Keeper's Reach

Sharpe & Donovan #5

by Carla Neggers

New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers returns with this absorbing, twisting tale of suspense, romance and fast-paced action, the latest in her popular Sharpe & Donovan series.

Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan, two of the FBI's most valuable agents, are preparing for their next big assignment—their wedding—when Colin's brother Mike alerts them that onetime friends from his military past are on Sharpe and Donovan home turf on the Maine coast. Now private security contractors, they want to meet with Mike. One of them, an FBI agent named Kavanagh, is supposed to be on leave. What is he investigating—or does he have his own agenda?

Mike zeroes in on Naomi MacBride, a freelance civilian intelligence analyst who, aside from a few hot nights, has never brought him anything but trouble. Newly returned from England, Naomi clearly isn't telling Mike everything about why she's snooping around his hometown, but he has no choice but to work with her if he wants to uncover what's really going on.

But the case soon takes a drastic turn—Emma is targeted, and a connection surfaces between Naomi and Kavanagh and a recently solved international art theft case. Not every connection is a conspiracy, but as the tangled web of secrets unravels, Emma and Colin face their greatest danger yet. With everyone they know involved, they must decide who they can trust… or lose everything for good.

Genres: Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Fiction, Romance, Thriller, Ebooks

316 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2015

About the author

Carla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sharpe & Donovan series featuring Boston-based FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan, and the popular Swift River Valley series set in the small, fictional New England town of Knights Bridge. With many bestsellers to her credit, Carla loves to write now as much as she did when she climbed a tree at age eleven with a pad and pen and spun stories perched on her favorite branch.

A native New Englander, Carla and her husband divide their time between their hilltop home in Vermont, a sofa bed at their kids' places in Boston and various inns, hotels and hideaways on their travels, frequently to Ireland.

Find out more and sign up for Carla's newsletter at CarlaNeggers.com.

Reviews

[Lena · Rating 2 out of 5]

A let down in a much beloved series :(
Sharp & Donovan is one of my favorite romantic suspense series. The release date was marked on my calendar, that's how excited I was; I mean it's a novel around Michael Donovan right?

But that's not where we started, Martin Hambly opens the book. Did you forget him? So did I because he is forgettable, he's a tertiary character introduced at the end of Harbor Island as a manservant to Oliver York, the Batmanesque art thief. Like Declan's Cross this book has multiple POV shifts to secondary and new characters, but it lacks the entertainment, action, and romance achieved in that book.

Actually there is no romance in this book. Naomi was an intelligence officer in Afghanistan when Mike was there as a special ops soldier. When she came across intel that Mike's team was walking into an ambush she saves them but exposes herself to some bad people.

Naomi and Mike have a two day affair in Washington, then back in the sandbox Naomi gets kidnapped by those bad men and this time Mike saves her. Afterwards, he decides she's too much trouble and vows not to see her again.

This same story is repeated about four times in the book as their backstory without any personal stories as to what drew them together.

Once in Maine, Mike goes out of his way to be an off putting ass to Naomi and she goes out of her way to babble and be a generally suspicious character. Neggars doesn't let us see enough of Naomi's wit and intelligence the way she does with Emma Sharp or Julianna Maroney.

For example, Mike comments that Naomi "held her own" with his brothers over breakfast, but all we see of that scene is "[Naomi] spun out of Hurley’s ahead of him, leaving him with the bill and his two youngest brothers." That more or less sums up her character: precipitous.

The high points of the novel are Emma and Colin's storyline as Emma gets kidnapped. Emma Sharp does not disappoint and Colin in action mode is a site to behold. All Sharp & Donovan books end with the criminal mastermind, who was previously smart enough to simply walk away, deciding on a burst of violence as the last clues come together neatly. This predictability has been forgiven because these books were strong in characters, action, intelligence, art, history, intrigue, and romance - this book was weak on all of those points which made the end suck all the more.

