Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.

This was a wonderful romantic suspense with a great plot and memorable characters. A very enjoyable read.

This is a Harlequin Suspense story about a married couple who were working for the Government in one capacity or another and in which hubby faked his death 5 years prior to protect his wife & 13 year old son from an enemy looking for revenge.

This is one of those stories that has a fair amount of suspense even though the mystery of who the bad guy is known from the start and the way it ends, not only leaves the danger open ended, but this reader very disappointed.

SPOILERS BELOW!!!!!

So Hero was in Columbia 5 yrs prior with his team to take down a crime/drug lord and in the process, his team was killed, the drug lord's kid died and he had to fake his death so that the baddy didn't come after his wife & kid. He then gets out of the military and starts his own agency where they help out people that the Gov't can assist or something like it. He has a team of men and 2 females who he considers as family.

38 yr old heroine was a former spy & contract killer for the Gov't. She quit when she got pregnant with their kid and became a successful mystery book writer. When she learned her husband died, she was devastated but powered on because her son needed her.

When the story opens, she is on a blind date from hell when she gets a call from her son that someone is trying to break into the house. She rushes home and takes down the dude but he ends up running away and Hero & his team do "cleanup" while she & their son are out talking to the cops.

Hero who has kept a close eye on his family for 5 yrs, ends up having to rescue her when days later she is in the process of getting kidnapped and this is where their reunion begins because the bad dude found out he is alive and coming for revenge. The rest of the story is them working together to find their kidnapped son and rescue him and take down the bad guys.

So while the story in itself is not bad, unfortunately it didn't pull me in either because:

- Hero who was supposed to be a bad ass Alpha or whatever, makes a lot of mistakes - including the major one to fake his death which we spend 90% of the story with heroine ramming into him about his stupidity, as well as his own POVs about this bad decision.
- He also makes a lot of other bad decisions with keeping secrets from his team which they blast him as if he is a naughty child instead of their boss who pays their salary.
- And speaking of salaries, we have his team throughout (especially 1) making constant demands for salary increase even when they are in the middle of danger. What the hell?
- The 13 year old (who at first becomes 14 only to later turn 13) was too grown up for his age and it didn't work but he was the only character here I liked.
- Heroine comes up with a plan how to rescue their son and then her hubby. She was a kick-ass heroine up until the part of the rescue at the end where she became helpless and clueless too. The real "heroes" in the story than turned to be his team (especially the female operative/h's BFF who was the real kick-ass heroine!)who were the ones to take down the bad guys. Why couldn't it be the MCs?
- The ending (view spoiler)

Safety:

No OW/OM drama
No cheating.
Heroine has been celibate during separation and it is believed Hero was too even though it is not clearly stated.
Heroine did go on a blind date but nothing came of it as she couldn't stand the guy.
HFN (see above spoilers)

I loved this start to a new series. Fiona and her son, Matt, have worked hard the last five years to make a life for themselves after the death of her husband, Jason. But, when danger starts to creep into her perfectly structured life, she has to wonder if the secrets of her past have come back to haunt her. Little does she know, it's much more than that. Lots of action, some drama, a bit of mystery, and of course a dose of romance. Overall a great, quick read.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.