Gone Too Far FROM THE PUBLISHER
In her sizzling, award-winning novels of suspense, bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann delves into the adrenaline-rushed world of counter terrorism–and taps into the real passions of its brave men and women. Now in her widely anticipated hardcover debut, she spins a story of action, intrigue, and romance, as a U.S. Navy SEAL and an FBI agent race to unravel a mystery–while confronting their own unresolved feelings for each other. . . .
In his career as one of America’s elite warriors, Lt. Sam Starrett can do no wrong. In his private life, Sam–the king of one night stands–has done little right. Now, he’s waiting for a divorce and determined to stay active in his young daughter’s life. But when Sam shows up at the door of his ex-wife’s home in Sarasota, Florida, he makes a grisly discovery. His daughter is gone and the body of a woman lies brutally murdered on the floor.
FBI agent Alyssa Locke’s relationship with Sam has been overwhelmingly intense and nearly catastrophic, yet it refuses to end. The last time she saw Sam was six months earlier, when they worked together to stop terrorists from assassinating the U.S. President. Much to her dismay, Alyssa is assigned to lead the murder investigation and once again the two are face to face. When explosive information surfaces linking Sam to the still unsolved assassination plot, the stakes are raised. With her reputation hanging in the balance, and her loyalties in question, Alyssa is faced with an impossible dilemma:arrest a man she believes to be innocent, or risk her career.
While Alyssa tries to fight their intense attraction, Sam is determined to heat things up betweenthem once again. And the complex case pushes them both to the wrong side of the law–and on the run to discover the truth. As more agents step into the chase, and with Sam’s daughter still unaccounted for, neither Alyssa nor Sam can predict just how deadly hot this situation is about to become. . . .
A thrilling novel that ranges back into the days of World War II, into friendships, families, liaisons, betrayals, and the code of honor that binds the U.S. Navy SEALs, Gone Too Far is an electrifying experience in suspense–and a brilliant tale of lives lived on the edge.
From the Hardcover edition.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Tough-talking Navy SEAL Sam Starrett and FBI sharpshooter Alyssa Locke, who played supporting roles in Brockmann's four previous romances (Into the Night, etc.), finally claim center stage in the author's suspenseful hardcover debut. Unfortunately, the oft star-crossed lovers must share the limelight with a plethora of characters from Brockmann's earlier SEAL Team 16 tales, which makes for an overstuffed and somewhat disjointed read. The book's primary and most compelling thread focuses on Sam and Alyssa's search for his daughter and almost ex-wife, who may have been kidnapped by terrorists. As the pair scour Florida, they slowly learn to trust each other. At the same time, Alyssa's boss, renowned FBI negotiator Max Bhagat, must deal with his attraction to a much younger woman, and Sam's former SEAL commander, Tom Paoletti, is all but accused of aiding terrorists. To top everything off, Brockmann throws in snippets of Sam's childhood friendship with Noah Gaines, a black boy he rescued from bullies, and includes her trademark-a WWII love story relayed through letters. Although Brockmann has effectively juggled several story lines in her previous romances, here she simply has too many balls in the air, and inevitably she loses track of a few. Still, the author's fans will find plenty of enjoyment in watching passion-and tempers-flare between Sam and Alyssa. New readers, meanwhile, will find that Brockmann has gone to great lengths to get them up to speed, and those who aren't discouraged by the book's slow start will find themselves drawn in by the characters' snappy dialogue and jam-packed lives. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Brockman has won a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, and two recent novels were voted the Romance Writers of America's favorite book of the year, but this romantic thriller is her hardcover debut. FBI agent Alyssa Locke helps an ex-boyfriend track down his kidnapped daughter. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
AudioFile
A terrorist plot to assassinate the President of the United States as he visits a Naval base sounds like a macho adventure. However, Brockmann's many fans will find that the latest in this series offers more romance than adventure. Navy SEALs are handsome, well built, young, with "cute butts." They range from insensitive bozos to being in touch with their feminine sides. Female characters complain about their physical inadequacies, gossip about who's dating whom, and worry about relationships with younger men. Racial issues are touched on but never developed, and the attempted assassination fizzles. Narrator Laura Hicks does her best, elevating a middling entertainment to something more than it is. Her voice has star quality. She switches characters believably, even in the most intense exchanges. Hicks makes this "gung-ho" military romance worth a listen. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
Navy SEAL joins forces with FBI agent to find his missing daughter and slutty wife. Even though she filed for divorce, Mary Lou never signed and returned the papers. Sam Starrett, a man of action, takes matters into his capable hands and travels from San Diego to Florida to find out why. He's brooding but resolute. The brief marriage was doomed from the start, but he'd done the right thing when his lust for Mary Lou resulted in pregnancy, and he's just about sworn off casual sex ever since. Maybe it sounds like a pansy thing to say, but Sam now wants "to be fucked for more than his blue eyes and his muscles and the fact that he was a lieutenant with the US Navy SEALS." After his daughter was born, he did his utmost to care for her, when he wasn't thousands of miles away Tracking Down Terrorists or Protecting the President. But he, a misunderstood man, has other things to worry about: military higher-ups think he was somehow involved with concealing terrorist weapons on the helicopter that sank when his team shot it down. Meanwhile, he's hot on the trail of whoever blew a hole in the head of the decomposing female corpse on the kitchen floor of the crummy house his wife shared with her sister. Could be Mary Lou. Could be Janine. He's in shock-though somewhat relieved that his daughter, now two-and-a-half, has vanished. If Haley's alive, he'll find her. Enter Alyssa Locke, beauteous FBI agent with a very healthy sex drive. She, too, is actually looking for love. But bad boys are what she lives for, and Sam, a man with a past, sure qualifies. Finding Mary Lou can't be that hard-there are only twenty million slutty blond barflies in Florida and only a million are named Mary Lou. The daringduo swings into action. Fast pace and snappy dialogue keep Gone Too Far afloat, despite the category-romance clich�s: a first hardcover for the prolific Brockmann.
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