[JoAn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm enjoying reading this series by Carla Neggers. This one gave me a chance to get to know Martin Hambly (Oliver York's assistant) and Oliver York a little more as well as Colin's older brother, Mike. A twisted story that spans Rock Point, ME, the Cotswold, England and Ireland.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by the Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I always look forward to reading a Carla Neggers book. They are full of the essence of the rugged northeast and Keeper's Reach is no different. The strong, silent Maine man is in full view in this book. Pragmatic is the word I use to describe the heroes of these books. Very deep and often very private, they keep their secrets close and their feelings closer.

Mike is a veteran and when he returned home he became a guide in the Maine wilderness. A solitary life for a very solitary man. His solitary life is interrupted first by all the preparations for the wedding of Emma and Colin and then by the appearance of onetime friends from his military days, who are now private security contractors. Included in this group is Naomi, with whom Mike had a weekend fling years ago. Just what these old friends are doing in his hometown has Mike's spidy senses all atingle, well, others areas of his awesome body too. Rekindled romance, art thieves, danger to Emma and international intrigue. Great ingredients for a very good book.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-developed characters and setting! This author is an auto-buy for me. Love her suspense and the way she sets the tone for each book in the series. Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan have come a long ways together, but always focus on the job at hand. Looking forward to seeing what the next book has in store for them.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeper's Reach was another excellent installment in the Sharpe & Donovan series that focused more on the Donovan clan this time around.

When a group from Mike Donovan's military past arrive in Rock Point, FBI agent Colin Donovan is suspicious of the group's motives. And after a connection surfaces to a recently closed international art theft case that Colin and his fiancée Emma Sharpe closed, Colin is even more convinced that something nefarious is going on. After Colin and Emma begin their investigation, Emma finds herself targeted putting the couple's future in jeopardy.

This book switches back and forth between Rock Point and England between two intertwined plots. The England plot is the first one we see, but it quickly becomes tied to the Rock Point storyline. The group from Mike's past in Rock Point added an interesting element to the story as it allowed us to get to know another of the Donovan's. The connection of FBI agent Kavanagh to the group was interesting as we don't find out what the man is up to until nearly the end of the book. A nice surprise was that art thief Oliver York was once again an integral part of the plot which I enjoyed as I have liked his story arc thus far. Emma's kidnapping upped the suspense factor in the book as well as helped keeping the pacing up. Overall I was surprised by who the culprit was and I thought the ending of the book was well done.

Emma and Colin's relationship is in a more solid place in this book compared to the previous ones as the pair are engaged and actively planning their wedding. I liked that there isn't as much conflict in their relationship as that was the one thing I didn't love in previous installments. Overall their relationship really is fantastic and I love how much they've grown since Saint's Gate. With Mike being such a big part of the plot in this book, we finally got to learn more about the most reclusive of the Donovans. His dynamic with Naomi MacBride, his former lover, was interesting and I liked where the pair wound up by the book's end.

Overall Keeper's Reach was a solid installment in the series and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Liar's Key, soon.

[Books and Spoons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several mysteries, unexplained events happening on both sides of the Atlantic, for several of the many characters of the story.
It took me till about the third of the story, to really figure out what, who, and where was going on. But that's on me, I believe this series is something that should be read in order.
There are about dozen main players to follow. No one trusts no one fully, they all are keeping secrets from each other, even the ones engaged to be married.
It is not easy to follow the story, the point of view changes constantly, and to keep everything in line takes an effort.
I had a hard time connecting with the characters, mainly, I believe, because they seemed so emotionless. When I don't get the emotional connection with the people I am reading about, it feels like the story is just going through the motions. Even Emma's kidnapping, and the escape felt flat. I'm sure that's just me, and sometimes you just can't connect with the author's style of writing. I know there are lots of fans of the series, who will enjoy this new adventure. But even though lots of mystery and suspense was involved in the tale, it didn't stand out, or have the intensity I crave in a suspense novel.
~ Three Spoons

