SHADOW OF DOUBT

In DePaul’s thriller, a former Marine now in black ops fights to protect a woman from his past who’s captured his heart.

Bob Harris, a United States senator, calls in a favor from the SweetBriar Group, a “mercenary-style agency” posing as an environmental company. He wants SBG to track down his son’s killer in Indianapolis. Jeremy “Cappy” Malone leads the mission’s team and has his own reason for finding the suspected murderer, Michelle Holman, who is seen leaving the crime scene in some mysterious footage. Cappy first saw her six years earlier, in South America. She was a university student whom a cartel had kidnapped and tortured until Cappy, then a Green Beret, rescued her. He doesn’t want to believe she’s guilty, especially once the two reunite and stir up the feelings they harbor for each other. That doesn’t mean they trust each other; how can Michelle be sure Cappy won’t turn her over to the Feds? He is focused on keeping her safe, which isn’t easy when someone seems to be gunning for her. The author focuses on romance in this story; scenes shared between Cappy and Michelle sizzle with sexual tension that they barely suppress (“Every nerve ending north of his toes still vibrated from touching her”). As such, there’s nominal action, and readers get only a few chances to enjoy SBG members (including the proficient sniper Wraith and the knife-wielding Talon) showing off their skills. DePaul does effectively flesh out his personable cast: Michelle suffers PTSD from her cartel ordeal, Cappy is racked with guilt over a past mission he led, and Talon is entangled in a love triangle within SBG. There’s a touch of mystery, as the killer may be the same person targeting the senator—or perhaps even Michelle herself. Despite all of the overindulgent male posturing on display, SBG is a team readers will surely want to revisit in subsequent series installments.

Indelible characters lead this diverting romantic thriller.