Proceed with Caution

Duty #4

by Betsy Brannon Green

Brooke Clayton is in trouble. Deep in the shadowy woods outside Nashville, the young activist stumbled on something she was never meant to see something she can never reveal if she values her life. Now, as an unknown enemy closes in, she must take drastic measures to disappear. Brooke s only hope for survival is to accept help from her uncle, Major Christopher Dane, and his team of highly trained operatives. Dane entrusts his niece s safety to one of his most reliable men, Hunter, aka Owl. Brooke and Owl go into hiding, posing as a married couple volunteering at a Civil War reenactment site. As Brooke comes to trust her protector, their connection deepens and their cover relationship begins to feel all too real. But when danger encroaches on their make believe world and explosive truths are revealed, Hunter and Brooke risk everything to expose the discovery she tried so hard to escape and as peril looms ever closer, it s too late to proceed with caution.

Genres: Mystery, Lds Fiction, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Romance, Lds

272 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2013

About the author

"WELCOME!!!!!

If you're not familiar with my books, I write mystery-suspense novels. I am LDS (Mormon) and so are some of my characters, but I have loyal readers from many different faiths. My goal is to engage the reader in my books. I want to make them laugh and cry and worry and dread the end.

Most of my books are set in the fictional town of Haggerty, Georgia - which is loosely based on my grandparents' hometown of Headland, Alabama (the most wonderful place on earth). Each book has an ample supply of romance, suspense, Southern hospitality and even recipies!"

by Betsy Brannon Green on http://www.betsybrannongreen.net/

Reviews

[Erika B. (SOS BOOKS) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This probably would have gotten a higher rating from me but I just couldn't connect with our hero! I kept waiting for him to have a personality and I never really got one! All I got was a cliffhanger...ain't nobody got time for that!

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this author. Loved this new novel. Loved the continuation of the characters that we have grown to know before and get to know more about in this book. You will not be disappointed by reading this only that it ends too soon and with a cliff hanger. :) Sequel to come in october.

Christopher Dane and Savannah are happily married now and have settled into family life with Caroline and a new baby on the way. Savannah has a bad case of morning sickness. Dane being the protective person he is won't let Savannah out of his site and takes her with him and the team as they try to help his sister: getting her son, Adam out of Africa when a tribal war shuts down the airports, helping clear Raliegh (Neely's husband) from the suspicion of company investments gone missing, and finding Brooke (Neely's daughter) when she disappears and the DA is looking for her along with the police.

I liked the relationship that comes so naturally as Brooke and "Owl" or Hunter have to hide and pretend they are married at a Civil War enactment resort. I loved the descriptions of the dresses and atmosphere. It was so real. Hunter comes out of his protective emotional shell as Brooke tries to loosen him up and teach him how to give compliments and love lessons. In the process she develops feelings for him and learns to trust him. She tells him her secret of having a baby girl and giving her up for adoption along with the fiasco with the Nature Fresh chicken factory and their polluting pipe line and inhumane treatment of the chickens along with the pictures she gave to the DA. Nature Fresh sends guys to "take care of her and then Hunter as he tries to divert attention to himself by getting his own pictures to testify with. You think everything is resolved with the DA wants to have them come in and give one more testimony so Nature Fresh can't claim insurance for the fire. Then you are left hanging wondering what is happening next as they are once again in a position against their will and this time Dane doesn't know of their danger to help.

Raliegh is cleared of the theft of the money. It was his ex-wife's plot of revenge that had the girlfriend of his partner stealing money and putting the blame on Raliegh. His partner kills the girlfriend by accident and then he kills himself because of the outcome of ruining Raliegh's reputation and that of the investing agency. The ex-wife doesn't get her desire to get her husband back.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The girl (I couldn't begin to call her a heroine) is so entirely juvenile that you feel sorry for Owl for getting stuck with her. How old was she supposed to be? 13? It had way too many little dramas thrown in that didn't help the story line at all. A brother stuck in Africa because of tribal wars. A kidney stone passing in the middle of everything. The 'cliffhanger' at the end, is not a cliffhanger but rather a brick wall - I really hope that the next book has Brooke getting shot somewhere rather vital or maybe she can move in with the chickens - it seems where she belongs. That would make the next book in the series worth reading. maybe...

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 tips:
1. Read Betsy Brannon Green's Hazardous Duty series as this book is the latest of that series.
2. Wait 'till October to read this so when you come to the terrible cliff-hanger ending, you will be able to get the closure you need.

