Breaking the Rules (Troubleshooters #16)

Breaking the Rules by Suzanne Brockmann is the sixteenth book in her Troubleshooters series.

Izzy Zanella and Dan Gillman are part of SEAL Team Sixteen. They have never been good friends and since Izzy married Danny's sister, they have been even worse friends.

Sure they got married to make sure that Eden's baby would have a home and insurance, but that was not the only reason. But then Eden miscarried and she went to Germany to stay with a friend to recover. Now it has been months since Izzy and Eden have spoken.

When Izzy finds out that Eden is back in Las Vegas trying to get custody of her little brother, he flies there to see that she is alright. But the custody battle is not straight forward and other factors make it safer to have a SEAL to help out.

Brockmann's characters are great. Though each book in the series focuses a different person, they group of SEALs and Troubleshooters overlap and it is great to read about a familiar character from the background of a previous book. Her suspense is knuckle-bitingly good, her romance is steamy, and overall she is one of my favorite writers. She is also one of the few mainstream romance genre authors who includes and speaks up for gay characters in her books.

Brockmann, Suzanne. (2011). Breaking the Rules. New York: Ballantine Books.

Taylor's Temptation (Tall, Dark & Dangerous #10)

Taylor's Temptation by Suzanne Brockmann is her tenth book in the Tall, Dark, & Dangerous series about Navy SEALs.

After Bobby Taylor is injured in a mission he needs some time to recover. When his best friend Wes Skelly is assigned to go overseas on a mission, he asks Bobby to go to Boston to talk his little sister, Colleen, out of going on a humanitarian mission to one of the most unstable countries on the planet.

Bobby and Colleen have been a little in love with each other for years, but did not know the other person felt the same way. High stress and close proximity to one another leads to temptation.

Bobby has to decide if the beating he will take from his best friend is worth the risk. The reward could be a life with the woman of his dreams.

The Tall, Dark & Dangerous series was Brockmann's first series. Each of her books is better than the last.

Suzanne, Brockmann. (2001). Taylor's Temptation. New York: Silhouette.

Identity: Unknown (Tall, Dark & Dangerous #8)

Identity: Unknown is the eighth book in Suzanne Brockmann's Tall, Dark & Dangerous series.

When a man wakes up in a homeless shelter in a small town in New Mexico he has no idea who he is. He does not recognize himself in the mirror or know his own name. He has no wallet but in his left boot is a .22 caliber pistol and a wad of 100 dollar bills. Wrapped up with the money is the name of a ranch - The Lazy Eight.

Not knowing what else to do, but instinctively knowing not to tell anyone he has amnesia, he heads for the ranch. He is currently going by the nickname Mish - because the man who runs the shelter he awoke gave it to him.

When he gets to the ranch the manager, Becca Keyes, thinks he is the hand she has hired and starts calling him Casey. Mish doesn't think his name is Casey but begins work at the ranch. As Mish and Becca grow closer together he tries to keep his distance. It is not fair to get involved when he has no idea who he is - what kind of man carries a gun in his boot?

But the attraction between Mish and Becca is getting stronger. He will have to tell her the truth and warn her that he might be a criminal. He is not sure whether he wants her to run away or help him get his memory back.

Brockmann has written an enjoyable puzzle for readers to figure out along with the characters in this book. Her characters, as always, are instantly real and readers will find themselves caring what happens to them.

Brockmann, Suzanne. (1999). Identity: Unknown. New York: Silhouette.

Diamondhead (Mack Bedford #1)

Diamondhead by Patrick Robinson is a fast-paced military / political thrill ride.

U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander "Mack" Mackenzie Bedford is stationed in central Iraq with his team. When they are called on to rescue another team that has come under enemy fire, two of their armored vehicles are hit by the new French-made weapon the Diamondhead.

The Diamondhead, banned by the UN as inhumane, is a high-speed, armour piercing rocket that has a napalm-like chemical that causes everything in the area to burst into flame - including the soldiers in the vehicles. When most of Mack's team is killed and then the terrorists he just watched sent the rocket across the river try to surrender, Mac guns them all down.

