Intimate Danger

by Amy J. Fetzer

All The Secrets Inside

Clancy McRae is mad as hell. Charged with creating technology-enhanced troops, she s discovered her top-secret nano-device has been surgically implanted in four U.S. Marines without her approval. Though it makes them smarter, faster, and stronger than any human on earth, in this untested stage it can also drive them insane -- or kill them. Now she s stolen classified data, risking her career -- and her life -- to go after them.

While recovering from a shoulder wound, Spec Ops leader Mike Gannon learns the rest of his team was dropped into the jungles of Peru to locate a chilling new weapon. Then: nothing, nada. Injured or dead, it s his duty to bring them home and destroy the threat. But when a scrappy red-haired beauty butts into his rescue mission, insisting the government turned his men into lab rats, Mike doesn t believe her -- till she becomes a moving target.

Keeping Clancy with him keeps her safe, yet as the tropical temperatures rise with their passion, Mike and Clancy are ensnared in a labyrinth of ingenious deceptions concealing a peril no one suspects -- and only they can stop. In the dark forgotten Andes, they unearth a deadly plan and an ancient menace that turns a rescue into the crucial fight for their very survival.

And the clock is ticking...

The daughter, wife, and now mother of career U.S. Marines, Amy J. Fetzer has penned over thirty five novels and novellas in historical, historical paranormal, contemporary, and romantic suspense. Amy s work has been nominated twice for Storyteller of the Year in historical and contemporary, and is the winner of the Romantic Times Career Achievement award in romantic adventure, and hit the top spots of the Waldenbooks bestseller lists, as well as winning several genre awards. After twenty-five years of traveling with the Marine Corps, Amy and her family live in South Carolina, enjoying the quiet, retired life and trying to behave like civilians.

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Romance, Suspense, Contemporary, Military Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Action

352 pages, Trade Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Hi there. Thanks for stopping by!

I'll tell you right off that I don't like reading my own bios, let alone writing them. It's like tooting your own horn. But if you're here, then you want to know something about me. So how about I break some ‘writers have a glamorous life' myths first off.

Myth 1: Writers have always been writers.
Not me. I was a licensed cosmotologist for years, and didn't even put pen to paper until I was 30. (with an infant and 3 year old) It took me 3 years to write my first book, and while it taught me a lot, it was dreadful ! Got rejected 6 times flat out. I burned it in the back yard when I sold my 20 th book. I've kept the first pages to remind myself of how far I've come.

Myth 2: writers have a staff to take care of them and their homes while they write.
I wish! I don't have a maid, a cook, or anyone who works for me, except maybe Shelley, who maintains this site. Like most women out there, I do all the cooking, cleaning, bills, shopping, etc. Sometimes I can be seen driving the riding lawnmower over our 2 acres. That's not a complaint. I'm a Marine's wife, and my husband was gone a lot, so I had to do it. I'm the only female in a house of men, so I pretty much rule too. And as the daughter, wife, and now the mother of US Marines, believe me, I can give orders when need be.

Myth 3. Writers work when the muse hits them.
If I did, I'd never meet a deadline. Writing isn't about the muse coming to you; it's about unleashing bottled creativity and giving it freedom on paper. Every writer I know feels a deep internal need to tell their particular story and hope you're entertained. Writers HAVE to write. Yeah, sure, sometimes the creativity isn't moving like we want, but like everyone who faces some problem, I go to my friends and they come through in a punch. By the way, I work at my job from about 7 am till 4, sometimes later if it's going great and I don't want to stop. Weekends are for playing, projects or gardening. I actually love pulling weeds; it makes my mind drift to good places.

Myth 4: Writers get paid oodles of money.
Oodles?? If I did, I'd have a staff and a better-looking office. But I get to go to work in the worlds' sloppiest clothes.

Myth 5: Once a writer sells a book, they can sell anything else.
Want to see my rejection file? I could wallpaper a bathroom with it. To keep selling is the really hard part of this job. However, my idea of a great story isn't often blending with the editors. It's frustrating and often, it hurts, since the books writers create have, without a doubt, a piece of them inside. But then, if you can't take it, then this isn't the business for you.

My second book (#1 being the dreadful one I burned) My Timeswept Heart was a finalist in the Romance Writers of America, Golden Heart contest for unpublished works. I didn't win, but it got my work before my Kensington editor. It came out in '93 and I've sold over 30 since. With numerous rejections in between.

