Mavericky!
The place: Bayfield, Wisconsin
The plot: Coast Guard something-something* Tracie's partner, Trevor, was murdered six weeks ago. She has a new partner, an undercover FBI agent named Heath, who is tasked with investigating the diamond-smuggling ring Trevor was involved in.
In medias res: Heath and Tracie walk up to the door of Trevor's house. Someone tries to blow their heads off with an assault rifle. Did I mention this book is a Love Inspired Suspense? Yeah.
Here's the first point of hilarity: Heath shields Tracie from the bullets with his body. Later, the paramedics pull the steel plate out of his body armor and hold it up to be like, Yo Riggs, you just almost died. Take it easy. But he's all, no, I am he-man, put me back in, Coach!
Yeah, you heard me. STEEL PLATE. And no, this book is not supposed to take place during the First Crusade. According to my friendly neighborhood source for all things Coast Guard- and nuclear submarine-related, Suzy, the Coast Guard is really not so much with the body armor. Not even when her dad was "raid[ing] pirate/drug dealer ships down in the Caribbean." Suzy's dad is awesome.
Second, Tracie's murdered partner and his diamond smuggling? This is what Heath expositions to his boss:
"Or pretty stupid," Jonas noted. "Remember, we are working with crooks here."
"Crooks who successfully imported synthetic diamonds and passed them off as the real thing for a decade," Heath reminded his boss."
You guys? That's not smuggling. That's fraud.
My first clue should have been on the CE submission form, where there is a line asking, "Can the author be relied upon for factual accuracy?" And the editor has checked "No." SWELL!
*Author hasn't bothered to give her a rank yet.
ETA: I can't believe I left out point the third. Heath's job is to find out if Tracie is involved in the aforementioned diamond smuggling fraud. His boss:
"Good. If you're going to crack this case, you'll need to crack her first. But I don't think that will be too difficult for you."
Heath hesitated. "Could you clarify that statement?"
The insinuation in Jonas's voice carried clearly over the phone. "She's a young woman working a lonely job. You're an attractive man." He cleared his throat. "Don't worry about fallout. You do what you have to do. We'll clean up afterward."
Heath's throat tightened as he realized what his boss was openly hinting at. He'd always enjoyed working for Jonas Goodman, who had a reputation as a maverick, and whose unorthodox tactics never failed to make his job more interesting. But a sick pit churned in his stomach as he realized how much more complicated his job description now was. He'd killed before. In his line of work, it was a given. But he'd never broken a woman's heart.
The plot: It curdles!
The plot: Coast Guard something-something* Tracie's partner, Trevor, was murdered six weeks ago. She has a new partner, an undercover FBI agent named Heath, who is tasked with investigating the diamond-smuggling ring Trevor was involved in.
In medias res: Heath and Tracie walk up to the door of Trevor's house. Someone tries to blow their heads off with an assault rifle. Did I mention this book is a Love Inspired Suspense? Yeah.
Here's the first point of hilarity: Heath shields Tracie from the bullets with his body. Later, the paramedics pull the steel plate out of his body armor and hold it up to be like, Yo Riggs, you just almost died. Take it easy. But he's all, no, I am he-man, put me back in, Coach!
Yeah, you heard me. STEEL PLATE. And no, this book is not supposed to take place during the First Crusade. According to my friendly neighborhood source for all things Coast Guard- and nuclear submarine-related, Suzy, the Coast Guard is really not so much with the body armor. Not even when her dad was "raid[ing] pirate/drug dealer ships down in the Caribbean." Suzy's dad is awesome.
Second, Tracie's murdered partner and his diamond smuggling? This is what Heath expositions to his boss:
"Or pretty stupid," Jonas noted. "Remember, we are working with crooks here."
"Crooks who successfully imported synthetic diamonds and passed them off as the real thing for a decade," Heath reminded his boss."
You guys? That's not smuggling. That's fraud.
My first clue should have been on the CE submission form, where there is a line asking, "Can the author be relied upon for factual accuracy?" And the editor has checked "No." SWELL!
*Author hasn't bothered to give her a rank yet.
ETA: I can't believe I left out point the third. Heath's job is to find out if Tracie is involved in the aforementioned diamond smuggling fraud. His boss:
"Good. If you're going to crack this case, you'll need to crack her first. But I don't think that will be too difficult for you."
Heath hesitated. "Could you clarify that statement?"
The insinuation in Jonas's voice carried clearly over the phone. "She's a young woman working a lonely job. You're an attractive man." He cleared his throat. "Don't worry about fallout. You do what you have to do. We'll clean up afterward."
Heath's throat tightened as he realized what his boss was openly hinting at. He'd always enjoyed working for Jonas Goodman, who had a reputation as a maverick, and whose unorthodox tactics never failed to make his job more interesting. But a sick pit churned in his stomach as he realized how much more complicated his job description now was. He'd killed before. In his line of work, it was a given. But he'd never broken a woman's heart.
The plot: It curdles!