Now Mack is in a military court defending his position that after seeing other false surrenders where US troops were killed by suicide bombs strapped to those surrendering, he could not let more of his people be hurt by the men he watched kill his friends. But since the story was leaked (somewhat inaccurately) to the press, the political pressure to rule against Mack in some way is too strong to resist. Mack is given a reprimand that will strip him of his rank.

Suddenly Mack, whose whole identity is tied to being a Navy SEAL, finds himself unable to stomach being in the Navy. And the problems facing his family become his main focus. His seven year-old son has been diagnosed with a rare disease. The only known effective treatment is at a clinic in Switzerland - and costs one million dollars. Also facing the family, the town they live in and love on the Maine coast, is facing a total economic meltdown. Remson's Shipbuilding has been the main employer of the town for over 100 years. But the only thing keeping the factory open is a standing order from France for one frigate every three years. And now, the man sure to be the next president of France, Henri Foche is calling for an end to outside military contracts.


As these factors come together to decide the fate of Mack and his family, Robinson weaves a great story with political intrigue and desperate plots to create a novel that will pull readers into the book and have them calling in sick to work to finish it.

Robinson, Patrick. (2009). Diamondhead. New York: Vanguard Press.

The Admiral's Bride (Tall, Dark & Dangerous #7)

The Admiral's Bride by Suzanne Brockmann is the seventh book in her Tall, Dark & Dangerous series.

Dr. Zoe Lange is a biological warfare specialist with the CIA. She has been called into the Pentagon to a secret meeting to discuss a break in. A right-wing militia group has stolen the worst nerve agent known to man.

Zoe will be going undercover with a team of SEAL in Montana. The leader of the group, Admiral Jake Robinson, has been her idol and fantasy since she was a teen. In Vietnam Jake saved her father's life - along with hundreds of other wounded and captured American soldiers.

Now they will be posing as man and wife inside the compound of the lunatic who stole the nerve agent. While in close contact their feelings for each other will grow to the point where emotions could get in the way of the operation.

Brockmann's Tall, Dark & Dangerous series is a great choice for romance fans who like plot with their romance. Her stories of suspense would hold up even without the personal connections in the stories - the romance just makes them more fun to read.

Brockmann, Suzanne. (1999). The Admiral's Bride. New York: Mira.

Hawken's Heart (Tall, Dark & Dangerous #6)

Hawkin's Heart by Suzanne Brockmann is the sixth book in the Tall, Dark & Dangerous series.

William "Crash" Hawken is a Navy SEAL. He is assigned to black ops - super secret missions - under Admiral Jack Robinson. Along with working for Jack, he is like a son to him and his wife Daisy, who took over raising him when his mother died.

Now Crash is being framed for killing Admiral Robinson. In a shoot out that only two people survived, all of the forensics point to Crash being the shooter. He has to find a way to escape from jail or the courthouse and find the man responsible for the assassination.

The only person Crash feels like he can trust is Nell Burns. Nell was Daisy's personal assistant until her death one year ago. Nell and Crash are in love with each other but his stubbornness is keeping them apart. Now he will need her help to stay alive, clear his name, and find the real killer.

Brockmann is the queen of romantic suspense. She is great at developing characters and making them interesting because of / in spite of their flaws. She is a must read author for any romance or suspense fans.

Brockmann, Suzanne. (2005). Hawken's Heart. New York: Mira Books.

Harvard's Education (Tall, Dark & Dangerous #5)

Harvard's Education by Suzanne Brockmann is the fifth book in her Tall, Dark & Dangerous series.

FInCOM (the series version of FBI) and SEAL Team Alpha are teaming up for a training exercise. The plan is to form a joint team that can go into hostage situations.

Out of the four FInCOM agents assigned to the training, only one has any chance of getting out of a combat situation alive. But that agent is not given an equal test by Senior Chief "Harvard" Becker because that agent is a woman.

