor built the same way he was with a big truck like he had, Pippa noticed a big dog in the car who jumped out and came over to her porch and she went to her porch and the dog licked her hand when she offered her hand to the German Shepard, the visitor came out of the house and yelled Roscor and the dog knocked Pippa over as he left..Then her neighbor shouted never come back as the visitor left.. Then he came over to her and sat next to her so he wouldn't tower over himself so much. He introduced himself and Pippa did herself then he asked her if it was him or me and she said why did he tell the man never to come back and then he asked if it was . , Malcolm that he had been a cop, things went bad and the man wanted him to be a cop again then he asked her if it was cops Pippa said no and Malcolm knew she lied but then she said no people. Then Malcolm smelt her baked goods and asked about the heavenly smell she offered to give him some cookies and then when she got them she gave him a pie and some banana bread when she handed him the basket he left before she changed her mind on the bagged goods. When he got home he called Force and asked for Pippa's files but that didn’t mean he was in. Malcolm drove outside of DC and went to a building and entered and force came out of an envelope then Malcolm went with Force and went down to a bullroom of sorts There were two case rooms in the second he seen a board with four women and one was Pippa and to the left was a man named Isaac Leon. Isaac was a cult leader. The women were found that had left the cult and live off the grid- so far all that had been identified as having been part of the cult. So far they had only found Pippa and a woman now named Trixie. Force said they were still getting organized and called the Requisition Force, . Then Force put a picture under Pippa's and said it was her her mother Janice and they believed she was still with the cult Force said they were still getting started. The group- cult- has been planning an attack for years. Putting the women in place, this was part of the plan. They got the pictures -even though they were old but they did get someone in the cult but she was a woman and with the hierarchy cult she couldn’t get to the inner circle. Force said it was to be a mass attack with suicide explosives. The cult had recently moved to West Virginia and wasn’t far from D C or NYC or many other cities. Force had been an FBI and Malcolm recognized hi- he was the man who “took down” the Surgeon who had been a serial killer but Force didn’t believe he was dead. Malcolm agreed to work with Force as he wants to save Pippa.
I really enjoyed this book. It was so close to being a five I would have liked to rate this 4.75 I loved the plot and fast pace. I loved Pippa and Malcolm together. I loved tye suspense and action I even laughed out loud a couple of times while reading this which is rare for me I usually chuckle. This had me from page one until the last page. I loved Roscoe who was an alcoholic German Shepard and felt he added a lot to the book. I didn’t want to put this down. This had me on the edge of my seat at times. But I don’t understand why Pippa just seemed to trust Malcolm after being so scared and being on the lam for seven years. I also didn’t care for the insta/lust. But this included: a cult, an ex cop, an ex big soldier who carried a kitten in his pocket, an alcoholic German Shepard, a crazy and evil cult leader who wants a mass attack on the US, ex detective, action, suspense, lies, PTSD, a new government agency and so much more. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend it.

This author has the ability to write in any genre and spin a story that you devour. In this one it is a suspense that she grabs your attention right away with Pippa and her secrets. Then enters in Malcolm with his agenda that turns your head. The different directions this one will have you going will keep you wrapped up in them both with the hope that is on slow simmer. Too many secrets that you know are just waiting to explode. Alot of intrigue with base that will be one you want taken down. The drama builds with it also going in a direction a time or two you do not expect. Pretty good for a beginning in a serious but needs too in next one to be a bit more faster. Excellent wrap up with giving the satisfaction of a good read.

This caught me from the first few pages. I loved Pippa and how her curosity kept her watching her new neighbor. As for that neighbor, Malcolm West had secrets of his own. It was fun watching the two get to know each other as they worked to build trust. Turns out neither were who they said. That lead to a interesting story line with a lot of danger, tension and of course romance. This is first in a series and I am looking forward to the next Deep Ops characters to get hit with romance mixed with danger.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Hidden by Rebecca Zanetti
Deep Ops #1

Hooray! A new series by an author I know will always provide a story I won’t be able to put down – her books are always just that good! And, this is a brilliant introduction to a team I know I am going to enjoy getting to know a whole lot better!

The Requisition Force is a group that has been set up by an FBI profiler – a rather clandestine group that works with/for HDD. They have handlers that are sketchy and it would seem a rather different group of people on the team. With a hacker to help them taken from jail, a profiler on the hunt for a beastly serial killer that killed his sister, an investigator that we don’t learn much about this time and an ex lieutenant commander and perhaps more to come this group is a hodgepodge that could very well mesh into a group to be reckoned with.

In this book Pippa Smith is doing her best to survive quietly under the radar when Malcolm West – ex undercover cop – moves in next door. Both suffer from past experiences that have left them with PTSD and panic attacks. How they meet, get to know one another, grow close, work together to bring down a cult leader bad guy and eventually are incorporated into the team that will star in this series is something I thoroughly enjoyed!

