Review - Extreme Danger

 

Title: Extreme Danger
Author: Shannon McKenna
Publishing Date: February 2008
Genre: Romantic Suspense (Erotic)
Rating: B
Sensuality: Burning

Becca Cattrell recently discovered, in a very public way, that her fiancé was cheating on her. She works at a posh country club as an event planner. Her boss suggests that she spend the weekend relaxing and loans Becca the use of her boyfriend’s cabin. A depressed, downtrodden Becca accepts the invitation. Later that evening, after imbibing too much wine, she decided to take a swim (naked) in the neighbor’s pool. She gets a scary surprise when Nick Ward discovers her in the pool and thinks she is a femme fatale sent to kill him. Nick, a former FBI agent, has gone undercover to flush out Zhoglo, a Russian mafia boss. They both end up in “Extreme Danger”.

McKenna’s best talent lies with her ability to write fantastic conversation. The reader is able to get a true sense of the characters’ personalities through the dialog. Nick and Becca had fun conversations where I found myself laughing out loud; and yet they also had touching, tender moments too. This is true of Nick, especially, who was so desperate for something joyful or happy to grasp onto in his life. When Becca comes along, he can’t help but be drawn to her. The pages practically sizzled with the force of Nick’s desire for Becca. I liked that they kept constantly challenging each other and there was never a dull moment. It was really great to watch both of these characters evolve over the course of the story. Please note that McKenna uses crude language during the sex scenes. Usually, it was through the man’s point of view. This may bother some people. I did feel though, that it was in context of the person using the language, mainly Nick. He does, after all, refer to himself as basically a “caveman”.

Throughout most of this book, I was hanging on the edge of my seat. The suspense part of the story was very detailed and gruesome. While I appreciated the depth of the suspense, I could have done without the passages involving the children. That was really hard to read. Also, I personally do not like being privy to the villain’s point of view. I most definitely do not need to know what turns him on sexually. For those readers who may be turned off by that…beware.