Though thinking himself chivalrous he is actually being a chauvinist - a condition he will have to get over if the team has any hope of working. And soon the team will be in a place where mistakes will mean the death of team members.

The Tall, Dark and Dangerous series was Brockmann's first series featuring Navy SEALs. Though the books are not as sophisticated as the later Troubleshooters series, readers of romantic suspense will enjoy them.

Brockmann, Suzanne. (1998). Harvard's Edcuation. New York: Mira Books.

The Shark Mutiny (Arnold Morgan #5)

The Shark Mutiny by Patrick Robinson is the fifth book featuring Admiral Arnold Morgan, now the National Security Advisor.

After 500 years of sticking close to home, the Chinese Navy is trying to establish themselves in the greater oceans. To this end they hatch a plot to stop all oil traffic in the Straight of Hormuz so that their partnership with Iran is the only available oil on the market - at a much inflated price. In order to accomplish this task, they lay a mine field through out the straight.

In the process of clearing the straight to allow the world's oil market to flow, NSA Arnold Morgan fells that he is missing something. The Chinese did not gain much by blockading the straight. Could it be that the response of the US - to send most of the Navy to one part of the world - was just a decoy?

Morgan and his brilliance, with the help of the Navy SEALs will try fight back and keep China's Navy in the waters immediately surrounding China.

Robinson is a great Navy storyteller. He has the details down, adding layers of believable US politics and layers of international politics. His book are some of the best military suspense on the market.

Robinson, Patrick. (2001). The Shark Mutiny. New York: HarperCollins.

Frisco's Kid (Tall, Dark and Dangerous #3)

Frisco's Kid is the third Tall, Dark and Dangerous book by Suzanne Brockmann - the master of romantic suspense featuring Navy SEALs.

Frisco wanted to be a SEAL since he was eleven years old. Through hard work and determination he became one. Then, five years ago, he was hurt on a mission. Now his doctor says he will never recover enough to go back to active duty. In fact, his doctor is surprise he can even walk.

But without the SEALs, Frisco - Lt. Alan Francisco - doesn't know who he is or how he will go on. The day after his doctor kick him out of the VA hospital, his sister shows up with her five year old daughter and informs him that he has to watch Natasha while she goes to rehab.

With the help of his neighbor, Frisco will have to learn to do everything while using a cane. But the hardest lesson will be that it is okay to ask for help.

Tall, Dark, and Dangerous is the first set of books that Suzanne Brockmann wrote. While not as sophisticated as her Troubleshooter series, they are well written and fun to read. If all romance writers were at talented as she is, there would be no negative stereotypes about the genre.

Brockmann, Suzanne. (1997). Frisco's Kid. New York: Silhouette.

Forever Blue (Tall, Dark and Dangerous #2)

Forever Blue is the second book in the Tall, Dark and Dangerous series by Suzanne Brockmann.

Blue McCoy, a member of SEAL Team Ten's elite Alpha Squad is taking leave to go back to the town he grew up in - Hatboro Creek, South Carolina. He will be attending the wedding of his step-brother Gerry to his (Blue's) high school girlfriend Jenny Lee Beaumont. Blue is not looking forward to the wedding.

But when he gets to Hatboro Creek he sees the only person in town he was hoping to see - Lucy Tait. She was a freshman when Blue was a senior and she is just about toughest woman Blue ever met. They met when most of the boys baseball team was beating Lucy up for making the team. Though they were never really friends, Blue has always wondered what happened to her after he left town to join the Navy.

Lucy Tait is the newest, and first female, member of the Hatboro Creek police department. When someone is killed
and Blue is the main suspect she is assigned to the case. The evidence points to Blue but it is all circumstantial. Will Lucy be able to save the man she has had a crush on since she was fourteen?

Brockmann is a master of the romantic suspense novel. She seamlessly weaves the mystery of her plot in with character development. Anyone who believes the stereotypes about romance novels being poorly written with no plot would be proven wrong by reading any Brockmann novel. She is awesome.