Did I like this book? Definitely!
Do I want to read more in this series? Can’t wait!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington-Zebra for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

*I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley but all opinions provided are my own.

4.5 stars

Looking for a book with a hot, emotionally scarred alpha hero with a protective streak? (Aren’t we always???)

Rebecca Zanetti writes thrilling, tautly plotted dystopian romance and romantic suspense with dominant alpha males who are surprisingly tender once they meet the right woman, and brave women who give new meaning to the word “resilient.” HIDDEN is her latest release and my favorite of hers.

The sight of Pippa’s new rugged neighbor moving into the house next door causes a panic attack. She’s frightened of men, of most strangers, really, and the reason can be attributed to her traumatic past.

Malcolm is immediately attracted to his neighbor, Pippa, and he has a protective streak toward women that sends off signals as soon as he sees her hit the floor in an effort to hide from him. Malcolm soon realizes that Pippa's part of a larger mystery he needs to solve.

Who is Pippa and is she involved in something deadly? Can Pippa and Malcolm breach the many secrets between them in order to save her from her past?

I adored the dynamic between the characters in this book. Malcolm has a strong dominant streak, but he is protective toward Pippa from the first page and I loved it. And Zanetti writes Pippa’s character beautifully; Pippa might seem timid due to her past trauma, but she’s stronger than she seems. Zanetti did a particularly skillful job rendering the world these characters live in. Hidden is more of a domestic thriller, but Zanetti keeps the tension high throughout the novel. You’ll be racing to finish the book and see justice served. She also peppers the book with attractive secondary characters--several of whom send off sparks with other secondary characters and have me eagerly looking forward to future books.

This is such a great book that gave me all the good feelings!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of Hidden by Rebecca Zanetti, the first book in her new Deep Ops series. Pippa is a recluse who has been on the run from a crazy cult leader and has been hiding from the world. Malcolm is her new neighbour, a disillusioned, tormented ex-cop who has been manipulated into moving in next door by his new boss, the head of the Requisition Force. The attraction between the two is immediate and he is mystified by Pippa and what she might be hiding from. Good main characters and great evil antagonists keep the story moving and the reader engaged in this artful romantic suspense.

Run, do not walk to the nearest bookstore outlet and purchase this book! It is off the charts good! Pippa is in hiding with some agoraphobic tendencies. Malcolm is her new next door neighbor. He is an ex-cop whose previous job of undercover had burned him out. Enter the new Requisition Team, a division of Homeland Defense, who want him to spy on his new neighbor. He is attracted to Pippa and wants to protect her, so he joins. The twists and turns of this book are great! Loved Malcolm and all the secondary characters, especially Wolfe who has a kitten named Kat, that he keeps in his pocket when he is not beating info out of the enemy! Cannot wait for the next book. This can be read as a stand alone. 5 amazing stars!

This was a really good read! I enjoyed the chemistry between Pippa and Mal. The story had everything I was looking for in a book and more. I can't wait to read about the other agents and more about Roscoe.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5
Romantic suspense at its best! RZ absolutely killed this! Perfect amount of suspense and steam 🔥🔥 and loved the focus on a cult (they really fascinate me).
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Our heroine has been on the run from her past for the past 7 years having escaped a cult. Her new next door neighbour is an ex-cop coming off from deep undercover work and ready to find himself when he gets approached to work as part of a new team. The case? The cult that his new neighbour used to be a member of.
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This is book 1 in a new series about a hodgepodge group of former cops and agents thrown in with a hacker and a shrink to work on cases for the government. I am 100% invested and can’t wait for the rest of the the series. Oh and I forgot to mention there is an alcoholic German Shepard who likes to prance around in Jimmy Choos 😂😂😂.

Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an fair and honest review.

As the first book in a new series, "Hidden", is a wonderful, sexy, dark dive into what happens to an ex-undercover cop and sets the foundation for all the stories to come. A lot of time the first book takes too much time "world building" and not enough time on the story, but the world Rebecca Zanetti builds from a group of misfits is fantastic. It's not nice or pretty, each character is flawed and broken in some way - in other words, they're not perfect, or even close. But, they all have a strong moral basis, it's just the details that get a little muddy at times. I loved it and will definitely continue the Deep Ops - Requisition Force Series.

Malcolm West is a burned out, injured, almost alcoholic, ex-undercover cop. All he wants is peace and privacy and he thinks he has found it at the end of a dead end road in rural Virginia far from the nearest town. The only other house is a small cottage next door. His last assignment just gutted him, both mentally and physically. He needs solitude to put himself back together again. But a certain government agent has other plans for him.

