A War Hero Returns

by Johnny Ray

While Suzan Mercer’s father promised in his dying words the land he left her would bring her love, she never anticipated the events involved in the process. Now, could she balance her new love life with her hidden CIA commitment? Could she? After serving eight years in the army, Suzan Mercer returns from Afghanistan to Florida as a female war hero–her works as a CIA operative, of course, would always be hidden. She couldn’t believe her mother had used a power of attorney while she was gone to sell the land her father had left her. After learning her mother also has early onset Alzheimer's and claims to have been taken advantage of by Matt Harris, the billionaire developer involved, Suzan uses her military and CIA training to plot her revenge and to reacquire her land. Entering a world where high heels replace combat boots and deep red lipstick becomes more deadly than a colt 45, Suzan never anticipated the cost to reacquire her land would be losing her heart. Matt also learns his money and power cannot acquire the one asset he has always lacked in his life as he ventures into untested skies without a golden parachute to save him. Also, would the ghost of his playboy image come back to haunt him?

Genres: Contemporary Romance

674 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 2013

About the author

Johnny has a passion, a thirst, for life and adventure that he loves to share with his readers.

Please consider joining SIR JOHN'S ARMY, his fan club, by signing up for his newsletter http://eepurl.com/Ltkfv

Johnny Ray's blog http://www.sirjohn.us
and amazon site http://www.amazon.com/Johnny-Ray/e/B0...

He has owned and operated several real estate companies, several insurance companies and a stock brokerage company.

He is a graduate of Auburn University with post graduate work at the Birmingham School of Law, The University of Alabama, The University of Tennessee, UCLA, New York University, Wil-Var Institute and The American College. He has received the following certifications: Certified International Property Specialist, Certified Residential Specialist, Certified Managerial Accountant, Certified Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant.
He lives in St Petersburg, Florida where he works full time as a writer. He belongs to the Florida Writer Association, the Romantic Writers of America, the Mystery Writers Association, and can be found attending various national conventions as well as supporting several local writing groups. His novel THE SALSA CONNECTION won the Royal Palm Literary award for best thriller.

Reviews

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5/5.0

The best part about this book was the beginning premise.

Full review in May issue of InD'tale Magazine http://www.indtale.com/reviews/war-he...

[Lynelle Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suzan Mercer, A war Hero just returned from Afghanistan when she discovered her inheritance was sold too Matt Harris, well known Developer and International playboy.
From the onset of the book sparks flew between the two head strong people. Their lives intertwined as she head up a case against him to get her property back. A mother who was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer proofed to be difficult making allegations against Matt that gave Suzan the proof of fowl play. But as the story unfolds she discovered another side of this man and soon realized that she fell in love.
Matt and his team went out of their way to proof they were legit in their dealings offering Suzan the world at her feet.
A beautiful love story if not for Suzan's constant need of assurance and questioning Matt's attentions. As a trained observer it astounded me that this CIA operative jumped so easily to conclusions. Conclusions that led to more heart ache as Matt proofed to her his heart's intent and willingness to work with her.
This story was two fold as they finally came together admitting their love and she agreed to marry him. But then two months later we found our self in the same situation.
This time Chelsea a well known socialite discovered she was pregnant and accused Matt being the father and refuse any DNA tests to be done. Hiding from him but showed her protruding body to every camera man more than willing to take pictures of the expectant mother. Making every effort in ruining Matt's reputation as man and Business man.
Our war hero was at it again, running as she believes once again the deception. Again Matt had to convince her of his innocence. Her running ultimately leads her to work as an undercover agent for the CIA and they forced her back To Matt. Ending up in India to find a warlord. Here we see some action and learned some secrets of Matt.
The plot was good but I missed elements of depths in the characters at times. A few mistakes in wording did not demeanor the story line. In the beginning of the novel I really struggled to connect with the characters. The love scenes in the beginning needed some passion, leaving me with a question mark. But as the book progressed I could connect with them and passion became part of the love scenes, making it more realistic.
The characters became more defined at the end as the suspense mounted and coming to a swift close.
A enjoyable read and book I can recommend.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an action filled suspenseful romance. The author has once again developed a strong female for the main character. Suzan Mercer’s promised her his land on his dying bed. However, while she was deployed to Afghanistan, her mother, using the power of attorney, sold it to Matt Harris a billionaire developer and well known playboy. Though they are immediately attracted to each other, Suzan is determined to get her land back from Matt. Thus, the story of their love and her determination to get back her inheritance unfolds. Suzan has a history of working for the Army as well as working as a CIA operative and gets involved in some company operations as a subplot of this story. Will she get her land back or will she give in to Matt’s and her own feelings? How will the CIA operations play out in her life, the life of Matt and the lives of these two characters together? This is a well written, interesting story. As I read it, I became more and more involved in the storyline, hurrying to move on to the next pages and chapter. I have read another of the author’s books and found this one to be as well written and with another good strong female lead. As a retired Army officer, I found Suzan’s training and bearing well done. It is definitely refreshing to find a female lead character in a book today who is like Suzan. All I can say to the author is to keep coming with the good books. I received this book free on-line to read and review.

