The Defiant Hero (Troubleshooters, #2) in J.D. Robb

Feb 11, 2016 Robin rated it really liked it

Shelves: romantic-suspense, kindle, 2022, 2016

Meg Moore is approached by a man in a parking garage. He tells her that her ten-year-old daughter Amy and her elderly Grandmother Eve are being held hostage until Meg complies with their demands. Meg must enter the Kazbekistan Embassy and kill Osman Razeen, a known terrorist. With no other option, Meg enters the Embassy, taking the Ambassador, Razeen, and a third man hostage. When the hostage negotiator contacts her, Meg insists that she will speak with no one except Navy SEAL John Nilsson. Meg ...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Anita rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle-libby-city, audio, romantic-supense

2022 - Loved it just as much listening to the audio version.

I love this book because the plot has so many subplots going on. Kinda like Tom Clancy's style. Meg's daughter and grandmother, Eve, have been kidnapped by terrorists and she needs help. She calls John, a SEAL with whom she has a history, and uses him as an escape route. John figures out he has been used and gives chase. Both Meg and John are complex characters and strong willed. Meg will do whatever it takes to find and save her daught ...more

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Dec 21, 2015 Vera M. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Troubleshooters Series Book #2 - Navy SEALS, Romantic Suspense

You could read this book without having read the previous. Though there are some characters that appear in both books.

Like in book 1 there are three different stories going on in this.
The MCs, Meg and John, story. Extremists kidnap Meg's daughter and grandmother to make her do what they want. John and the other troubleshooters step in to help. John and Meg have a history of friendship and attraction. John is much younger then Meg. W ...more

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Feb 18, 2022 Cindy (BKind2Books) rated it it was ok

Shelves: phair-2022, 2022-urr-book-bingo, clue-character-challenge, 2022-genre-challenge

I'm reading this as part of a group series read - it was not really my first choice of series, but I try to give it a few months as so many of these take a while to get going. The author does seem to have a definite formula with not just a current story, but also a retelling of a past event.

In this case, the current story belongs to Meg, a widow who is a language expert working at a Kazbekistan embassy in Washington, DC. Her 10 year old daughter Amy and grandmother Eve are kidnapped by terroris I'm reading this as part of a group series read - it was not really my first choice of series, but I try to give it a few months as so many of these take a while to get going. The author does seem to have a definite formula with not just a current story, but also a retelling of a past event.

In this case, the current story belongs to Meg, a widow who is a language expert working at a Kazbekistan embassy in Washington, DC. Her 10 year old daughter Amy and grandmother Eve are kidnapped by terrorists who will kill them unless she turns over Osman Razeen, the leader of a rival terrorist group. (Keep in mind that this was originally published in early 2001 - prior to the events of 9/11.). When she gets into a untenable situation, she calls on John Nilsson - a Navy SEAL she met a few years before (when she was unhappily married to a cheating b*stard) when her husband & family were stationed overseas in K-stan. Lt. Nilsson is called up from a training exercise in California to go with his team to DC to work with the FBI on the hostage situation at the embassy. When he finds out it's Meg who has called on him, the rollercoaster starts. Some of it makes sense and other parts stretches the point of believability. Let's just start by saying that with very few exceptions (mostly humanitarian, like disaster relief), the US military does *not* do any active operations within US borders. (My husband is retired military. Look up Posse Comitatus.) However, you might say that the embassy is foreign land...but once they leave the embassy, we are back in the USA. So, no. No to SEAL ops in the US. The action between John and Meg is frustrating and whiplash-inducing. She dumps him and he tracks her down. There are improbable rescues and other things that defy reason. At one point in a dumpy motel, one of the MCs asks the desk clerk to send up a package. I hooted on that one - just a scene or two before the maids are rolling carts outside from room to room. No one is bringing you up anything here, sweetie.

There were two other romances within this. First, there was a secondary story involving Alyssa Locke (former military and now sharpshooter / agent with the FBI) and Sam/Roger Starrett. They were also in the first book and had some sizzle there, too. This time they actually begin to connect and seem to be resolving their conflicts (or is it the JD??) when it takes a screeching halt and ends up worse than it was before. I think that the author is setting up a story arc for them and I hope that it's better than this story. It really has potential.

Finally, there is the romantic story of love set against the back drop of war, this time it's WWII England and Dunkirk. This is Eve's (the grandmother) backstory. It was a sweet interlude, basically told to her granddaughter (and one of the hostage takers) to pass the time and humanize them to their captors. I liked it although it seemed to interrupt the flow of the more intense action.

Overall, this was okay for me, but with a few glaring plot holes and frustrations with the MCs. I will read at least a few more in this series before I totally decide on the series. ...more

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Dec 24, 2013 Nina rated it liked it

Didn't hold my interest as much as the first one nor was it as good. I loved John and all the backstories, but Meg just got on my last nerve. She made this rushed decisions and then screw the consequences, and she was quite annoying too. Those three stars that I gave was basically for the secondary stories which focused on Locke/Sam and Eve/Ralph that were just awesome story points. Still, I'll be reading the next book in the series. ...more

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Dec 18, 2015 Charlene rated it really liked it

Shelves: series-by-author, romantic-suspense, adult-themes, search-ohio, follow-this-series, black-ops-navy-seals, public-library, rated-not-reviewed, crime

A very strong 4 stars, maybe 4.5 stars.

Second in Troubleshooters series; I like this author's writing and characters. Very good book in Romantic Suspense genre. ...more

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