Pippa, aka Jennifer, aka Mary is hiding. She escaped from a cult and now lives in isolation, afraid of crowds and basically all people. She lives is constant fear that she will be found and dragged back to the "family". Now Mal has moved in next door and she is terrified she has been found. His sexy smile, killer body and gorgeous green eyes evoke feelings Pippa thought were long dead. Feelings like wondering what it would be like to like in the world, among people, experience attraction and closeness. Live her life instead of hiding from it.

Angus Force is putting together a new unit and his choice of employees are diverse and all have hidden places in their souls. Misfits is a kind label. They are all excellent at what they do and Force is going to use them to find and foil a suspected terrorist attack on Washington D.C. He will use anyone and do anything he needs to in order to stop it. That includes Mal and Pippa. 4 1/2 Stars

I've read dozen of this author's stories and she can always make her MCs come together, connect as if nothing else matters, no matter what obstacles are in their path. It's why I continue to read every story, every genre...to feel that romantic first-time bond ♡"

One masqueraded for a living, one did it to stay alive and safe in the shadows. So many secrets between them. Guilt. Neither expecting to live a normal life. Even though I thought they were (almost) too lost in their own isolated worlds at first, RZ did not disappoint me with the bond found between Pippa and Malcolm.

"They were both lying to each other, and he knew that for sure. But in the moment, with her, this felt like the truth."

It totally worked for me. Solid 4*

And the plot moves along smoothly with lots of classic RZ action, speed and twisty suspense! Yeah!! My favorite part of her stories. The author's "banter" skillz, between the MCs and secondary characters, continues to sharpen...had a few outloud chuckles with this band of misfits. I'm looking at you, Roscoe. Whiskey loving pups aside, I am loving all the new members of "Requisitions." It's clear that they have backstories to share ;) I'm not gonna lie. I worked for the government. I've had office space just like this team. Nothing that a coat of paint and bug spray won't make almost tolerable. I'd work for Angus Force. Anyone who can dry swallow three aspirins like Pez is inspirational, right? Would def have some fun times with his name. Behind his back, of course. Maybe.

Of course Malcom is swoony tall, dark, and mysterious; but I really like Pippa. Yes her character growth was strong and she became pretty badass in the end...but is it wrong of me to want a neighbor that bakes copious amounts of goodies when stressed only to give them away? #dontjudgeme
*ARC received through NetGalley for an honest review*

this was actually my first rebecca zanetti book, if you can believe it. clearly i am behind the times. i have a couple of her other books on my TBR though so don't worry, i'll get to them eventually.

the characters were well developed, believable and interesting, main and side. i really liked the two main characters, i really felt for both of them, the things they went through... i loved the chemistry between them - though i do think the relationship side of things moved just a wee bit fast. pippa was such a strong character, she had issues of course but i love that she had a backbone as well. the side characters were also great, i did not expect to laugh during a romantic suspense, but i did, several times. the plot was strong and the book was paced really well. i never felt like it dragged at any point.

i do think it's interesting in books like these, when we know a secret before another character. i feel like it might have packed more of a punch if it'd been a secret from us too.. but no big.

my memory is awful but i will try to continue the series when the next comes out. i am super curious about wolfe.

Rebecca Zanetti has hit another homerun! This was a great story.
What a motley bunch of characters Angus Force has put together! Reay, an alcoholic dog that loves wearing shoes? I laughed so hard at his antics! AND, he's had therapy! He and Angus make a great team. Then there is Wolfe, he's rescued a kitten,(Kat). Kat stays in his front pocket. However, this story isn't about them.
Pippa escaped a terrible cult and is on the run with her friend Trixie. Enter Malcolm, he is so hot that my kindle almost melted! Their adventure is amazing!
Everyone should at least be able to see a Malcolm, it's only fair!I
I can't wait for the next story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hidden is the first book in the new Deep Ops series and I freaking LOVED it!!

Pippa's hiding. She's virtually cut herself off from the world and lives in an isolated spot at the end of a cul-de-sac. She's got one neighbor, a nice old lady who doesn't ask a lot of questions and still offers friendship. Everything changes when the old lady moves out and Malcolm moves in. He's an ex-cop suffering from PTSD and the very last person she should get involved with. But Mal is impossible to resist and all too soon, Pippa finds herself falling in love for the first time. Maybe he can help her live again?

Malcolm is looking for a little peace after his last undercover gig went down the crapper. While he got the bad guys, he paid a heavy emotional toll. He finds himself a neat little house, isolated aside from one hot neighbor. The more he learns about her, the more he knows that he should remain detached, but he can't. What Pippa brings out of him is the best thing in his life and he can't let her go. Can his redemption be found in helping Pippa and keeping her safe?