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma and Colin are pulled into helping Colin's brother Mike investigate something going on with Mike's old military friends as they gather for a weekend get together in Rock Point, Maine where the Donovan brothers grew up. Mike lives on the rugged Maine coast where he is a wilderness guide. Mike is suspicious when one of his old friends, who is now a security specialist, calls everyone to meet to hear a proposal about working with his company. The group includes an FBI agent on leave, a civil intelligence agent, Naomi, and others from a mission that they were on together in Afghanistan, a mission that Mike would like to forget. Naomi and Mike have a history that was never settled and is still standing between them. It seems that no one trusts the other but someone in the group is not a good guy. Things really hit close to home right away when Emma is abducted.

This is another great page turner in the Sharpe and Donovan series by Carla Neggers.

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published at Reading Reality

I got hooked on the Sharpe & Donovan series a few books ago, and at this point I’ve read them all. If you like romantic suspense featuring a couple of smart but opposite FBI Agents, start with Saint's Gate.

I’m also saying start at the beginning if you’re interested in the new book, because the story relies a lot on past events and relationships. For series fans, it’s a solid entry, but it does not stand alone.

This story takes place in Maine, as much of the series does. Colin and Emma originally hail from two relatively close small towns on the Maine Coast – Rock Point for Colin and Heron’s Cove for Emma. Even though they are relatively close in age, they never met growing up. Rock Point seems to have been mostly blue-collar, and Heron’s Cove is more middle and upper-middle class. Colin’s family owns an inn, and one of his brothers is a lobsterman, while another does wilderness adventure tours on Maine’s Bold Coast.

Emma’s family are world-renowned art detectives. They recover precious art that someone else has stolen. And that’s where a lot of the background of this particular story takes root. For a decade, Emma’s grandfather Wendell has been chasing one particularly challenging thief. In the previous book in the series, Harbor Island Emma finally tracks the man down, only to discover that her grandfather’s art thief is a wealthy Brit with a dual identity who has covered his tracks way too well.

But now that the jig is up, Oliver Fairbarn/Oliver York has been quietly giving all of his stolen work back to the folks he stole it from. This is mostly a win/win, but Oliver is still rightfully worried that Interpol, or more likely MI5, is going to come knocking on his door.

Instead he gets a freelance intelligence analyst, a secretive FBI agent, and a possible unknown third party who attacks his assistant and takes his insane quest back to the U.S., only to deliver it to Colin Donovan and Emma Sharpe – in a very roundabout fashion.

But that’s what finally gets him caught. Along with thinking that he is much, much cleverer than anyone chasing him.

It almost works.

Escape Rating B-: Keeper’s Reach, as I said at the beginning, is not a good entry point for this series. Everyone in this book knows everyone else, and series readers will be familiar with the background. While the events that happen within the story are well-explained, there is a lot of nuance in the background that newbies will miss.

The story is all about everyone’s past. Colin’s brother Mike is the wilderness tour guide. His self-exile to a remote cabin on the Bold Coast is Mike’s way of finding healing after a lot of shit he went through in the Army. In Afghanistan.

But Mike’s experiences are all coming back to haunt him. The group that he worked with are all coming to Maine to see him, and to see if he can be recruited to do private security work. They are invading his territory, and bringing a lot of shit with them.

The weird thing about the group is that none of them seem to really trust each other. They all worked together, but there’s also the possibility that there was a traitor in their midst even back then. And none of these folks are people to whom trust comes easily.

None of this is helped by Mike’s romantic history with intelligence analyst Naomi MacBride. They had chemistry then, and they have chemistry now, but Naomi has a way of rushing in and putting herself in harm’s way that Mike doesn’t trust.

The story is told in the third person, but the perspective moves from one to another as the scene shifts. This worked well in Harbor Island, but it doesn’t here.