You're welcome.

I love all of Betsy Brannon Green's books. They are an easy, quick and clean reads. However, the ending in this is such a cliff-hanger. Ugh! I've lost sleep over thinking about what in the world just happened! So, from another fan, I discovered that the next book is coming out in October 2013. Had I known that, I would have waited so I could pair the books together and have some closure.

Amazon's Summary:
Brooke Clayton is in trouble. Deep in the shadowy woods outside Nashville, the young activist stumbled on something she was never meant to see something she can never reveal if she values her life. Now, as an unknown enemy closes in, she must take drastic measures to disappear. Brooke's only hope for survival is to accept help from her uncle, Major Christopher Dane, and his team of highly trained operatives. Dane entrusts his niece's safety to one of his most reliable men, Hunter, aka Owl. Brooke and Owl go into hiding, posing as a married couple volunteering at a Civil War reenactment site. As Brooke comes to trust her protector, their connection deepens and their cover relationship begins to feel all too real. But when danger encroaches on their make-believe world and explosive truths are revealed, Hunter and Brooke risk everything to expose the discovery she tried so hard to escape and as peril looms ever closer, it's too late to proceed with caution.

[Brooke Berry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved most of this book. It must be a sequel which I obviously have not read the first one. For most of the story you got the gist and it was all ok. There were just let's of references to characters and story lines that didn't pertain to this story and were just confusing.

The story itself was great. It was exciting, smart and fast paced.

I hated the ending because it obviously leads to another novel. It doesn't really have closure. So while I liked the book, when I finished it I was left with a bad taste in my mouth.

From an analytical stand point, I hated that Brooke was so flighty and quick to attach to a random, cold, and distant man just because he was near her. The relationship could have been built up a bit more. The story line with her brother seemed redundant and could have been cut out. As with the characters and non essential details of Caroline and her grandparents. However, if your reading this as a second book to a series, maybe those details would make more sense?

Overall I loved the story but am surprised that it made it published at this level. It needs another edit before its there.

[Tarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was terrible. The heroine was too juvenile for the story (don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good juvenile book, but this wasn't supposed to be one). The hero we didn't get much from at all. He goes from complete disinterest to love unbelievably. The love story was rushed, and it's a sequel to some other book. The back story that should explain what happened in a previous story didn't explain anything at all and just made the story more confusing. The relationship with the other soldiers wasn't witty or funny but I think it was supposed to be. And it didn't end...at all.

[BritGirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

If Betsy Green's name was not on the cover, I would swear someone else wrote this book. Compared to her other books the "voice" sounds completely different. And although I really like the Hazardous Duty series, I would have preferred that Hunter and Brooke got more page time rather than continuing the Dane and Savannah story line.

[Dail Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable with some interesting plot twists.

[Kristy Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a 2.5

[01brittanyT T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: Dane and his team of highly trained operatives try to get Danes family back together. His sister Neely's husband can't leave work because he is being questioned for stealing money. Neely's son is stuck in Zimbabwe and can't leave. And her daughter Brooke is missing. So Dane and his crew are there to help get them all home in a safe way. Dane sends Hunter a.k.a Owl to see why Brooke is hiding and why. So Hunter goes to find Brooke and finds her. He asks her why she is hiding. She tells him the story. She said she was walking in the woods and took a picture of some illegal things because that was her first reaction. It was of Nature Fresh's illegal pipeline and a chicken coop she stumbled over. Which they are not supposed to have. When Nature Fresh found out they got mad and went looking for her. So she was in danger and could have been hurt or even killed. So Hunter is going to help her hide out until everything will be safe and ok. So they went undercover posing as a married couple volunteering at a Civil War reenactment. They even started to like each other when they were there. Also, when they were there they came up with a plan. Hunter can go and retake the picture because she threw hers away after she found out that they came looking for her. They know he could do it because he is highly trained and can protect himself. So he goes into the woods and takes the picture. She waits in a tent for him to come back. When he got back there was some bad people there from Nature Fresh. The tied them both up and set the forest on fire, hoping it would burn them, so no one would know. But before it got to them, Dane and his crew came to rescue them. So they made it out safely. Also, Neely's son got home safely from Zimbabwe. And after a lot of planning and thinking. Dane and his crew figured out who stole the money so Neely's husband got home safely too. But at the very end of the book, a bad guy named Mr. Shaw took Brooke and Hunter and tied them up and wanted to hurt or kill them. So there is going to be a sequel of the book.

