I like Ms. Quinn’s writing style quite a lot, loved the Lynx series and the Cerberus Tactical K9 team series. This book is the third and, at the moment, last of the Strike Force series. All the Iniquus characters are fascinating and fully fleshed out. That said, this book was disappointing.
Gator Aid has been one of my favorite characters but here, even though he was highlighted, he did not shine. Christen (D-Day) is well developed in the opening chapters. We are thrust into the middle of a dangerous mission where D-Day, as a Night Stalker helicopter pilot, is called upon to do a seriously dangerous low level fly-and-rescue operation in the middle of the day. She accomplishes it but must leave some men – Delta Force – behind and she is antsy to get back to them. These first few chapters are seat-of-your-pants good.
But then the plot turns and heads south. Another plotline involving Gator with Lynx in the background begins to form to ultimately coincide with the D-Day plot. Unfortunately, it’s heavy-handed and obviously contrived. Little things disrupt the flow of the plots. For instance, D-Day is deeply worried about the Deltas who were left behind but she doesn’t ask about another helicopter pilot being sent to retrieve them even while she is sent on another assignment; surely her commanding officer could have updated her since he was shown to have huge respect for her and her piloting skills, as well as her loyalty. The outcome of the stranded Deltas is not broached until well into the book’s second plot.
I had high hopes that D-Day could just simmer in her desire for Gator, but nope, she’s like every other heroine in this trope: hopped up on hormones and ogling Gator’s body. Nothing wrong with this, but wouldn’t it be nice if the passion could just simmer a bit rather than come immediately to a full boil? Oh well, someday someone will create a heroine who can ogle a good looking guy in the back of her mind and with a wink, go on with her duty, and not get her panties in a wad, coming back to him on her terms.
Ms. Quinn is usually in her element interweaving plots, storylines, and subplots, but here it falls flat. This flirting with the Veil, afterlives, and reincarnation is interesting and nearly always depressing…not at all comforting and deliberately so, I’m sure. But sometimes it’s just too much.
Lynx seems to be the only female allowed to have cohesive, thoughtful actions and follow through. She seems to be the only female to garner respect across the board and who is listened to consistently. Case in point: Christen is a tough, seasoned Night Stalker who has demonstrated her ability to shunt emotions to the side yet Gator fully expects her to get into a spitting match with her brother and let loose with some important intel that should be kept secret for the time being. The D-Day character would never do such a thing. D-Day, although present in many scenes, does not seem to be a top player; she is in the background a lot. Even the rescue of her father is a letdown.
There is a plethora of detail throughout the book, many chapters filled with minute – and interesting – details. However, the last chapter is overflowing with resolutions and is overdone. It’s as if we are strolling along in the story then suddenly we’re thrown into a huge dash to some finish line.
There are errors:
“…client hasn’t even let us the job entails….” Unsure what the writer is trying to say here, maybe “…let us KNOW WHAT the job entails…?”
“Lyx was thinking about the guys.” Pretty sure that should be Lynx thinking, not an open source word processor.
“…grabbing at each other ankles.” Probably ought to be “…each other’s ankles.”
“…while she saved life afterlife.” I don’t believe the writer is talking about the afterlife, per se, but from context this should be “…life after life.” I think.
“…my hats off to you.” Unless the man who rescued Gator and D-day was wearing multiple hats, it should be “…my hat’s off to you” as a contraction of “hat is.”
“…they lowered their bodies and ran squat-ran forward.” Too many “ran’s,” I think.
There are many examples of misplaced commas, like this: “I want to layer this conversation with one Christen, and Red picked up in the limo on the way to the airport….” The comma isn’t needed since the discussion is about Christen and Red.
Also: “The blades slowly circle,d losing power….” I think this is a typo.
Not necessarily an error, but a point of confusion: Gator is in the ocean wondering what time it is. Why isn’t he wearing a watch? And if he is, why not a military watch that withstands sea water and is luminescent? Later, he wonders if his watch “was up to the punishment they’d just endured.” He’s an Iniquus employee: they have the best of the best equipment.
This book seems less put together than others by the same writer. There’s a vague dissatisfaction that is not present in most of her other books. Perhaps it was written too quickly and lacks good proofreading or editing? There certainly are more errors that cause the reader to leave the story in order to figure out what the writer is trying to say. Once in a while is no big deal, but when errors keep occurring again and again, they become distracting in the extreme and take away from the enjoyment of the story.
I will still read books by Ms. Quinn because her stories generally flow nicely, are well put together, and are fun to read. In all her books, her characters are very real, not simply chewing up the scenery. It’s unusual for sure, but this book left me just…eh….