Right now, I'm writing books I've wanted to write for three years, Romantic Thrillers. Think Peacemaker or Chain Reaction with a little more romance in them. Lots of action and danger. After writing books in 5 sub genres of romance, (I get bored easily) this new one is the chance for me to use all this military knowledge I've stored up for years. I've fired weapons, rappelled, ridden in an Armored Personnel Carrier, and did some Scuba diving in the East China Sea. It hasn't been boring, and because I write, it never will be.

Now that my Sergeant Major husband is retired, and my sons are grown and towering over their mother, we get to stay in one place.

How average. I love it. When I feel the itch to move every 3 years, I just redecorate.

Well, its time for me to get back to work. Thanks for visiting. Take a look around the site, drop me a note, even read the first chapter of a new novel, if you like. It's out there for you, the reader. I wouldn't be loving my job if you weren't

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The relationship between Clancy and Mike was terrific. The dialog was great, the action terrific. I loved the fact that their relationship took time to grow. They didn't fall into lust right away, they grew to trust each other, then attracted and finally in love. It was actually believable.

What I didn't like is there were so many other story lines going on at the same time. The entire storyline with Salache & Marianna could have been left out. Also, the one with Antone Choufani could have been left out completely. I would almost like to re-read this book and just skip those parts. I bet it would be a much better book. After I finished the book, I kept thinking about Clancy and Mike and what would happen next. I never thought about Marianna or Antone. Besides all the extra story lines, the other think that made this book confusing is sometimes the author would call a character by their first name (Antone) and other times by their last name (Chaufani) without ever referring to their other name. I was constantly flipping back and forth thinking, "Who is she talking about now?"

I really liked the book for the relationship. Just wish it had been edited -- big time.

[Kathrynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Modern day lab tech person invents biological device to enhance soldiers. Gov't takes over and experiments on 4 Marines without their knowledge. She sneaks off to another country (Cuba I think)--alone--thinking to "save them." She gets caught up in drug war, meets marine looking for his guys, etc. This book was stupid. The characters were so annoyingly unrealistic and they never improved. It was like watching a B movie.

Big thumbs down from This Reader.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's always a lot going on in Fetzer's books. In this case there was too much. Too much time in the beginning of the story when the hero and heroine weren't together, too many point of view characters, and too many scene jumps that keep the reader from getting engaged in the main story.

I wanted to become invested in Clancy and Mike's story, but every time I did, the point of view shifted. Now, this isn't my favorite technique to begin with, but it's even more difficult when the POVs don't really add much. In this case, some of them did, but others didn't. The story would have been better served by focusing more time on the main couple.

Speaking of which, I like Mike and Clancy, but they fell in love very quickly. That's typical for Fetzer's stories, but the jump from stranger to in love was a bit too abrupt. A higher page count for their part of the story would have helped with this.

Fetzer is a good writer, and I'm still looking forward to her next book. But this one definitely wasn't my favorite.

[Joe Snodgrass · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book would be a fun light read. I underestimated the complexity that would quickly develop - should have kept a cheat sheet for the characters (lots) and plot lines. A thriller with some sexy content, with a light sprinkling of science fiction and political intrigue. Some pretty exciting scenes, and suspenseful writing. Some highly imaginative situations, and witty dialog at times. Didn't make me want to seek out other titles by same author, but I did finish the book.

I found this book when I went looking for historical fiction set in Peru. I was going on an Amazon cruise so was seeking a book that would connect to the natural history and people of the area. I found that in another book called "The Mapmakers Wife" by Robert Whitaker.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Robin Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a bit to get into this book, though I was hooked on Mike within a few pages. Clancy wasn't introduced until page 9, and she took a little longer to appeal to me. Until they actually met, I was more interested in Mike's parts of the story than hers.

While I love military heroes in romance novels, I think I prefer reading about them stateside. Crashing around in the jungles of some foreign country just doesn't really do it for me. With a plot like this, I tend to get a little lost in all the military and scientific talk. And there's a lot of it. And it gets pretty detailed - I certainly felt like the author knew what she was talking about even when I didn't.

Once Clancy and Mike finally met and began to interact with each other, I loved the banter between them. And I liked that while Clancy is a military girl herself, having served in Desert Storm, she's not just all tough and fearless. While struggling to keep up with Mike in the jungle, she often whines about how tired she is, and in one scene where their lives were in danger she whimpers with fear. Mike is the definition of the macho Alpha hero, but then he'll pull her close and is tender and encouraging. Of course attraction flares up, and eventually they share a kiss. And then another one here and there.