One of the many things that go wrong in this story is that Emma gets kidnapped early on. She rescues herself about halfway through, but her kidnapping takes her out of the main action for too long. I missed her point of view.

With Emma out of the way, a lot of the story is told from Naomi MacBride’s perspective. Naomi may be an intelligence analyst, but she is too emotionally involved in what is going on. She makes an unreliable narrator, in that she doesn’t seem to tell herself everything she’s thinking, and none of the other players in this game trust her (or each other) and everyone is investigating everyone else and keeping important secrets.

The story got much better when Emma got herself out of her prison, but then she shipped herself off to England to investigate that part of the trail. I missed her common sense perspective on events. A lot.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emma and Colin are at it again – solving crimes and saving lives – but this time they’re not really doing it together. Emma is supposed to be visiting the sisters at her old convent to get some closure before her wedding. But she gets drawn in to a dangerous situation when Colin’s brother Mike has some ex military contacts visiting. Colin vacillates between rushing in to save the day and keeping his emotions in check and doing a deliberate investigation first.

I miss the banter Emma and Colin had in book 4 of this series (Read the review here), but I did like their display of trust and protectiveness for each other. Just like in book 4, I was a little confused with the numerous characters. They didn’t all come clear to me until the end, and by that time I think I missed something.

I always enjoy a good FBI story, and Keeper’s Reach gets extra points for being set in New England and the Cotswalds. I also loved that Neggers continued the stories of art thief Oliver York and secondary character Father Finian. A possible rekindled romance for Mike and Naomi held my interest, too.

I wish Neggers focused more on action — while maintaining the awesome descriptions of locale that she does so well — instead of describing characters. I get that the ex military pals were supposed to be central, but it’s hard to develop a bunch of new characters for one mystery in one book.

I hope to see more Sharpe & Donovan capers in the future!


http://randombookmuses.com/2015/08/30...


NetGalley provided an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid addition to the Sharpe & Donovan series.
This time the stories of Emma and Colin coincide with those of Colin's brother and his old flame, Naomi. Naomi is in England working. But she took a quick side trip to the Cotswolds where she interacts with Oliver's (big-time thief Colin and Emma were chasing in the first four books) handy man who has been hit on the head. But was it an accident or did someone knock him out? And for what reason?
Nothing spectacular but it is a solid addition to the series that longtime readers will enjoy. I would suggest that new readers start at the beginning. It's nice to see Emma and Colin progress but it does occur at the expense of Naomi and Mike's story.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan book, the two FBI agents are planning their wedding in Maine in a few months. Colin's brother Mike lets them know about an upcoming meeting in Maine of some onetime friends from their time in Afghanistan. The book goes back and forth between Maine and England where art thief Oliver York has a home. An attack at his homestead and a cross stolen from a package sent to Emma leads straight to Maine. Emma is kidnapped and all hands are on deck to get her back.

I like the Donovan series and author Carla Neggers novels but I couldn't feel the suspense in this particular book. I think I needed more action and less dialogue between all the characters. I'll look forward to the next book in this series.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maine sounds extremely cold....all that snow and the ocean. Inside by a warm fireplace with a hot drink sounds nice. Lots of players involved. They're all fascinating with their own storyline to add. Can't wait for the next one. From London to Maine. Adventurous!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the storyline involving Mike Donavan. I hope the author will pursue that again in future installments. I'm hooked on this series - nothing too serious, and just enough Maine and Ireland to keep my wanderlust fueled.

[Harlequin Books]

Categories
Contemporary Romance, Suspense, Crime Thriller, Romantic Suspense
Miniseries
Sharpe & Donovan (Book #6)

[Terry Bourbon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read this author or this series before. It is a little weird to start in the middle, but I bought this one and #6 in the series from the library book sale. I decided it would be a great way to try out the series. I really liked it !

