Rowena’s review of Headed for Trouble by Suzanne Brockmann.
New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann, whom USA Today calls “the reigning queen of military suspense,” breaks out a rapid-fire collection of pulse-pounding, heart-tugging stories and novellas featuring the intrepid men and women of Troubleshooters Inc., fiction’s hottest ultimate counterterrorism squad.
• Tough-as-nails Troubleshooters operative Sam Starrett learns the agony of loving someone in danger—and the hell of waiting on the home front—as his wife, Alyssa, hurtles into a foreign hotspot that’s about to boil over.
• Navy SEAL Frank O’Leary’s ill-fated holiday reunion with his older brother takes a turn for the better—when a chance encounter on a rainy New Orleans street gives Frank a reason to be thankful after all.
• In a maze of tunnels deep beneath a military base in Germany, Jules Cassidy, Alyssa Locke, and their comrades in arms match wits with terrorists on a mission with explosive consequences.
Plus more never-before-released adventures featuring Jenk, Izzy, Gillman, Lopez, Kenny, Savannah, and other members of SEAL Team 16—along with Suzanne Brockmann’s exclusive interviews with her beloved characters.
Looking for the best kind of trouble? You’ve found it!
This book is a collection of short stories surrounding the Troubleshooter folks and well, mostly they include short stories featuring Sam, Alyssa, Jules and Robin and the people around them. It also includes character interviews with Suz herself and a pretty fantastic Troubleshooters timeline that was nice to read and catch up on.
I’m not going to review each story separately but I will talk about what I liked, what I didn’t like and what I could have done without.
What I liked: I should start this by saying that there were only a couple of short stories that were included in this book that I’d read already so for the most part, all of this was new to me. I liked seeing what Sam, Alyssa, Jules, Robin and the rest of the folks were doing. I liked seeing what everyone else was up to now that their stories are done with.
I really liked Jack and Arlene’s story. I remember Arlene from Jules and Robin’s book as Maggie’s mother who was serving in the military and was overseas all the time. I remember really liking Will (Arlene’s brother) and Dolphina’s love story in All Through the Night and I remember really liking and caring for Arlene’s daughter, Maggie. It was really good to see these guys again and the plan that Maggie concocts with Jack to get Arlene to stay in the states was funny. Their story was fun but at the same time, it was real and the characters were awesome. I think this was my favorite story in the bunch and that’s saying something because there were many short stories featuring my favorite of all heroes, Sam f!@#$%$# Starrett.
I also liked the little chat fests with Izzy, Jenk and Lopez. Those are always fun.
What I didn’t like: I can’t say that I was a fan of Frank’s story and that’s mostly because I know what happens to him in, is it Over the Edge? I remember feeling bad in Over the Edge and him laying in Terri’s arms so to see this story with him alive and well and then knowing what happens later on, I was annoyed. It was like grieving all over again and I just could have done without that.
What I could have done without: A huge part of this Troubleshooters series is the equal rights movement and I really respect Suz for being very vocal about it and doing things about it. What I’m finding very frustrating is that this equal rights agenda that she’s got going on in her real life is front and center of the Troubleshooters series.
I started reading this series because I had just watched the movie Tears of the Sun and I wanted to read about those kinds of guys in my romance novels. I came to love the Troubleshooters because the guys in the books were so flawed, so strong and yet, so very real that they became my favorite people. They each had a different story and they each tackled their issues like a real person did. They weren’t perfect but that’s what I loved about them.
Now, I just feel that her agenda is really taking the story away from these characters and on to what she feels is right. That’s her right as these are her stories and she can tell them however she wants but I really miss reading a story about couples falling in love in the middle of bullets flying and terrorists trying to ruin lives and good guys saving the world. The romance is still there but the romance is sitting prettily in the back seat, waiting for her turn. Casee wrote a post about this a while ago and really, she nails my thoughts on this topic so much better. You can read that post here.
Overall, this was a great book to fall into. The Troubleshooters (old and new) are all mentioned or in it and it’s enjoyable to see everyone again. I would have preferred reading a full length novel about one character but it’s a Troubleshooters series and I’m a sucker for them so I’ll always come back, even if I wish for more of things that aren’t there anymore for me.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5
This book is available from Ballantine. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.
Hey, Rowena, quick question–could you list the stories in the book? I have looked around but there’s no table of contents anywhere, and I have a feeling that a lot, if not most, of the content is going to be stuff that was already published, either in the promotional booklets(1) for the first few hardcover releases, or in the countdowns she did(2)
(1)The booklets usually had some little chatty bits with some of the characters, often a short short story (like a vignette) and other interesting tidbits, as well as the list of novels, blurbettes for the books and reading order.
(2) If memory serves, I read Frank O’Leary’s story as part of one of the countdowns.
I’m not sure I would be willing to buy it even if most of the material was new, but I definitely would not if say, 80% is old material newly packaged.
Sure thing.
-When Frank Met Rosie (Frank O’Leary’s story)
-When Alyssa and Sam Met the Dentist (First published in the back of Flashpoint)
-Waiting (first published in the back of Hot Target)
-Sam Takes an Assignment in Italy (first published in the back of Into the Storm)
-When Jenk, Izzy, Gillman, and Lopez Met Tony Vlachic (from the Force of Nature promo book)
-Interview with Tom and Kelly (from the Troublshooter’s reader’s guide)
-Trapped (from the Force of Nature promo book)
-Conversations with Jenk, Gillman, Lopez and Izzy (from the Troubleshooters Reader’s Guide)
-Interview with Kenny and Savannah (from the Troubleshooters reader’s guide)
-Home is Where the Heart Is, Part 1 and 2 (Part 1: from the Into the Fire promo booklet, Part II: new)
-A SEAL and Three Babies (new)
-FAQ interview with Suz (from the Troubleshooters reader’s guide)
-Valentine’s Day (from the Troubleshooters reader’s guide)
-Bonus Story: Shane’s last stand (eBook published in March 2012)
-Teaser
There you go, hope that helps!