I loved this story so much. Malcolm was a scrumptious bada$$ alpha and Pippa came off as a bit introverted, but she was so brave and sassy. Even the side characters to their story were intriguing. I can't wait to read their stories. I already see a burgeoning romance happening between two of them and I'm excited to see if they'll eventually be paired together. Angus Force is the man who brought everyone together and his keen intelligence got me all hot and bothered. I hope he catches his killer in the end!

Action-packed and sizzling hot romantic suspense is apparently this author’s forte because she’s done it again with an all new series. A new rag-tag team comes together even as a front burner situation boils over needing a world-weary deep cover ops ex-cop to take point questioning, protecting, and most definitely keen on his gorgeous and terrified mark.
Review

Hidden starts with Pippa getting a new neighbor. She has lived out of sight for so long and this neighbor gets her tingling with the danger and threat he throws off. He might be her biggest temptation to step out of the shadows yet. Malcolm is an ex-cop who was the best ever at deep undercover ops until his last stint broke him in the fallout. His gorgeous neighbor with the scared and haunted eyes pulls out his protector instincts so he won’t say no when a new organization tags him for the team. A cult is planning something big and Pippa is at the heart of it all. He will protect her and do his job, but whose going to protect his heart?

The story jumped in introducing Pippa and Malcolm as new neighbors and their need for lies and secrecy from each other. I liked the way the looming danger from the cult powers the suspense and gives a nice flavor of uncertainty to their romance as Malcolm wonders just where Pippa fits into it all. There was a nice blend of romance and action. These two circle warily and then dive in. It gets hot and rough when they do come together. The wary is still there, but trust in who they are at their core speaks truth in the midst of the lies.

The cult leader, Isaac, is a slimy one with his sleeping with all the women and brainwashing them to give themselves to him and his best guys. His megalomaniac ideas and thinking along with his sadistic actions made me hate him, but his cunning made him a worthy villain for the team of good guys.

The series world set up with the intro to the team and the ongoing serial killer case was a good solid background for Hidden and later books. This team seems patched together and so messed up from a quick glance, but they pull together and get it done with their various abilities, experiences, and talents. Malcolm is joined by their leader,a former FBI profiler, Angus Force. His former military dog Roscoe who may be an alcoholic, high heel stealing, argyle hating quirky mess. A former special forces team member, Wolfe who loves lattes with sprinkles and orphaned kittens. Raider Tanaka who is straight up duty-bound, serious about the regs agent material. An ex-con scruffy Irish tech expert and hacker in Brigid. And last, but not least the team psychologist and analyst, cool and suave Nari Zhang who gets no takers on working out some of the severe mental health issues within her team.

I can’t wait to get all their stories and to explore some of the hints of some heat between a few of them. Hidden was a solid start to the Deep Ops series and I look forward to spotlighting the rest of the team as they work the intense cases. Romantic Suspense lovers who like spicy romance and action filled suspense should give this one a go.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I’ve been waiting to read this for a while now, ever since we got a sneak peek of the first chapter in Vampire’s Faith so when I saw this in my inbox I was beyond excited. This is the beginning to a new series and so far, I’m loving the whole team :)

The story was full and engaging right from the start. Pippa and Malcolm were people that have had to go through some really bad times, situations that almost destroyed them and they’re both dealing with the broken bits that were left. I loved how they both became the person the other could lean on. This was very insta-love but the relationship that developed was strong and believable.

This story has a crazy amount of stuff going on and I did feel it detracted a bit from the main story, especially since there was some flashbacks thrown in and several different POVs going on. The romance was also more on the back burner than I personally like but overall this was a great start to a list of other interesting characters. Angus for one, I’m dying to know what’s up with him and Nari, Raider and Brigid (yes please!) and I wonder who will partner with Wolf and his pocket kitty, Kat, Lol.

Would I recommend? Yes, it was a solid read and will tempt you with more yummy possibilities :)

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Wow, what an intense book filled with drama, intrigue and romance. There were a few little twists in the story that I did NOT see coming.

Parts of the book were pretty intense and to lighten the moos, there are the band of misfit agents and a quirky dog and an adorable kitten called Kat.

Malcolm doesn't realize that he was manipulated into buying the house next door to Pippa. When they first meet, I was dying laughing and feeling terror for Pippa, this book takes you all over all the emotions. When Pippa finds out that Mal is "doing his job" by investigating her, you can't help but feel her pain and anger.

I could not put this book down and had to read it straight through!

This was the first book in this new series and I am so looking forward to the next books. You can kind of get a feel that Angus and Nari have this tension between them and Brigid doesn't like that Raider looks down on her for being an ex-con. Does that mean there will be attraction growing between them? What kind of woman will Wolfe (don't call him Clarence!) be drawn to? Can't wait for the answers!