"Gripping Romantic Suspense"

Brockmann continues her ever popular Navy Seal series in a new vein. While on leave, Chief Cosmo Richter is working for Troubleshooters, a security firm founded by a fellow Seal. Cosmo is assigned to protect Jane Mercedes Chadwick, the producer of AMERICAN HERO, a WWII era movie whose main protagonists are heroic soldiers that had a clandestine homosexual relationship. As the movie goes into production, Jane continues receiving death threats, ostensibly from the Freedom Network, a group of radicals who want production halted. Tension filled romance between Cosmo and Jane heats up the pages when their verbal sparring evolves into foreplay.

Though Cosmo and Jane are the primary protagonists, Brockmann deviates from her usual romance fare with a focus on homosexual relationships. Enter FBI Special Agent Jules Cassidy, an openly gay man who is continuing to investigate the Freedom Network. He must cope with his own frustrations when he encounters Adam, his former lover and new lead actor in AMERICAN HERO.

What sets Brockmann apart from her fellow romantic suspense authors is her ability to imbue her characters with real life emotions. The death threats spark in Jane a fear of losing control of her carefully formed façade, even as she and Cosmo open up to one another about their darkest secrets.. Furthermore, her brother Robin's blatant heterosexuality hints at deeper seated feelings.

Suspense propels this novel into constant motion, finding the reader immersed from page one. Fans and newcomers alike can eagerly anticipate Max and Gina's story, the next installment in this series that sizzles with romance even as it pays homage to our nation's heroes.

Reviewed by Sheri Melnick
Posted January 21, 2005

Summary

New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann knows exactly what makes hearts race and pulses pound: peril and passion. No one succeeds more brilliantly at blending these exhilarating elements in breathtaking novels of men and women forced to grapple with the deepest emotions and the highest risks. And there's no better proof than her new novel of suspense: Hot Target aims to thrill on every level. Like most men of action, Navy SEAL Chief Cosmo Richter never learned how to take a vacation. So when he finds himself facing a month's leave, he offers his services to Troubleshooters Incorporated. Founded by a former SEAL, the private-sector security firm is a major player in the ongoing war against terrorism, known for carrying out covert missions too volatile for official U.S. military action. But the first case Richter takes on is anything but under the radar. High-profile maverick movie producer Jane Mercedes Chadwick hasn't quite completed her newest film, but she's already courting controversy. The World War II epic frankly portrays the homosexuality of a real-life hero--and the storm of advance media buzz surrounding it has drawn the fury of extremist groups. But despite a relentless campaign of angry E-mails, phone calls, and smear tactics, Chadwick won't be pressured into abandoning the project. Then the harassment turns to death threats. While the FBI appears on the scene, nervous Hollywood associates call in Troubleshooters, and now Chadwick has an army of round-the-clock bodyguards, whether she likes it or not. And she definitely doesn't. But her stubbornness doesn't make FBI agent Jules Cassidy's job any easier. The fiercely independent filmmaker presents yet another emotional obstacle that Cassidy doesn't need--he's already in the midst of a personal tug-of-war with his ex-lover, while fighting a growing attraction to Chadwick's brother. Determined to succeed--and survive--on her own terms, Chadwick will face off with enemies and allies alike. But she doesn't count on the bond she forms with the quiet, capable Cosmo Richter. Yet even as their feelings bring them closer, the noose of deadly terror all around them draws tighter. And when all hell erupts, desire and desperate choices will collide on a killing ground that may trap them both in the crossfire.