There was a subplot about an archeological dig that, while it was tied into the overall plot, still seemed irrelevant and extraneous. I felt those sections could have been removed and it wouldn't have made a difference.

I'd not read anything by this author before, so I don't know if all of her books are in this type of setting or not. But she did a great job with the two main characters, and based on that I do want to read more by her. And a quick search of my TBR pile has revealed that I have one of her other books - TELL IT TO THE MARINES, which I bought at Half Price Books about a year ago because it just sorta jumped off the sale shelf at me. If the hero is anything like Mike, then I'm sure I'll enjoy it!

[Shannon C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stars: high action romantic suspense

A computer expert, Clancy McRae works for the US Government on a highly classified nano technology project. Lab testing is being done in primates. To her shock and disgust, her boss and a co-worker go behind her back to give human soldiers the implants--even though she has told them the implants are not ready for human use. She tracks the location of the soldiers on their latest mission, and heads there to try to save them. Meanwhile, Mike Gannon is sent on a mission to find his team. Sparks fly when they cross paths. Drug cartels, corrupt police, covert operatives, high ranking military--they all play into the high octane plot that's full of twists and turns.

Overall this was an entertaining mix of action, mystery, suspense and romance. I liked the main characters. Mike is your typical tough alpha male special ops character. Clancy was a smart, fiesty character--I liked that she wasn't one of those wimpering 'save me, save me' type girls. Also there's a surprise revealed about her family that was pretty cool. I liked the romance between Clancy and Mike, but I would have liked a bit more focus on the romantic relationship.

Where I knock back a point is that the story became kind of hard to follow at some points. Also it was unrealistic that Clancy would go into a third world country on her own against drug cartels and terroists and succeed. I thought it was suspect that Mike would do the same, but at least in his case he had been there before and had local contacts. But all in all, it was a fast paced, entertaining read.

If you enjoy romantic suspense, you'll probably enjoy this book. If you are looking for more books like this, here are some other romantic suspense/mysteries I enjoyed:
I Team by Pamela Clare
Kiss and Tell by Cherry Adair
Steele Street series by Tara Janzen
Troubleshooters by Suzanne Brockman
In Death by JD Robb
No Regrets by Shannon Butcher

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Proud of her progress, research scientist Clancy McRae has worked hard on her nanotechnology project to enhance animal capabilities. However, she is outraged to learn that the military took her advancements and placed them inside four marines. That alone would be unethical, but so far her experiments on animals have resulted in a 100 percent identical effect of each test case going insanely berserk regardless of species. She fears these soldiers will follow suit and desperately wants to help them before they become so dangerous they must die so Clancy steals classified documents to begin her quest. [br/][br/]Marines Spec Ops leader Mike Gannon finds out that while he healed from an injury on their last assignment, his squad worked a dangerous mission in the Peruvian jungle. They failed to return so Mike plans to go bring them home dead or alive as no marine is ever left behind. However before he goes too far Clancy informs him that their government has turned his men into guinea pigs. He assumes she is a nut because his country would never commit such an atrocity especially on patriots like his team. He soon changes his mind when someone tries to kill her. He must keep Clancy safe because she is the only hope for his men, but nether knows what awaits them in the Andes. It will prove far more dangerous than unethical federal agents. [br/][br/]Amy Fetzer writes the kind of romantic suspense that makes readers yearn for more of those sexy Marines. Lots of adventure and action, sexy as all get out, and the alpha male makes you melt with hunger for your very own Marine.

[AliciaJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clancy and Mike are down in Central America trying to save his team who have been secretly implanted with some kind of neuro-implant that is supposed to increase their strength and intelligence, but may end up killing them. It's a wild ride with people shooting at them, drug cartel guys trying to kill them, government guys trying to kill them, etc. It was fast, confusing, and fun. But I definitely needed to take a nap after I finished this story cuz I was exhausted.

[ツ Renée · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an awesome read. I latched on to the action, the suspense, and the danger like an adrenaline junkie.

Clancy and Mike were both strong, intelligent characters. I enjoyed her feistiness and his determination. Their connection was deep – their romance steamy. I had a lot of fun with this one.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite Fetzer novel, but it was a light/fluffy/trashy read. There seem to be a lot of inconsistencies in the book and it was hard to follow the storyline - there were almost too many characters. I would have liked to have delved deeper into the characters too.

[Karen Desmond · Rating 2 out of 5]

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