Brockmann, Suzanne. (1996). Forever Blue. New York: Mira Books.

Prince Joe (Tall, Dark and Dangerous #1)

Prince Joe is the first book in Suzanne Brockmann's Tall, Dark and Dangerous series which features the Navy SEALS of Alpha Company.

Veronica St. John has a difficult job ahead of her. Her fledgling media consultation / PR firm (she is the only employee so far) has the job of making the prince of a small European country look good. The country needs US support to extract the oil field just discovered. Veronica has put her career on the line for her best friend, the prince's sister.

But the prince is a royal pain. He is pompous, flashy, and not great on camera. When his first public appearance on US soil ends in an assassination attempt, Joe Catalanotto is called. He looks remarkably like the prince.

Now it is Veronica's job to take a Navy SEAL and make him act like a prince.

Brockmann is a master at the romantic suspense novel. This was her first book with a Navy SEAL - now the majority of her novels are about SEALs or retired SEALs, including her Troubleshooter series. Her books are great, fun reads that will entertain readers until the last page.

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Brockmann, Suzanne. (1996). Prince Joe. New York: Mira Books.

U.S.S. Seawolf (Arnold Morgan #4)

U.S.S. Seawolf is the fourth book in the Arnold Morgan series by Patrick Robinson.

China has a new nuclear submarine. It will be leaving its dry dock in the Yellow Sea and making it way through the shallows to East China Sea for trials - including its first time underwater because it was build in water too shallow for submersion.

The United States Navy must get a look at the sub to determine if China now has the capacity to launch a nuclear warhead from Chinese waters to the west coast of the US. Captain Judd Crocker and his crew on the USS Seawolf - the new US sub that is the latest in stealth technology - will be tasked with measuring the new Chinese submarine.

Orders are to follow and record the size of the submarine without being detected in Chinese waters. When the Seawolf is not only detected, but captured by the Chinese, the possibility of ever seeing her crew again are not likely. Plus, in the hands of the Chinese, the Seawolf will advance the Chinese Navy about 30 years in technology.

Admiral Arnold Morgan, the National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, must find a way to rescue 100 US Navy personnel and somehow render the Seawolf useless or China will be well on her way to controlling the Pacific.

Robinson has created a series that any military or adventure readers will love. It is packed with technical information, suspense, political intrigue, and Navy SEALS. What more could you ask for in a book?

Robinson, Patrick. (2000). USS Seawolf. New York: HarperCollins.

Kilo Class (Arnold Morgan #2)

Kilo Class by Patrick Robinson is a thrill ride for any fans of warfare, politics, or submarines. It is his second book featuring Admiral Morgan, now the President's Nation Security Advisor.

In spite of the pressure of the United States not to sell their Kilo class submarines to China, Russia decides to sell them ten. After all, they desperately need the money. But the sale is something that the US cannot allow. Those boats can never reach China. China would use them to control the Straits of Taiwan and all trade that goes through the strait.

Commander Dunning and his nuclear attack submarine Columbia will be sent on a black-ops missions to take out the kilo subs.

Robinson is a master as weaving a military and political plot that encompasses the complications and intricacies of dealing with, in this case, four different countries and relations with the rest of the global community. His scenes in the submarine, submerged in frigid waters makes readers almost claustrophobic while scrambling to read more of his fascinating narrative.

Robinson, Patrick. (1998). Kilo Class. New York: Random House.

Dead Heat (Partners in Crime #3)

Dead Heat by Jacey Ford is the third book in her Partners in Crime series - three ex-FBI agents who start their own security firm.

Daphne Donovan has been able to find people all of her life. She was even a specialist at in the FBI. Now that she is with Partners in Crime, she takes the cases where someone is missing. In her latest case though she is hired to find out if a bank exec's girlfriend is cheating on him.

She would not have even taken the job if her company didn't need the money. What she really wants to do is stay in Manhattan near ground zero. After tracking a suspect whom her bosses at the FBI would not let her arrest, she was on a flight to catch him when he high jacked a plane and flew it into the Trade Center. That was the day she no only quit the FBI but started to blame herself for not stopping the terrorist attack.

While on assignment in Florida she will have a chance to find another dangerous person - something not expected from a case of following a cheating partner. She will also meet a man she cannot intimidate, one who understands how she feels about 9/11 and she will have an opportunity to being the healing process - if she doesn't talk herself out of it.

Ford's three books are good reads, but this volume of the series is by far the best. The complexity of the plot, especially when it is set up as a simple case, captures readers and makes them stay up way past their bedtimes. The only thing I find odd about her books is that she never describes what her characters look like - I can understand wanting to leave some up to the reader's imagination, but I have no idea what Daphne Donovan looks like except her hair and eye color. That being said it is still well worth the time to read this book.

Ford, Jacey. (2006). Dead Heat. New York: Berkeley Sensation.

Hot Pursuit (Troubleshooters #15)

Hot Pursuit is the 15th book in Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooters series of romantic suspense novels.

Alyssa Locke takes a small team of Troubleshooters to New York City to help out a friend - a simple assignment in self-defense training. What she doesn't realize is that she is being lured to NYC by a serial killer she chased for years in the FBI.

Maria Bonivita is a newly elected Assemblywoman. Her two best friends helped get her elected - one of them, Jenn LeMay, is now her Chief of Staff. When she starts getting threatening letters, Maria thinks it is part of the job. But Jenn thinks there might be more to it.

The serial killer sent the note - along with the surprise waiting in Jenn's desk drawer. It is all part of the plot to finally get close enough to Alyssa to control her. But what killer stands a chance against Alyssa, especially backed up by Troubleshooters' ex-Navy SEALS?

Brockmann is one of the top romantic suspense writers. She is great because her books are really thrillers with a romantic sub-plot. She has created a team of Navy SEALs and FBI agents that can solve any mystery and look great doing it, but they are not over the top. I would recommend her books to any suspense readers.

Brockmann, Suzanne. (2009). Hot Pursuit. New York: Ballantine Books.

In the Dark (Navy SEAL #2)

In the Dark is Marliss Melton's second book in the Navy SEAL series.

Now that Lieutenant Renault has been recovered from North Korea and is on the mend, he faces a trial - he is being made the scapegoat for the missing weapons. SEAL Team 12 must find the evidence to clear his name.

The one person, Hannah Geary, who has proof has been kidnapped and hidden in a military compound in Cuba. Lt. Luther Lindstrom will have to rescue her and protect her until they can collect the proof. The CIA is helping to some degree but will not step in until its own case is closed - they are after the man who is really selling stolen US weapons.

Other then Luther, Hannah does not know who to trust. It seems the weapons dealer has hired a pair of assassins to take her out.

Melton, Marliss. (2005). In the Dark. New York: Warner Forever.

Forget Me Not (Navy SEAL #1)

Forget Me Not by Marliss Melton is the first book in her Navy SEAL series. The Navy SEAL series is a read alike suggestion for Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooter series.

Gabe Renault has been MIA for a year now. Following Navy policy, he is now considered dead. His wife and stepdaughter mourn his loss but are trying to move on with their lives. His wife, Helen, knows that even before he disappeared physically, he was gone mentally for a while. He was married to his career as a SEAL and his family took a backseat.

Just as life is becoming normal and Helen has decided she is happy with her new life, a phone call changes everything. Gabe has been found. He has no memory for the last three years - the whole time they were together.

Now Helen has to take home a man she resents to help him recover his memories before she can divorce him. Gabe cannot believe that he is married in the first place but realises that Helen is an amazing woman and wants a chance to get to know her.

And someone else, the person who set Gabe up in the first place - the man who left him for dead in North Korea - has to take care of him before his memories can resurface.

Melton, Marliss. (2004). Forget Me Not. New York: Warner Forever.