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Cleo North #1
The First Mistake
Ten years ago, former special agent Cleo North ignored her gut instinct and a young sergeant wound up brutally murdered. Cleo is certain the official story—a murder-suicide—is wrong.
Now she has a new assignment working with Major Jack Donovan and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, offering security to a pampered celebrity as a front for a terrorism fact-finding mission. Finally she has access to the one man she’s sure is involved in the decade-old murder. But as Cleo is plunged into a tangle of violence and lies, she must quickly decide who the real victims are. And who’s covering up a first deadly mistake.
Now she has a new assignment working with Major Jack Donovan and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, offering security to a pampered celebrity as a front for a terrorism fact-finding mission. Finally she has access to the one man she’s sure is involved in the decade-old murder. But as Cleo is plunged into a tangle of violence and lies, she must quickly decide who the real victims are. And who’s covering up a first deadly mistake.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2005
26 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
Merline Lovelace
409 books141 followersAfter a 23-year AF career, Colonel Merline Lovelace launched a second career as a writer, basing many of her tales on her own experiences in uniform and on her travels all around the globe.
The USA Today best-selling author now has more than 11 million copies of her books in print. Her works have won numerous awards, including the Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA. Merline is especially proud to have been named the University of Oklahoma's Writer of the Year and the Oklahoma Female Veteran of the Year.
The USA Today best-selling author now has more than 11 million copies of her books in print. Her works have won numerous awards, including the Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA. Merline is especially proud to have been named the University of Oklahoma's Writer of the Year and the Oklahoma Female Veteran of the Year.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 23, 2012
It kept my interest. I did not wish it would be over. But I expected romance which was not there.
The spine labels this book “romantic suspense.” When I finished the book my first thought was “This is not romance! It’s action spy mystery.” It reads like a TV show - mostly action scenes. Private detective Cleo is supplying security to an obnoxious movie star who is appearing at a film festival. At the same time Cleo is investigating and hopes to solve a ten-year-old murder mystery involving the chairman of the film festival. Various bad guys or suspicious guys do things, and Cleo reacts quickly and smartly and gets the jump on them, or survives the attack, or protects her client, etc.
There is no unusual or intriguing character development. These are predictable, typical, generic good guys and bad guys.
There is no relationship development. Cleo worked with Jack once several years ago and they had sex at that time. Now they are working together again and have sex again. But when the case is solved they separate. Cleo is with no romantic interest at the end of the book. To call this romance she should have ended up with someone and more attention should have been paid to a relationship. This is the first of three books in the Cleo North series. It’s possible that Cleo ends up with Jack at the end of book 3, but I don’t know.
I didn’t like the gimmick of a “hook at the end of a chapter,” which the author did. Cleo has a tape recording she sent to a lab. The lab guy tells Jack they have a match. Then the author switches to other characters in other places. Finally twelve pages later Jack is on the phone with Cleo telling her the identity of the guy. Authors are told to do this to keep people reading. Well, it didn’t keep me reading. It just forced me to flip ahead to find the answer, and then I put the book down to go to sleep. The next day I started reading where I left off “at the hook.” It’s annoying, not enjoying.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS?
Readers in the mood for a smart tough female private detective who outwits everyone including CIA guys. There’s lots of action. There is no heroine stupidity. It’s an escape. It’s not bad. It’s just not got some of the things that I prefer.
DATA:
Story length: 362 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total Number of sex scene pages: 5. Setting: current day various locations, but mostly New Mexico. Copyright: 2005. Genre: action spy mystery.
The spine labels this book “romantic suspense.” When I finished the book my first thought was “This is not romance! It’s action spy mystery.” It reads like a TV show - mostly action scenes. Private detective Cleo is supplying security to an obnoxious movie star who is appearing at a film festival. At the same time Cleo is investigating and hopes to solve a ten-year-old murder mystery involving the chairman of the film festival. Various bad guys or suspicious guys do things, and Cleo reacts quickly and smartly and gets the jump on them, or survives the attack, or protects her client, etc.
There is no unusual or intriguing character development. These are predictable, typical, generic good guys and bad guys.
There is no relationship development. Cleo worked with Jack once several years ago and they had sex at that time. Now they are working together again and have sex again. But when the case is solved they separate. Cleo is with no romantic interest at the end of the book. To call this romance she should have ended up with someone and more attention should have been paid to a relationship. This is the first of three books in the Cleo North series. It’s possible that Cleo ends up with Jack at the end of book 3, but I don’t know.
