SWEET REVENGE – Christy Reece
A Last Chance Rescue Novel
Ballantine
ISBN: 978-0-345-52405-8
October 2011
Romantic Suspense

West Virginia and an Island Near the Canary Islands – Present Day

Schoolteacher Jamie Kendrick was kidnapped, beaten, and nearly sold into slavery before the Last Chance Rescue (LSR) team, to which her sister McKenna belongs, rescued her and whisked her to safety. Unfortunately, money and technicalities did not bring the bad men to justice, so when Jamie is offered a chance to be a part of the LSR team to infiltrate and get the goods on them, she jumps at the offer. This means training in the remote mountains of West Virginia with LSR operative Dylan Savage, a man who intrigues her as much as she wishes to avoid him.

Dylan is as tough as they come and believes schoolteachers shouldn't be allowed as operatives. Of course, his feelings are shot down and he is forced to spend months training Jamie…alone together. Sexual tension soon rears its head, and though it takes a while, they end up making love. But afterwards, Dylan rejects Jamie and she walks out, telling everyone that she's going back to teaching. Dylan is relieved, because he isn't the man for her. But just when he goes undercover and finagles a trip to the island where bad guy Stanford Reddington resides, Dylan runs into the last person he expects: Jamie, who is undercover as Stanford's children's teacher. Does she know what she's getting herself into if her true identity is discovered?

Christy Reece once more delivers spine tingling suspense in SWEET REVENGE. Jamie is out for revenge after being kidnapped and will do anything to bring down Stanford Reddington and his son. When she was rescued, Dylan was one of the team, and even then he radiated danger and excitement, yet Jamie knew he was off limits to her. Pushed together to train, she had to work hard to prove she can handle the job, but the fiery chemistry between them couldn't be contained. Dylan makes it clear there isn't any future for them. His early life was horrific, and the scars remain with him to this day, and he isn't able to explain to Jamie why he's not worthy of a woman's love.

While Jamie's life was idyllic until her kidnapping, she's now a new woman on a mission, and she's going to bring down the Reddington family and his cohorts. Luck holds for her when her teaching skills get her on the island. She hopes that she isn't recognized despite her disguise, but when Dylan shows up, she realizes she's going to have to reveal herself to him. But by then, things begin to unexpectedly fall in place and they may just have a bigger problem to work on: can they get off the island safely?

There are several minor characters in SWEET REVENGE that deserve some mention. Raphael wants to join LSR and also exact revenge on Stanford Reddington. When he is handpicked by Stanford to be his daughter's potential husband, Raphael is taken to the island. There we meet Stanford's beautiful wife, Sarah, and his eldest daughter, Giselle, who do not have a clue what he does for a living, or that he has recruited his oldest son to follow in his footsteps. Also making appearances are other members of LSR, including McKenna, as they are involved in helping Dylan and Jamie.

In SWEET REVENGE, it seems trouble and danger lurk wherever Jamie and Dylan find themselves. They're going to have to learn to trust each other, and in doing so, will they reach a level of understanding? The suspense is intense at times, as we wonder if Jamie's and/or Dylan's true identity will be discovered by the bad guys. And what about the attraction between them…can they keep denying the passion doesn't exist?

For an exciting tale from beginning to end, be sure to pick up SWEET REVENGE.

Patti Fischer