Review: Troublemaker by Linda Howard

Posted May 9, 2016 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Troublemaker by Linda HowardReviewer: Casee
Troublemaker (GO-Team, #1) by Linda Howard
Series: GO-Team #1
Also in this series: Troublemaker (GO-Team, #1), Troublemaker (GO-Team, #1), The Woman Left Behind (GO-Team, #2), The Woman Left Behind (GO-Team, #2), The Woman Left Behind (GO-Team, #2)
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: May 10, 2016
Point-of-View: Third Person
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 400
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

For Morgan Yancy, an operative and team leader in a paramilitary group, nothing comes before his job. But when he’s ambushed and almost killed, his supervisor is determined to find out who’s after the members of his elite squad—and why. Due to worries that this unknown enemy will strike again, Morgan is sent to a remote location and told to lay low and stay vigilant. But between a tempting housemate he’s determined to protect and a deadly threat waiting in the shadows, keeping under the radar is proving to be his most dangerous mission yet.

The part-time police chief of a small West Virginian mountain town, Isabeau “Bo” Maran finally has her life figured out. She’s got friends, a dog, and a little money in the bank. Then Morgan Yancy shows up on her doorstep. Bo doesn’t need a mysterious man in her life—especially a troublemaker as enticing and secretive as Morgan.

The harder they fight the intense heat between them, the closer Morgan and Bo become, even though she knows he’s hiding from something. But discovering the truth could cost Bo more than she’s willing to give. And when Morgan’s cover is blown, it might just cost her life.

I was downright nervous to read this book. The last handful of books that Howard has written left much to be desired. As a matter of fact, the last book that I remember liking was Cry No More. That wasn’t exactly a romance to be honest, but it brought out the emotions that Linda Howard has so often brought out in her readers. It hasn’t been so in a long, long time.

I haven’t felt the Linda Howard emotion in years. Troublemaker definitely brought the emotion that I know she can bring and honestly, I felt a tear come to my eye while I was reading it. I don’t know if she’s back, back, but this book was a good start to remembering why we loved Linda Howard in the first place.

The book starts with Morgan Yancy. Getting back from a highly classified mission, he just wants to decompress. As a part of an elite paramilitary group, not a lot of people understand what his team does, nor do they want them too. Morgan is enjoying his time stateside when he gets shot. His boss takes no chances with his life and sends him to the stepsister that hates him, correctly assuming that no one will find him. In the meantime, while Morgan is recuperating, Axel has time to figure out who their mole is exactly while most people believe Morgan his died.

Police Chief Bo Moran lives in a small town and doesn’t want a stranger in her house, especially one that will stand out like sore thumb in town. She also doesn’t want to do any favors for her hated step-brother Axel. Then Morgan honest-to-God shows up on her doorstep and there is nothing she can do but nurse him back to health while her hated step-brother (and they really hate each other) finds out who wants to kill Morgan and why.

It takes Morgan and Bo sometime to warm up to each other, but eventually they have their routine. Both Bo and Morgan want him out of her house. Bo wants him gone because she’s starting to have feelings for the big lug and doesn’t want to go there. Morgan feels much the same way, but he wants to leave so he can find out who shot him and why. He also wants to keep Bo safe.

It turns out that it’s not as easy as it looks to leave the mountains of West Virginia, especially when the small town closes ranks around him. They consider him theirs now and they aren’t going to let anything happen to him. In the meantime, Axel decides to set a trap and not tell Morgan or Bo. He’s a real ass, as you can tell. Both Morgan and Bo lay into him. Bo for endangering Morgan’s life and Morgan for endangering Bo’s.

All in all, this was what you would expect from Linda Howard. There were some inconsistencies, which you will see or you won’t. I didn’t see them, but I wasn’t looking for them. I just had them pointed out to me. I hope that this book starts a comeback for Linda Howard because I’m such a fangirl.

Rating: 4 out of 5

GO-Team Series

four-stars


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