I didn’t like the gimmick of a “hook at the end of a chapter,” which the author did. Cleo has a tape recording she sent to a lab. The lab guy tells Jack they have a match. Then the author switches to other characters in other places. Finally twelve pages later Jack is on the phone with Cleo telling her the identity of the guy. Authors are told to do this to keep people reading. Well, it didn’t keep me reading. It just forced me to flip ahead to find the answer, and then I put the book down to go to sleep. The next day I started reading where I left off “at the hook.” It’s annoying, not enjoying.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS?
Readers in the mood for a smart tough female private detective who outwits everyone including CIA guys. There’s lots of action. There is no heroine stupidity. It’s an escape. It’s not bad. It’s just not got some of the things that I prefer.
DATA:
Story length: 362 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total Number of sex scene pages: 5. Setting: current day various locations, but mostly New Mexico. Copyright: 2005. Genre: action spy mystery.
July 10, 2011
TBR Challenge 2011- General. This book has been on my TBR list since since March 2010.
I don't know why it's taken me so long to read this book. I'm so glad I signed up for the TBR Challenge 2011 over at Wendy the Super Librarian's blog (www.wendythesuperlibrarian.blogspot.com). Because of the challenge, I've been combing though my TBR lists for books I added prior to 2011. I can't even remember who recommended this romantic suspense, but they were right. It's very good.
This is the first book in the Cleo North Trilogy. It's followed by The Middle Sin and The Last Bullet. This trilogy has both romance and suspense, but the emphasis is on the suspense plot. Even though I tend to like books with equal emphasis on the two part, this book grabbed me and kept me eagerly reading. Perhaps it's because the character and relationship development are so satisfying even without the emphasis on the romance. (There are sex scenes, for those who want to know such things.) Cleo has an on again, off again relationship with a sexy FBI agent, Jack. Plus, while on the job as a bodyguard in Arizona, she meets an equally sexy millionaire. Both these men will figure in the following books. I'm assuming there'll be an HEA by the end if the trilogy.
The action and suspense were very good without being brutal or overly graphic. Cleo is a competent former Air Force OSI officer turned security expert who doesn't have TSTL moments, thank goodness. The way the investigation works, the rules followed, the inter-agency "cooperation," etc., all felt realistic. The author, a 23 year veteran of the Air Force, writes what she knows and it shows. She also writes with a sense of wry humor, which adds to the enjoyment.
I highly recommend The First Mistake as a fast-paced, enjoyable romantic suspense with a dose of reality and a touch of humor.
I don't know why it's taken me so long to read this book. I'm so glad I signed up for the TBR Challenge 2011 over at Wendy the Super Librarian's blog (www.wendythesuperlibrarian.blogspot.com). Because of the challenge, I've been combing though my TBR lists for books I added prior to 2011. I can't even remember who recommended this romantic suspense, but they were right. It's very good.
This is the first book in the Cleo North Trilogy. It's followed by The Middle Sin and The Last Bullet. This trilogy has both romance and suspense, but the emphasis is on the suspense plot. Even though I tend to like books with equal emphasis on the two part, this book grabbed me and kept me eagerly reading. Perhaps it's because the character and relationship development are so satisfying even without the emphasis on the romance. (There are sex scenes, for those who want to know such things.) Cleo has an on again, off again relationship with a sexy FBI agent, Jack. Plus, while on the job as a bodyguard in Arizona, she meets an equally sexy millionaire. Both these men will figure in the following books. I'm assuming there'll be an HEA by the end if the trilogy.
The action and suspense were very good without being brutal or overly graphic. Cleo is a competent former Air Force OSI officer turned security expert who doesn't have TSTL moments, thank goodness. The way the investigation works, the rules followed, the inter-agency "cooperation," etc., all felt realistic. The author, a 23 year veteran of the Air Force, writes what she knows and it shows. She also writes with a sense of wry humor, which adds to the enjoyment.
I highly recommend The First Mistake as a fast-paced, enjoyable romantic suspense with a dose of reality and a touch of humor.
July 7, 2008
I became a fan of Lovelace after reading her Call of Duty. Though some of her other books were a hit and miss for me, I enjoyed her style enough to look out for any new titles.
When I read that The First Mistake has the romance continuing into the sequels, I wasn't too enthusiastic as I'm not one for long drawn-out relationships. Thankfully, my liking for the author's work won out as I found my purchase of her latest title was certainly not a mistake at all! This trilogy is going to be a keeper for me even though I've only read the first book (and will place an order for The Middle Sin if my bookstores haven't got it in yet!).
One word of caution - if you prefer your romantic suspense heavier on the romance, you could be disappointed as The First Mistake is heavier on the action and suspense. Also, usually, the hero establishes himself in my mind as 'the one' for the heroine and every other man is an interloper but not so in this book. I found myself drawn to the other man (you'll have to find out who for yourself) from the start and it was the possibility of *this* romance developing that got me hooked, not the one Cleo had/has with Jack Donovan, the hero (or is he?) of the book. My suspicion that there was going to be more to the second man was confirmed when I read the preview pages of The Middle Sin. Since Jack is the hero, I am not expecting the other guy to end up with the girl but more's the pity as Cleo and Jack lacked chemistry as a couple whilst Cleo's encounter with the other guy sizzled from the start.