The book takes place in Maine in February. Sharpe and Donovan are FBI agents. Emma Sharpe is from a family of art detectives, her Grandfather started his own firm, and her family has run it for years, her brother is about to take over. She is not involved in the business now, however she had been trained in art provenance and preservation, and has an Art degree. Emma works on a special task force for Art crimes. Colin Donovan is one of four Donovan brothers from Maine. He is an FBI agent that does undercover work. In this novel they are anticipating their upcoming wedding.

The plot is a little convoluted - there is a reunion of sorts of ex soldiers in Maine, Colin's brother Mike Donovan, knows three of the players from his time in the military. The group meets in Maine because the leader, Reed Cooper, wants to recruit Mike, who is something of a loner, now a wilderness guide. Cooper is putting together a private security firm, drawing upon ex military and intelligence people he knew from his time in Afghanistan. Mike has history with Naomi, a former State Department investigator. There is a piece that takes place in England, and the players hop back and forth across the pond. It appears to be two separate plots for most of the novel. They come together in the end, and all the loose ends get tied up. It was a quick read. On to the next one !

[J.C. Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel has a complex and interesting plot. I didn’t figure out the bad guy until the end. This is somewhat unusual for me. A man is hit on the head and left to die in England. Later on, Emma is kidnapped and left in an old barn in Maine. There appears to be no reason for either event, except possible a package mailed from an art thief in England to Emma in Maine. A large group of suspects are considered—FBI agents, the art thief, a group who knew each other in Afghanistan and are meeting in Maine, Americans spotted in England before the first assault…. Everyone seems to be suspecting and watching someone.

Keeper’s Reach is part of a romantic suspense series. I’m not a big fan of romance, but Neggers keeps it as background noise and not the main plot of the story. Also, this novel jumps into the middle of the series, and it might be better to read the previous adventures first. The author does a reasonable job of filling us in about what happened in earlier books. It’s almost a stand-alone novel.

A few too many characters appear or are mentioned. We don’t need to know about some who aren’t part of the story. The main couple, FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan, were on separate tracks, even in separate countries most of the time. They barely saw each other. The secondary couple, Colin’s brother Mike and agent Naomi MacBride, have a love-hate relationship—typical romance novel stuff.

The characters are interesting and the settings detailed. I could feel the cold of Maine in the winter.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hadn't read this series in a looong time. Nice to get back to old friends. Good story. Exciting.

Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan, two of the FBI's most valuable agents, are preparing for their next big assignment—their wedding—when Colin's brother Mike alerts them that onetime friends from his military past are on Sharpe and Donovan home turf on the Maine coast. Now private security contractors, they want to meet with Mike. One of them, an FBI agent named Kavanagh, is supposed to be on leave. What is he investigating—or does he have his own agenda?

Mike zeroes in on Naomi MacBride, a freelance civilian intelligence analyst who, aside from a few hot nights, has never brought him anything but trouble. Newly returned from England, Naomi clearly isn't telling Mike everything about why she's snooping around his hometown, but he has no choice but to work with her if he wants to uncover what's really going on.

But the case soon takes a drastic turn—Emma is targeted, and a connection surfaces between Naomi and Kavanagh and a recently solved international art theft case. Not every connection is a conspiracy, but as the tangled web of secrets unravels, Emma and Colin face their greatest danger yet. With everyone they know involved, they must decide who they can trust… or lose everything for good.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This episode in the Sharpe & Donovan series spends time Colin's older brother Mike as it brings in a woman he loved and his time in Afghanistan. One of his old officers has gone into private security and wants to recruit Mike. He has planned a gathering in Maine to pull a crew together including Mike's old flame Naomi MacBride.

But that isn't all that's going on. Oliver York's man Martin is attacked and left for dead to be discovered by Naomi when she is in the Cotswolds looking into Oliver's presumed career as an international art thief. Also in the Cotswolds are FBI Special Agent Ted Kavanagh and Reed Cooper who have detoured there on their way to Maine.