[Shaha · Rating 2 out of 5]

The way everything was explained in the story was nice, but I felt it was a bit rushed, especially when it came to Suzan and Matt. The writing style is nice and I did enjoy the details of everything, the war background and the real estate knowledge. The ending was definitely so rushed because I felt like there were few pages left and I thought it had a sequel and I was disappointed in the rushed ending. But other than that, it was a fun adventure with Suzan, Chelsea and Matt.


SYN: Suzan Mercer returns from war as a hero only to find that her father's land was sold to a rich tycoon and find her mother in a state of despair. Suzan must do everything in her power to get her land back but maybe her father was right, maybe the land was meant to bring her love. Exciting missions, pregnancies and running from the press are just few of the fun things this book brings.

Fav Character: Suzan, kind of. She is independent and kick ass, but I was a bit disappointed at how her character changed completely by the middle of the book.

Verdict: A bit of dullness, but mostly excitement. If you really like war books, then this is a good book for you.

[Gigi Frost · Rating 4 out of 5]

In A War Hero Returns, the main character, Suzan Mercer returns after eight years of serving in Afghanistan as a CIA operative. She is shocked to discover that all the land bequeathed to her upon her father's death has been stolen by her mother, who has an onset of Alzheimer's, and sold off to a developer.

She finds herself being propelled to fight against the man whom she believes to have tricked her mother into selling her property. As she continues convincing herself of the abuse of power that one man, Matt Harris, had exercised over her sick mother, she realizes just how far gone her mother's condition has become.

As the story progresses, things seem to take on a life of their own. The more that Suzan uncovers, the deeper the secrets go. Nothing is entirely as it seems.

Johnny Ray's persuasive storytelling has an underlying sense of gusto. There is a sense of cloak-and-dagger with a twist of exploits around the world.

Read the entire review here:
Bookend Chronicles

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suzan Mercer is A War Hero Returns after two tours of duty as a military cop and a secret agent for the CIA in the Middle East. She comes home to find that her mom has sold the land her father left her on his deathbed to Matt Harris, a CEO of an international development company.

The actions starts on the first page, when Suzan confronts Matt about her land her mother sold while she was fighting for her country, at his private complex in Florida by reducing his security team to little boys. She finds her mom in the first stages of Alzheimer's Disease and starts a lawsuit to get her land back. A romance develops between Suzan and Matt, she secretly goes back to work for the CIA while Matt deals with a problem with his ex-girlfriend, terrorists and international business dealings.

A War Hero Returns offers a great military hero, romance, suspense, conflict, a hot male hero with a beautiful ex-soldier, an international jet setting story and tastefully written hot sex scenes; so what more could you ask for in a great story?

[Fran Bott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Mercer returns from Afghanistan, a war hero, but it has little meaning when she finds out the land her father left her has been sold and her mother is ill. But she will fight to get her land back. Little does she know how much this fight will change her life.

A War Hero Returns by Johnny Ray is a story of a female war hero returning from the war in Afghanistan to her life turned upside down. There is action, suspense, romance and a few surprises in the book. While it is listed as a romance novel, I think it would also fit in the action category.
Writing is well done, and it was easy to keep up with all the goings on. Some of the romance scenes I did not care for. If they had been a bit more tastefully written I would have liked the scenes better. Over all though, I did enjoy the story.

I did recieve a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished reading A War Hero Returns -- An International Romantic Thriller by Johnny Ray. If you are looking for a book with romance, suspense, and action this one is full of all three! Suzan, a war hero, who also works for the CIA returns home to find her home has been sold to Matt, who is a well known developer. Lots of twists and turns as they travel from Florida, New York, India, Italy and back to the USA. This story has a mixture of love, sex, spies, money, travel and action to make it quite interesting.


I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, rather it be good or bad.

[booksthrubifocals · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amateur effort, beginning to end.

Very poorly edited with adjectives used in place of adverbs, incorrect usage and spelling of numerous words. Narrative is roughly integrated, conversation stilted and repetitive, both a distraction. The author seems to have poorly conceived concepts of the CIA and roles/expectations of agents probably due to inadequate research. I did bond with the protagonists enough to finish the book, but it was pretty much a waste of time. Sorry, but I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone without major editorial revamping. I'm glad I didn't pay to read it

[Cindy Holdmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Suzan returns from 8 years in Afghanistan (along with being an operative in the CIA) she discovers that her beloved Florida property, bequeathed to her by her deceased father, has been sold to a high end developer. As any woman would do, she confronts the man that "took" her land. Here we go, on a wild ride of intercontinental travel, mystique, romance, revenge.............it's all in there. Normally not a fan of these types of books, I completely enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. I do believe there is room for a sequel here

[Vinia Sumaylo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel with interesting characters plus a great plot.

I choose the rating because the storyline took me on a journey of these two characters, Matt and Suzanne. I enjoyed reading about several topics like real estate and life of a woman in the military.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Good

the way women to day play an important roll in the national security of our country.the relationships are part of this book.