When I read that The First Mistake has the romance continuing into the sequels, I wasn't too enthusiastic as I'm not one for long drawn-out relationships. Thankfully, my liking for the author's work won out as I found my purchase of her latest title was certainly not a mistake at all! This trilogy is going to be a keeper for me even though I've only read the first book (and will place an order for The Middle Sin if my bookstores haven't got it in yet!).
One word of caution - if you prefer your romantic suspense heavier on the romance, you could be disappointed as The First Mistake is heavier on the action and suspense. Also, usually, the hero establishes himself in my mind as 'the one' for the heroine and every other man is an interloper but not so in this book. I found myself drawn to the other man (you'll have to find out who for yourself) from the start and it was the possibility of *this* romance developing that got me hooked, not the one Cleo had/has with Jack Donovan, the hero (or is he?) of the book. My suspicion that there was going to be more to the second man was confirmed when I read the preview pages of The Middle Sin. Since Jack is the hero, I am not expecting the other guy to end up with the girl but more's the pity as Cleo and Jack lacked chemistry as a couple whilst Cleo's encounter with the other guy sizzled from the start.
March 25, 2024
There was so much going on it was borderline OTT.
This time the author stretched my suspension of belief to the limit. There were a lot of unlikely things and a lot of convenient things happening. They felt forced and a easy way to keep the suspense going without much trouble or work. And I wouldn't have minded it if, at least, the romance was good. But it wasn't. There was OW drama, OM drama, a (silly) intent of a love triangle, a case of mistaken identity, in short, a lot.
But the worst was the proverbial carrot the author dangled in front of us, the readers, promising a talk between the MC's that never came. Throw in the end (the mother of all cliffhangers) and I got the feeling the author cheated on me.
Not even the suspense got a properly end. We were told what could happen to the bad guy. But it wasn't a sure thing.
I like my stories with an end. I want closure. It must be the persnickety in me.
A pity because I liked the heroine a lot and the plot was so interesting. It could have been a 5 stars read for me.
I'll have to read the next book if only to know who the he will be.
Arggggg.
This time the author stretched my suspension of belief to the limit. There were a lot of unlikely things and a lot of convenient things happening. They felt forced and a easy way to keep the suspense going without much trouble or work. And I wouldn't have minded it if, at least, the romance was good. But it wasn't. There was OW drama, OM drama, a (silly) intent of a love triangle, a case of mistaken identity, in short, a lot.
But the worst was the proverbial carrot the author dangled in front of us, the readers, promising a talk between the MC's that never came. Throw in the end (the mother of all cliffhangers) and I got the feeling the author cheated on me.
Not even the suspense got a properly end. We were told what could happen to the bad guy. But it wasn't a sure thing.
I like my stories with an end. I want closure. It must be the persnickety in me.
A pity because I liked the heroine a lot and the plot was so interesting. It could have been a 5 stars read for me.
I'll have to read the next book if only to know who the he will be.
Arggggg.
July 12, 2020
I liked this, but....
I didn’t enjoy the relationship between Cleo and Donovan. They have a history, and they didn’t end on the best of terms, yet here they are tossed together on an investigation. However for a book that is supposed to be a romance/suspense book, there is really no romance here. Just two people scratching an itch when needed.
On the flip side, the suspense and mystery of Cleo’s investigation was completely attention grabbing. I had to keep reading to find out who the antagonists were (2 seperate cases), and Marissa the attention seeking actress was quite the surprise. Her characters story arc was great.
So, as a general story this would be a 4, but because the relationship between Cleo and Donovan was tedious and predictable, I’m gonna knock off a star. Here’s hoping Marc has a shot with Brown Eyes.
3 stars ⭐️
I didn’t enjoy the relationship between Cleo and Donovan. They have a history, and they didn’t end on the best of terms, yet here they are tossed together on an investigation. However for a book that is supposed to be a romance/suspense book, there is really no romance here. Just two people scratching an itch when needed.
On the flip side, the suspense and mystery of Cleo’s investigation was completely attention grabbing. I had to keep reading to find out who the antagonists were (2 seperate cases), and Marissa the attention seeking actress was quite the surprise. Her characters story arc was great.
So, as a general story this would be a 4, but because the relationship between Cleo and Donovan was tedious and predictable, I’m gonna knock off a star. Here’s hoping Marc has a shot with Brown Eyes.