I rated this book 3 stars because it is a good book but it got a little confusing at times. At the beginning it rushed into things a little to fast and they named a lot of names so it got confusing to know who was who. But by the end I figured out everything and it was a great book.

I recommend this book to people who like reading scary, action, and adventure books because this book has a lot of that. It is also a page flipper. You always want to see what happens next.

Setting: It is taken place mostly at the Civil War reenactment. It was also taken place a lot in the woods. Dane and his crew mostly stayed at Neely's house the entire time while thinking of ways to help Neely's son and husband.

My 2 favorite quotes from the book are (pg.127) There are other reasons that someone might have taken the money from business services-like revenge. (pg.166) She screamed in terror.

[Lisa (Bookworm Lisa) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book of Betsy Brannon Green that I have read. I have purchased two, that have sat on my shelf waiting to be read, Murder by the BookandMurder by Design. I know that I will be reading them. Proceed with Caution was a page turner and I was caught up in the story right from the start.

Life has unraveled quickly for Neely. On her birthday, she turns to her brother, who commands a special ops team for the military. He agrees to help her find her missing daughter, her husband who is accused of embezzlement, and her son who is caught in a war zone in Africa.

The team is on it! One operative, Owl, finds himself with Brooke, the missing daughter. They are trying to stay under the radar of the people trying to kill her and the police offers trying to subpoena her. They find themselves working on a civil war reenactment resort. They are cute together. Brooke wants to try to make Owl smile. He is very serious and good at his job. It doesn't take long before their working relationship begins to turn into feelings that are stronger than friendship.

The book switches gears many times in the book. It shows the work on both ends. We visit Major Dane and his crew and how they are helping the rest of the family, and then we visit Owl and Brooke. This is done seamlessly and doesn't detract from either story line.

As I was finishing this book, I thought that the loose ends had been wrapped up and that the book was coming to a happy conclusion. I was wrong. The last chapter is a cliffhanger. The good news is that I know that there will be another book that features Brooke and Owl, the bad news is that I am anxiously awaiting the next book.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brooke Clayton knows that she has to escape from her apartment without attracting the notice of the police watching the parking lot. So she takes one last glance at her phone, knowing her mother is going to be worried, and heads out the back way to get lost in the flow of humanity. As soon as her mom, Neely, realizes that she can't reach Brooke, she goes to her brother Major Dane, knowing that if anyone can find her, he and his team of highly trained army men can. They head to Neely's home in Nashville to set up a command center where they can work on finding Brooke before she gets hurt, without even having any idea why she's disappeared in the first place. Dane trusts just one man to protect his niece, Hunter code named Owl because of his amazing eyesight. But when Hunter and Brooke have to run and end up posing as a married couple in a Civil War reenactment sight, the more pressing danger is Brooke falling in love with another man not willing to commit his life to her.

Wow, this book was a fast paced read. I love the way the plot moves from one crazy problem to another. Brooke was a bit of a mystery, even to the reader. It seemed as though I wasn't able to find out just why she was hiding from the police for quite a long time in the story. I also really liked Owl, he seemed more like a person in this book, a lot of Major Dane's men seem more like machines than people, except for maybe Steamer, he has a lot of personality usually. Prepare for a cliff hanger in the end of this book! Can't wait to read the next book to find out what happens to Brooke and Hunter!

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a total waste of money and time! Please, if you care about writing, DO NOT bother with this book, it only rewards lazy writing. I started this book because my students wanted a mystery novel. I wanted to make sure it was appropriate for junior high students. I started reading it, but felt I was missing something--like a previous chapter. The author assumes you have read a previous book--although nothing on the cover indicates this finishes a previous book or is a sequel! I finally, after rereading it, just tried to go with the story. I put it down for months because the writing is flat and the characters uninteresting. I finally finished because my students were begging for a good YA mystery novel. I finished it, despite never really warming up to the characters, only to have the events on the last page put the two main characters, trapped with a bad guy and tied up. That is not an ending--that's the end of a chapter, maybe! Seriously, that is lazy writing! All the best writers can end stories, before they begin the next one. I really was so disappointed because I wanted to recommend this book to my students, but I won't have the exposed to such horrible writing and a lack of ending. Even if I cared about the characters, there is no indication of which book is next in the series--maybe they are all like this. It should really be labeled with numbers if one book bleeds into the next so you can't understand the story without all the previous books. Stupid book and a total waste of time!!!!!

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* This book started out a bit rushed and confusing for me. I've read the other books in the series, but the characters were introduced again so quickly that I didn't have time to process who was who. It jumped right into the mystery as well, which was tricky, as I was still trying to process the characters.

However, once the story really started to flow, it got really good. The mystery was great and I loved how they stayed hidden.

Brooke is a vegetarian who supports animal rights and when she stumbles upon a secret, her life and the lives of those she loves is in danger. Hunter (aka Owl) is assigned by her uncle to protect her.

Brooke is a bubbly and fun girl who isn't afraid to speak her mind. I really liked her personality. She is always up for a challenge and is very determined.

Hunter has no sense of humor and is very serious about everything. I loved how hard Brooke tried to break him down. He is very dedicated to every aspect of his life.

I loved the reenactment job. The characters there were fun and the situations were my favorite of the book.

One problem for me--Brooke reveals a huge secret to Hunter and it eludes to the fact that she'll talk to her family about it, but she never does. The story ends on a cliff hanger, so maybe the next book will resolve things.

Content: a few things are mentioned, but they don't go into details. Clean.

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE Besty Brannon Green's books!
I have read every one of them!

Betsy Brannon Green is best know for her Haggerty Mystery Series.
And she also has a Kennedy Killingsworth Mystery Series.

This book goes along with her Duty Series which includes:
Hazardous Duty
Above and Beyond
and Code of Honor

If you have read these books you will have met Savannah and Major Christopher Dane.
This time Dane's sister, Neely is seeking his help.

Neely's husband is being accused of embezzlement...
Neely's son is trapped in Zimbabwe due to tribal wars...
and if that wasn't enough, Neely's daughter has gone on the run...

Dane and his team have their work cut out for them!

Fun twists and turns in the story including a section of the book where one of Dane's team members finds himself reenacting Civil War battles...fun, fun, fun part of the book!

And just when you think the story is coming to the end...you will remember that Betsy is famous for her cliff-hangers...

I promise you will be begging for MORE!

(While this book follows the characters in the previous books, it can be read as a stand-alone book, you don't have to have read the other books first.)

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally love Green's books. Sadly, this one was a little disappointing. Hack and Steamer just can't seem to get along, constantly acting like bickering children throwing the same insults at each other over and over. Hunter and Brooke's "romance" is a little rushed, if not somewhat one sided until the very end. Despite this, they are still fun together and by far were the best part of the book.

Christopher is above and beyond controlling to the point of maddening. They overreacted a lot with the audit to the point that Neely is thinking they need to sell the house and close the business. Raleigh's business isn't the first financial institution to have this problem and wouldn't be the last. The characters rebound from one extreme to the next.

To top this all off is the ending. Green is known for tasteful cliff hangers that leave you wanting more. This wasn't just a teaser, this was an outright alarm. All I can think is it's a shame readers have to wait so long for her next book because this ending is far from satisfying.

[Michael-Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a sequel to Betsy Brannon Green's (BBG) Hazardous Duty books. Not knowing that, I was confused some of the time. She kept referring to things it was clear had a back-story, but one I didn't know. Finally, I looked up the Hazardous Duty series (the only BBG books I haven't read) and discovered some of the back story. That helped. As I was reading, I couldn't help but miss the Southern towns which are as much a character as the people in many of BBG's books. I struggled with the plot a lot. There were too many coincidences. The interactions between the soldiers on the team were annoying and sometimes unbelievable. It seems like BBG is trying to create her own version of the Tracy Hunter Abrams' Saint Squad series. At the end, there is a CLIFF HANGER, which I hate. It was also unbelievable. Overall, I have to give this book 2 stars which is a shame since Betsy Brannon Green is one of my favorite authors.

[Verona · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I love this author, I did not like the ending. I think it's a little cruel to lead readers on, knowing that they will have to read your next novel to get the whole story. My husband and I listen to novels as we travel to dialysis three times a week, and we generally are accepting of all kinds of stories. However, this ending took us by surprise, and we listened to the last half of the last CD just to make sure we weren't missing something to have it end so abruptly. It was not satisfying. Now we'll just look forward to and buy the next in this series to find the conclusion. We wondered, too, if this novel was meant to be a mystery with a love story woven in, because it seemed more like a love story with a little mystery in the background. I have to say, being from North Carolina, I loved the Southern accent of the narrator and her voice and characterizations in general. She kept us listening.

[Kelli · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was by far the worst Betsy Brannon Green book I have read, and usually I like hers a lot. It could be that I am getting sick of the cheesy LDS romance novels, but I think this one just tried too hard. It was ridiculous that something crazy was happening to every member of Dane's sister's family. What are the odds that all three of them would be put in an impossible situation at once? And the love story really really bothered me. The whole time they were super annoyed with each other and the next page she decided that she actually loved him. And he kept saying, I can't be in a relationship but didn't actually fight her at all and also decided he was in love the next second. I like the other three "Duty" books but won't be reading this one again.

[T.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all Betsy Brannon Green's books, I gobbled this up. I purchased it without reading the blurb and thought it was the sequel to Pivot Point, but this is actually a spin-off of the Hazardous Duty series. The first chapter is exciting, but the next several are spent reacquainting us with Dane and Savannah, and are a little slow. I would rather have had the focus on Owl, as he is the romantic lead, but he's so very serious and close-lipped, that it was difficult to connect with him. I could have overlooked that, if the ending hadn't been an abrupt cliffhanger (I really don't care for those!). Betsy, I love you, but I miss the resolution of your Haggerty books. 3.5 stars

[Hollie Robb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This deals with Owl, who is with Dane, and his team. With two different mysteries going on at once, and one major cliff hanger at the end. Oh yeah, another book it coming.

Easy reading, predictable? Yeah, but not to much. I mostly, just read this book for the pure entertainment, I wasn't trying to predict what would happened, it just a no brainer. Yes, I do like this book. I wanted to ease drop more on Owl, and Brook more then anything else. I thought their story was the more interesting, or I would have put the book down.

[Lynette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wait! What? There better be another book coming out ASAP! Great book with the perfect amount of suspense and romance, but I did not see the ending coming!

p.s. After reading some of the reviews, I should mention that this book follows the Hazardous Duty series. So, be sure to read the other three books before this one or you may be confused. Being the lover of Betsy Brannon Green that I am, that wasn't an issue with me and I knew from the first page that I was back with the characters I love. Yay!

[Nanci · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was just Ok for me. I loved the hero but the girl was annoying and so was the way Green wrote some of the scenes. Sometimes I just wanted to quite but although the writing isn't great I cared enough to find out how it all ended. Then to my annoyance, it sort of ended and then she threw in a twist that leaves you in a cliff-hanger. If you really care, you have to read the next book. Sigh. I listened to this on CD. I don't love the reader but she isn't so annoying I have to stop. That is something at least.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating 2.5
I basically like Betsy Bannon Green's books. However, I had the feeling that I was reading book 2 in a series without having read book 1. I could not find where this was part of a series so I assume that feeling was all in my head. There were also plot premises I felt were somewhat shaky. I did not know if, as the book ended, the shaky (illogical) plot premises turned out to be purposefully shaky? Given the ending, I was left really confused. Plus, does the ending mean that this is to be continued?

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yea! Welcome back:) I loved returning to this series full of characters that I love. Dane and his team are back trying to clean up some sticky situations that Dane's family are in. It's a quick moving suspenseful story with a sweet romance woven throughout. I loved Brooke. She is brave and tough with a sweet heart. Hunter (aka Owl) is so dang serious he cracks me up! I was so happy when she finally pulled a smile from him. The reenactment stuff was so fun. I'm not a fan of cliff hangers as a rule, but I will be back to see what the guys are all up to in the next installment:)

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brooke Clayton is in trouble. Deep in the shadowy woods outside Nashville, the young activist stumbled on something she was never meant to see something she can never reveal if she values her life. Now, as an unknown enemy closes in, she must take drastic measures to disappear.

Although this was a decent book and had some really good parts there were in my opinion too many slow parts that I feel were really not necessary. It is a clean book. I have read other books by Green and some are terrific, but she is not always consistent in writing a gripping flowing story.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it, but it's not my favorite kind of ending.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Besty, I sure hope your next book comes out soon. Not fair to leave us hanging on to long. :)

[Kari Garrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book ended with a cliff-hanger! Not my favorite. This book wasn't as good as some of the other Betsy Brannon Green books I've read.

[Cheri · Rating 2 out of 5]

What happened to Betsy Green? This book is suppose to have a sequel, I don't think I will be reading it.