A Man to Die For

Undercover Cops #2

by Suzanne Brockmann

Romance

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Adult, Harlequin

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 25, 1995

About the author

After childhood plans to become the captain of a starship didn’t pan out, Suzanne Brockmann took her fascination with military history, her respect for the men and women who serve, her reverence for diversity, and her love of storytelling, and explored brave new worlds as a bestselling romance author.

Over the past thirty years she has written sixty-three novels, including her award-winning Troubleshooters series about Navy SEAL heroes and the women—and sometimes men—who win their hearts. Her personal favorite is the one where her most popular character, gay FBI agent Jules Cassidy, wins his happily-ever-after and marries the man of his dreams. Called All Through the Night, this mainstream romance novel with a hero and a hero hit the New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list. In 2007, Suz donated all of her earnings from this book, in perpetuity, to MassEquality, to help win and preserve equal marriage rights in Massachusetts.

In addition to writing books, Suz writes and produces indie movies and TV including the award-winning romantic comedy The Perfect Wedding. Her recent feature, Out of Body, is streaming on Amazon Prime.

In 2018, Suz was given the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award from the Romance Writers of America. Her latest projects are Blame It on Rio (Tall, Dark & Dangerous # 14), available in print and e-book from Suzanne Brockmann Books, and Marriage of Inconvenience, a six-episode LBGTQ rom-com TV series, streaming on Dekkoo in April 2023.

Reviews

[Buggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opening Line: “It was a quarter past midnight before Carrie Brooks turned off the computer in the Sea Circus office, twenty past before she turned off the lights.”

I liked this one very much and at the end decided to rate it 5 stars, however now a few days later as I sit down to write my review I find that I can’t remember a thing about it. So I guess you could say this is a good, quick romantic suspense but also completely forgettable.

It is Brockmann though so the writing is fantastic- she always adds these little details to her characters that make them more relatable and I ended up falling pretty hard for Felipe. He’s a great hero all sexy mysterious, bad boy on one side and sweet, noble protector on the other. The accent didn’t hurt either.

As others have mentioned the heroine is kind of annoying, that girl needed to make up her mind about trusting her man because gah, the back and forth. I did find her job at SeaWorld fun and different though especially since she’s from Montana. There are some good secondary characters here too, Felipe’s recovering addict brother and their evolving relationship and history is well done and the bad guys or who is the bad guy kept me guessing.

One of my favorite themes within this story is “Te Amo” Felipe says it to Carrie in the throes of early passion and then spends the rest of the book afraid that she’ll find out what it means.

“She pushed his hair back from his face in a gentle, loving caress. It warmed him, and he smiled back at her, whispering words of endearment in Spanish—words he wouldn’t have dared say to her in a language she could understand.” “Te amo. Te adoro.”

Carrie Brook is heading home after a long day with the whales at Sea Circus when she stumbles upon a gang of “bad guys” Events quickly escalate until Carlos; the leader locks Carrie in the trunk of her car rather than letting the gang do “unsavoury” things to her. For some reason Carrie can’t stop thinking about him, her criminal saviour with the kind eyes and aura of danger, a man of contradictions. Months later Carrie spots Carlos (now Raoul) at an upscale Miami restaurant and confronts him, bad idea Carrie.

Felipe Salazar is deep undercover in an organized crime syndicate, one slip and Laurence Richter takes him out, and that’s just what Carrie’s little show ensures. Grabbing the girl they make a run for it, but not before Felipe takes a bullet to the leg. When the news breaks a story about an undercover cop going bad –framing him for murder, Fil knows that he’s as good as dead. He can’t let Carrie go now either because they’ll kill her too, the only way he can guarantee her safety is to essentially kidnap her and try to explain along the way. The problem is he’s been in disguise, living someone else’s life for so long now he’s not really sure who he is anymore.

Yup with well-rounded characters and a credible plot, as with all Brockmann’s stories (even these older Harlequins) you can’t go wrong. Cheers 308jb4.5

[Saly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just okay, I liked the hero Felipe who was really good, sweet and loving but I couldn't like Caroline, I get it that she had doubts after being pseudo-kidnapped, going on the run with a man who put her in a trunk six months earlier and now claims to be a undercover-cop being framed, but she was just weird, one moment she is all over him, wanting him to love her, telling him she loves him and then the next doubting him all over.

Felipe has had a thing for Caroline since he had to improvise to save her on a undercover mission, when she blows his cover, he has to run taking her with him. He quickly falls for her, has been on the brink of that for a long while and knows that trust in such a situation is hard to come by. Both of them are 25 years of age but Felipe is much older when it comes to life experiences, his parents came to the US for a better life, he lied for his once addict brother, growing up too quickly.

The book didn't just gel for me I guess. I need the heroine to be good in a book but sadly this one just annoyed me.

[Bona Caballero]

Soy muy fan de las novelitas genéricas de Brockmann, y aunque esta no está mal, la dejo al 32 %. Justo ahora no estoy en el momento adecuado para este tipo de historias. La cosa va de dos veinteañeros, creo que 25 años los dos. Caroline «Carrie» Brooks tiene una mala experiencia en el trabajo, en que unos malotes acaban encerrándola en el maletero del coche. A los pocos meses, se encuentra con uno de aquellos delincuentes en un restaurante, y decidida va donde él a cantarle las cuarenta... La cosa acaba con los dos huyendo para salvar la vida. Y es que él es Felipe Salazar, policía infiltrado, y Carrie inadvertidamente hace que su tapadera vuele por los aires. Ya volveré a esta novela más adelante, porque poco a poco tengo intención de leerme todas las novelas de Brockmann, una de mis escritoras favoritas.

[Jayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felipe/Phil's Story. Should be read after Not Without Risk.. Felipe is deep undercover until he re-encounters Carrie who, the last time he saw her, Felipe had put her in the truck of her car. As he's undercover as a mafia right hand man, things quickly go south, putting Felipe & Carrie on the run from both the expected bad guys and it turns out, good guys gone bad in the Police Force.
Felipe has to rely on his wits and his Ex-Con Big Brother Rafe to get him out of this mess alive. This story is a mostly about trust, particularly when you've been hurt or betrayed by someone in the past. Given that this is a re-release from 1995, it holds up fairly well except for the technology side of things. Plenty of pay-phones and no internet means it may not read well for younger readers.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot to review this right after I read it. So I’m short on details, except to recall that I liked it. The main characters were interesting, the suspense well done, and though it was written some time ago, it holds up. Suzanne is one of my very favorite authors.

[Becca Bard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dated, with an annoying heroine.

[Jean Cable · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun

[Alice Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

As usual, Suzanne Brockman weaves a wonderful novel. Characters are strong and independent. Able to withstand all obstacles. Great read

[Robin Stacey Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

[Cheryl Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read. Nice to have a hero who's not a raging macho guy for a change. Fun romp with a good puzzle to solve.

[DeAnna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very obviously an early Brockmann novel and it was not good. She definitely improved as an author over the years!

[Kim K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suzanne does a great job of letting you get to really know the characters. Love and drama she excells at

[Btrflies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it, didn’t love it. Problem I had was how much it kept going in circles with the “trust” issues. She trusts him, she doesn’t, she trusts him, she doesn’t. Kept going on and on and got old. But liked how quickly the action started.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Brockmann - this was a mediocre and somewhat dated book that was marred by a mediocre narration by Blair Windsor. Since I was simultaneously being forced to listen to The Hunger Games, truthfully I can't remember exactly what it was I didn't like about Windsor's reading - not enough differentiation between character voices; and considering the hero is Hispanic and says several Spanish phrases, surely a narrator who can reasonably pronounce Spanish would have been a better choice. She wasn't as bad as The Hunger Games, though. The plot conceit - undercover cop takes heroine hostage trying to protect her even though she doesn't believe he's the good guy but there's Chemistry - wears thin pretty quickly, and frankly I had a hard time figuring out when they managed to fall in love unless Stockholm syndrome can be attributed. Or the Soul Mate theory (where everyone has one and they were each others) which really only works well in fantasy for me.

But it kept my ears from hearing the middle part of The Hunger Games, which is a good thing and better than sticking my fingers in my ears and singing lalalalalalalal to make it go away.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reissue as NOWHERE TO RUN

A MAN TO DIE FOR

This one is a good 5-stars. Sexy romance and great suspense plot. Felipe is undercover when he first meets Carrie late at night in the parking lot. To protect her he stuffs her in the trunk of her car. She was not a happy camper, even thought Felipe went out of his way to be kind. Six months later she spots him in a fancy restaurant and promptly blows his cover in front of two very dangerous people. Felipe grabs her and runs. She freaks and is not trusting even when he tells her he is an undercover cop. It doesn't help that Felipe is being set up for a double homicide by a mole in the station. It doesn't even take 24 hours before these two can't keep their hands off each other. Very sexy. I love the love on the run plot.

[Penelope ✘ that awkward girl that doesn't go here ✘ · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a woman, I can't help but be incredulous about the way that female authors choose to depict their own kind as weak characters. This book reminded me of my incredible dislike of these authorial tendencies. Honestly, Felipe Salazar was the only good thing about this book. Carrie and her so-called "scientific" mind was such a huge failure that I had almost wished that Tommy Walsh had shot her.

[Rita · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have lost my taste for suspense novels. This book spends the entire story with the characters on the run and the heroine not sure if she should trust the hero until almost the last page. So I got one page of happy after an entire stressful book. I love her other books but this one doesn’t work for me.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow I had missed reading this one before. Fast read. Working undercover a policeman investigating an organization that has manipulated illegal immigrants into an essential slave trade. Unfortunately for him, one member of the group is also a cop, and survival not to mention breaking the case looks unlikely.
Free e-book from the library.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this just 3 stars because I detested the heroine. Just hated her. The writing is fabulous but to me she was a completely unlikable character. I'm glad this was not the first Brockmann I've ever read. She's probably my favorite author. I never want to look at this one again.

[Ning · Rating 3 out of 5]

เล่มนี้บู๊เยอะดีค่ะ ลุ้น ๆ ดีอยู่เหมือนกัน
แต่ในส่วนของความน่ารักโรแมนติคนี่ เศร้าใจมาก

พระเอกเป็นคนน่ารักมาก หน้าตาดี จิตใจดี เก่ง เลิศ
แต่นางเอกนี่ดิ ไม่เข้าใจชีเลยจริงๆ
อ่านจนจบ ก็ยังไม่เข้าว่าพระเอกไปเห็นอะไรดีในตัวนางเอก
เพราะเธอน่าเบื่อและงี่เง่ามาก
เสียของมากมาย ไม่น่าเลย เซ็ง..

[c]

(blank)

[Sarah Camm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not her best work not bad but not great

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read 9/21/02 after reading Not Without Risk. Fillipe is one of my favorite Suz heroes.

[Teri Heyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suzanne Brockmann's books are always good reads.

[Mitzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good story.