Colin, and his boss Yank, are suspicious about Kavanagh's presence in Maine and about Cooper's purpose especially it he plans to involve Mike. Then Emma is kidnapped and left to die in an abandoned shed which isn't noticed as soon as it could be because she was supposed to be at a retreat with the Sisters of the Joyful Heart.

This was a nicely twisty episode which gave long-time readers a chance to catch up with characters from earlier books in the series. I liked that the setting included both Maine and England. I like the characters in this series and love watching Colin and Emma build their relationship.

[Emilye · Rating 5 out of 5]

It Don’t Matter To Me...

Sharpe&Donovan5

Love interest 2; Donovans 2.

What does it take to land a Donovan? Not a central quest of the series, but inquiring minds might want to know.

Anywhoo, people are following Oliver and he can tell they are American agents. When he texts Emma, she sets wheels in motion to find out. But there’s a lot of activity and a lot of Americans in his vicinity.

Colin is being courted for another undercover assignment; will it be easier or harder to sink into that skin? We don’t really know at this juncture.

But someone is very interested in the Donovan brothers and none are afraid to let them know it. As a trust exercise, this book has some issues, but the writing will take you there.

[Ida · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a little while to really get into the story probably because I did not start with the first book in the series and holiday disruptions. Once I got into it and was no longer disrupted it was a good read with an interesting storyline. I usually try not to start a series in the middle but it did happen this time. Naomi and Emma were interesting characters and no one suspected who was really the culprit behind all the drama because that person spent so much time making everyone else look like they were the guilty party.

[Mary Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have now read 23 books by Carla Neggers in my life--over several years--and had been looking forward to seeing Mike Donavan get his own story. I was, however, disappointed in this novel because there were so many plot strands involved and little time spent developing Mike's story. The author's writing is good, and her use of dialogue pushes the story along quite well. There just needed to be more development of the major plot strands.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was slighlty disappointed in this one. Couldn't quite understand why other than the fact that there were way too many characters and too many locations with separate stories going on. But when I saw Lena's review of March 15, I realized that she's spot on about how I feel and why I was disappointed. Of course I'll keep reading the series but I would like a lot more of Colin and Emma in the next one.

[Doris Mahala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classic Carla Neggers.
She will surprise you with what she does to one of my favs. characters and the who done it.
The rescue is not a surprise to me.
5 stars and 2 thumbs up.
Sorry to not be able to go into my authors' stories and the reason why is that I have the tendency to give spoilers without trying to.

[Joyrivers]

I loved this story as it was great to finally see Emma and Donovan get married. The mystery that they solve is written well and keeps the reader trying to figure it out with them. I haven't read a book of Carla's that I didn't like and this is another winner. I'm sure that the fans will enjoy it as well.Keep it up Carla.

Another Happy Reader,

Joy

[Terri Borkgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan are busy preparing their spring wedding when their boss and the FBI join them in Ireland and Maine.A team from Afghanistan is trying to solve two murders and Colin's brother Mike was one of the special team. A former team member Naomi returns in Mike's life and he's afraid she might be still hiding secrets

[Alex Paulins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of twists and turns and it really kept you on your toes while reading it. Beginning was slow for character and plot development, but I feel that is normal for a mystery novel. I never felt like I knew who the kidnapper was, and that made the book enjoyable because it kept me guessing.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fifth in the series, unless you count the prequel...

An absurdly endearing cast of characters. Not really a stand-alone novel, but very well written -- and keeps your attention -- just the same.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another outstanding entry in this series. Sadly I have only two more left (until new ones are written!) so have decided to hold off for a bit and catch up on other boods.... Free e-book from the library.

[Jjean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting mix of well developed characters - all had been in the military together at one time.....story is a good mystery along with some romance -Each wondering if they could trust the other.....

[Hayzbaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really need to go back and read the previous novels in this series. I got the gist of the story and enjoyed it, but I didn't really appreciate it because I haven't become invested in the characters over time as the series has evolved.