3 stars ⭐️
January 28, 2019
A rather average romantic suspense set in New mexico. If you like your rom/susp with little sex this is for you. I like the sex, or no sex, doesn't matter to me if the story is good. The plot was twisty enough, I waffled around trying to figure out who the baddy was.
November 16, 2012
The first of the exciting Cleo North Trilogy, THE FIRST MISTAKE draws readers into an exciting world of political intrigue, action-adventure, and passion with the first page. No one writes military romantic suspense as well as this former USAF Colonel, and THE FIRST MISTAKE doesn't disappoint!
For Cleopatra Aphrodite North, giving up a life as part of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations seemed to be the only choice she had left. After ignoring her sense that something wasn't right with a case involving a murder/suicide of Sergeant Debra Smith and Staff Sergeant Thomas Mitchell. Cleo is sure she botched the case, and that fact, along with her turmoil regarding paperwork and rules, forced her to trade in her uniform for a life of private investigations and security.
She hasn't regretted the fact that she left the Air Force, but she does regret never solving that one horrific case. When Major Jack Donovan suddenly shows up on the scene, asking for her help in a seven-burner investigation being overseen by her former commander, General Barnes, Cleo can't say no. But it's not for the reasons Jack might think-babysitting a cranky Tinseltown actress will provide the perfect smokescreen for Cleo to turn her sights on one Alexander Sloan, Colonel, USAF, Retired.
THE FIRST MISTAKE is military romantic suspense at its absolute best. Conspiracies, mysteries, action-adventure, and spine-tingling passion all come together to make this book a keeper. I can say with honesty, that after reading it, I immediately went and picked up THE MIDDLE SIN, the next book in the trilogy, just to find out where Cleo ends up next. Not to mention what becomes of Alexander's twin brother Marc, and to find out how Jack is dealing with his alcoholic ex-wife, Kate. Kudos to Ms. Lovelace for dragging this reader into the intrigue!
For Cleopatra Aphrodite North, giving up a life as part of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations seemed to be the only choice she had left. After ignoring her sense that something wasn't right with a case involving a murder/suicide of Sergeant Debra Smith and Staff Sergeant Thomas Mitchell. Cleo is sure she botched the case, and that fact, along with her turmoil regarding paperwork and rules, forced her to trade in her uniform for a life of private investigations and security.
She hasn't regretted the fact that she left the Air Force, but she does regret never solving that one horrific case. When Major Jack Donovan suddenly shows up on the scene, asking for her help in a seven-burner investigation being overseen by her former commander, General Barnes, Cleo can't say no. But it's not for the reasons Jack might think-babysitting a cranky Tinseltown actress will provide the perfect smokescreen for Cleo to turn her sights on one Alexander Sloan, Colonel, USAF, Retired.
THE FIRST MISTAKE is military romantic suspense at its absolute best. Conspiracies, mysteries, action-adventure, and spine-tingling passion all come together to make this book a keeper. I can say with honesty, that after reading it, I immediately went and picked up THE MIDDLE SIN, the next book in the trilogy, just to find out where Cleo ends up next. Not to mention what becomes of Alexander's twin brother Marc, and to find out how Jack is dealing with his alcoholic ex-wife, Kate. Kudos to Ms. Lovelace for dragging this reader into the intrigue!
April 27, 2016
THIS TRILOGY WAS ON THE SALE TABLE AT OUR LIBRARY SO I THOUGHT, I WOULD GIVE IT A TRY!
I LOVE THIS SERIES, AS SOON AS I FINISHED THIS BOOK I OPENED BOOK TWO. THE CHARACTERS ARE INTERESTING AND THE AUTHOR GETS THINGS SPOT ON. GLAD I PICKED THESE UP.
I LOVE THIS SERIES, AS SOON AS I FINISHED THIS BOOK I OPENED BOOK TWO. THE CHARACTERS ARE INTERESTING AND THE AUTHOR GETS THINGS SPOT ON. GLAD I PICKED THESE UP.
October 24, 2023
The First Mistake: A Military Thriller (Cleo North Trilogy Book 1) by Merline Lovelace
A fun, exciting read. Lots of action and intrigue. Great suspense as the story progressed, and then a turn towards figuring out who the culprit was as I neared the end. I quite enjoyed this story.
A fun, exciting read. Lots of action and intrigue. Great suspense as the story progressed, and then a turn towards figuring out who the culprit was as I neared the end. I quite enjoyed this story.
April 3, 2009
I loved this book it was really good read
August 4, 2009
North #1
June 3, 2023
exciting!
Loved the book - the characters are real and the military is realistically represented! Can’t wait to read the 2nd in the series!
Loved the book - the characters are real and the military is realistically represented! Can’t wait to read the 2nd in the series!
February 13, 2011
Not a bad story, just not to my taste.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews