Customer Reviews

In the Dark (Navy SEALs, Book 2)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Introduced near the end of "Forget Me Not," Hannah Geary has evidence that could clear Gabe "Jaguar" Renault of murder in connection with illegal arms sales by a crooked colleague, Admiral Lovitt, who has enough clout to set Gabe up. But Hannah disappears, and two of Gabe's SEAL team are called in to rescue her from a Cuban general's compound. Luther Lindstrom and "Westy" McCaffrey arrive just in time - Hannah has killed the general when he tries to assault her, and they hastily pull her out. Sure that her life is in danger, Luther helps her change her appearance and has her stay with him. Westy finds it humorous that Hannah has no idea who Luther is. Most women flock to him because of his past as a Dallas Cowboy.

Just getting over a heartbreaking engagement, where he discovered that his fiance was more interesting in his money and servicing the rest of the base, Luther is looking for a good girl who wants to settle down, wait for him to return from his missions, and have his babies. Hannah on the other hand is an alpha female and can [.......] as good as a SEAL. Her desire is to get a position as a CIA agent and live a life of a covert operative. As the two get closer, they act on their attraction, and try to outrun the bad guys. Not knowing where they can turn or who they can trust, while determining if the ultimate goal they have always proclaimed that they want is indeed what they want.

Westy is a breath of fresh air in this one - his reactions and trying to control his humor at Luther's expense is priceless. They make a great team, and soon Westy gets his own story in the follow up, "Time to Run" due in February 2006. This is a great stand alone story, but it really helps to have the background by reading "Forget Me Not" first. Both are first rate stories, and manage to build on each other, making this a must-read series.

Ms. Melton has delivered yet again another fast paced read with one incredible hero, and one fiesty heroine. The end result...a read that will absorb the reader until the final page.

We met Lt. Luther Lindstrom and Hannah in the story "Forget Me Not." Now they have their very own emotional read. Luther is a SEAL and he and "Westy" have been selected to go and rescue Hannah Geary from the prison in which she's been put by "the individual." Luther thinks it will be an easy extraction...and to a certian degree he's right. What he's not counting on are his feeling for the sassy Hannah. He has been burned recently by love and he is not interested in any way shape or form for a woman who's not interested in the same things he is. Home, family, and children. Hannah wants her career in the CIA and he won't stand in the way of that. But will he be able to let her walk away from him?

Hannah Geary is a tough and sassy lady. She has dreams of finally working overseas as her father had playing a role in keeping America safe. She is rescued by Luther and Westy and she feels instantly safe with Luther. He makes her feel things she'd rather not feel and question whether or not she can live without her very own SEAL. Together they work to save Gabe (Forget Me Not) while trying to stay one step ahead of a killer. Will Hannah be able to balance everything she's dealing with without loosing the one thing she never realized she wanted?

Hannah and Luther were wonderful characters. Their story made me sigh and cry! Ms. Melton creates wonderful hero's that the reader can't help but care for. This was a very emotional read and one that I highly recommend. I can't wait for her next release in this series!

Official Reviewer for Romance Designs

This is my first book by this author. I loved it. I constantly search for new authors and generally buy books because of the author. I will certainly be on the lookout for more of her books.

Hannah Geary is an alpha female, if there is such a thing. This is a strong determined woman. When her partner is murdered she picks up where he leaves off. Unfortunately, that puts her in a fortress prison in Cuba. Captured and confined she can't understand why she hasn't been killed. But she is looking for any way to escape.

Luther Lindstrom is a Navy SEAL who needs the testimony of Hannah to save his CO., Jaguar. Her partner had the goods on the Officer who has framed Jaguar. Luther has just broken his engagement because he found out his fiance was unfaithful. He really doesn't have much faith in women. But he has never met one like Hannah.

He and 2 friends are given a chance to save Hannah and recover the evidence. The FBI knows where she is, they also know Jaguar is innocent, however, they are looking to hook bigger fish so they can do nothing. Luther and Westy get to the compound to save Hannah just as she manages to escape. Running into them saves her some trouble and she agrees to help prove Jaguar's innocence. She has a copy of the evidence. At least she had a copy.

The FBI has warned them not to trust anyone. They find that the copy in her car is missing. Togather they follow in the footsteps of her partner and find much more trouble than they expect.

This is a fast paced, very intelligent plot, I loved it and the romance was hot. I liked the fact Hannah could be hard when she had to and soft when she wanted to. Very good read.

This book is hot! The story is about Navy Seals; the Leader of the Seals "Gabe Jaguar Renault" is being caught in a crossfire of a cover-up by a crooked Command Lovitt, who with others are stealing weapons. Seal Luther Lindstrom & his teammates need to find the missing DIA Hannah Geary, who has been snatched & taken to an Cuban Fort. They go in to rescue her, but on her own manages to escape, but before she can get over the wall the guards see her and hell breaks out, & Luther saves her, get the book because it gets better and hotter and the pages can't go faster. I loved it. I guarantee you will, too. Can't wait for her next one. Mrs. Shirley Frye

Navy SEAL Lieutenant Luther Lindstrom and his team are stunned that the Naval Criminal Investigation Services holds their leader Gabe "Jaguar" Renault in custody instead of weapons stealing Commander Edward Lovitt. The one person who could prove Lovitt is guilty is DIA Agent Hannah Geary, who has vanished and presumed dead by the SEAL until FBI Special Agent Rafael Valentino informs him otherwise. Rafael says that Hannah was abducted by the Individual, who is Lovitt's boss. He wants to bring this mastermind down before taking out Lovitt. He assigns the SEALs to rescue Hannah.

However, Hannah is barely alive while being held prisoner in Santiago, Cuba by General Pizon. When the odious revolutionary starts to rape Hannah, she kills him. She tries to escape with Pizon's soldiers shooting at her when Luther and his cohorts complete her quest for freedom. As Luther and Hannah fall in love, he and his men try to keep her safe while Rafael attempts to bring down the Individual.

This action-packed sequel to FORGET ME NOT will keep the audience on the edge of their seats wondering what will happen next as the tale is as much a suspense thriller as it is a romance. The story line is non-stop from the moment Hannah tries to escape her Cuban incarceration until the final altercation leaving the audience to ponder whether the duo will earn T-shirts stating "accomplished the mission" as much as wondering whether love is enough to keep Luther and Hannah together. Marliss Melton provides a strong thriller that leaves readers wanting more IN THE DARK type novels.

Harriet Klausner

Hannah Geary was a CIA agent until her parents were killed then she went to work for the Defense Intelligence Department so that she could still use her talents and stay at home while her brother continued with school. When she and her partner stumble onto a suspected gun running investigation her partner is killed and suddenly she finds herself in a Cuban prison with no real hope of getting out. To make matters worse it appears that the person behind the dealings is a high ranking Commander in the Navy SEAL's. But, to be able to stop the gun running she not only has to get out of Prison but figure out who can help her.

Lt. Luther Linstrom is a Navy SEAL who is on a mission. He is setting out to clear the name of his commanding officer. He and the rest of SEAL Team 12 know their commander "Jaguar" has been set up by another Commander who is suspected of running guns. Luther and his team know that the person who can help then has died but when they find out from an FBI official that his partner (Hannah) is still alive but in a Cuban jail they take action. A few of the team go to break her out of prison and convince her to be on their side. The funny part is that they arrive just as she accidentally kills her captor and is escaping herself.

They quickly join up sides and work with the FBI officer to determine how to catch the gun runner in the act. In addition they find a instant attraction to each other. But, Luther is "taking a break" from relationships as he has just broken off an engagement when he found his fiancé with another man yet again. It seems she has quite a few male "friends" so he doesn't want anything other than no strings attached sex. Hannah is attracted to Luther and wants to sleep with him but she knows that she doesn't want a relationship as she is going back to the CIA as soon as her brother graduates. Unfortunately for both of them as they spend more time together they seem to be unable to keep away. When they are each hurt during their investigations they are drawn closer together. The big surprising twist is who the gun running Commander is taking orders from is known by both Hannah and Luther. Can they prove the deception in time to free Jaguar?

I loved this book. If you are a fan of the SEAL team books by Suzanne Brockmann I recommend this new series as a good read! Characters were well developed as was the plot line. While some of the situations are a little to unbelievable there are methodical reasons they are added to the story in addition and I came to enjoy not only the characters and authors writing style but fast paced romance and suspense aspects of the plot.

To start, I read MMelton's 'Next To Die' first and fell in love with that book, so then I started reading her previous books of this series. The great news is that her books get BETTER and better. The bad news is that I didn't like the older books as much as I enjoyed Next To Die, so I'll have to wait till a newer one comes out.

About this book, I really like the hero and heroine, alpha male and super girl. Hannah is strong, and not sitting there helpless waiting for rescue. And Lindstrom is an ex-football star who also have manners and modesty, a real hunk of a sweetheart.

But, there wasn't enough dialogue. The sizzle is not quite there. And the side story about another SEAL and the woman who only wanted to have a baby did not really tie in to this story; seems kind of thrown in, not adding much. Although I did enjoy their cooking scene, and who can resist a man who cooks chicken mole for you from scratch?? and of course, he has a nice body too.

This is a solid story. I like on-going stories, so I liked this continuation of FORGET ME NOT.

Hannah Geary is the heroine and she's easy to get behind and cheer for. She is a Defense Intelligence Agent whose partner died in a questionable car accident before he could prove Lt. Renault, from FORGET ME NOT, is not a traitor. Hannah is determined to get justice for her partner and Lt. Renault, so she teams up with Lt. Luther Lindstrom and Chief McCaffrey from Seal Team 12, who want to prove Lt. Renault is innocent of any wrong doing.

Lt. Luther Lindstrom is a very appealing hero. He left the lucrative world of the NFL to become a Seal and protect America. (By the way, this book is dedicated to Pat Tillman, who left the NFL to join The Rangers and was killed fighting for his country.) Luther is a wholesome, handsome super-stud.

In their race to clear Lt. Renault, Hannah, Luther and 'Westy' McCaffrey run into several suspenseful situations. The attraction between Hannah and Luther is palpable. For me, however, Hannah and Luther's reasons to remain detached from each other are gone over too many times. I get it. I got it early on.

Another on-going story is between Master Chief Leon and dance instructor, Lelia. It, too, is a good story, although I wish Lelia wouldn't actually `wring her hands'. I understand she comes from a different background, but she's a strong American woman. The wringing of the hands, repeatedly, is a bit hard to swallow. I still truly enjoyed this separate love story.

`Westy' McCaffrey has been introduced before and is a solid character in both books from this series. I'm looking forward to getting to know him better in TIME TO RUN, which I'm reading next.

This is a solid series of books and worth reading.

Shelley Dawn, author of Sweet, Sweet Jessie and Dark Nights

In the Dark is the second book in this series that deals with 3 Navy SEALs - Gabe Renault (aka Jaguar - his story was the first book in the series Forget Me Not), Luther Lindstrom (aka Little John - his story is this book), and Chase McCaffrey (aka Westy - his story is in Time to Run).

In this book, Luther Lindstrom, a Navy SEAL, has been assigned to save and protect Hannah Geary. Hannah has mysteriously disappeared and Luther and his team have learned that she's being kept in Cuba. While he and his team try to rescue Hannah, she's saving herself and meets up with Luther and his team as she makes her escape from the cell where she's been held.

Hannah Geary, a CIA agent, was working with her partner on a suspected arms smuggling investigation when her partner was mysteriously killed. Now she's been kidnapped and in Cuba - what's going on? Why was she kidnapped but not killed like her partner?

After Hannah escapes from Cuba, she works with Luther to determine what her partner learned. They need this information as Gabe Renault is facing a court martial due to his actions in Forget Me Not. Luther is torn - he's attracted to Hannah but he needs information to save his commander. And just who is trying to get Hannah out of the way?

Along with the mystery is the romance between Luther and Hannah. Luther just broke off his engagement to his fiancée who was cheating on him. He knows what he wants in a relationship - he wants a woman who he can wants children and keep the home fires burning while he's away on missions. While he is attracted to Hannah, he knows - and Hannah agrees - that she's not that type of woman.

Hannah Geary is a wonderful heroine - strong and determined to figure things out. She's not content to stay at home and be protected. She's taking action - which doesn't always suit Luther.

As far as the mystery here, I found that, like in Forget Me Not, it was pretty easy to figure out the bad guy. But that didn't stop me from enjoying this book. It has a nice balance of romance and suspense (though I wouldn't have minded a bit more romance). There's also the secondary story of Sebastian and Leila, a romance first hinted at in Forget Me Not which gets resolved very nicely here.

I'm usually not that crazy about sequels - I figure - couldn't the author have figured out a different storyline instead of continuing something I just read? But it works here. In fact, I liked this book more than Forget Me Not - I think because the female heroine is such a strong intelligent woman. If you plan on reading Forget Me Not, be sure you read it before you read this book - if you read this book first and then go back to read Forget Me Not, you'll know the basic storyline and the bad guy of that book.

Although IN THE DARK is a stand-alone book, I would highly recommend reading Ms. Melton's previous release, Forget Me Not (Seal Team 12) (Warner Forever), before you start this latest Navy SEAL story. You'll have a better feel for the supporting characters, not to mention that Forget Me Not (Seal Team 12) (Warner Forever) was a wonderful book! In this second SEAL installment, the danger is notched up, the passion burns hotter, and the saga continues.

Navy SEAL Lieutenant Gabe "Jaguar" Renault has been caught in the crossfire of a cover-up. Only a short week ago, their Admiral had assured them that Commander Edward Lovitt would stand trial for the crimes he had committed, not the least of which was trafficking in stolen weapons. Somehow, though, Gabe is now the one sitting in jail, awaiting sentence from the NCIS. Not to be deterred, Lieutenant Luther Lindstrom and his fellow SEALs are determined to see justice prevail, and there's only one way to get it-find Defense Intelligence agent Hannah Geary and have her testify as to Lovitt's crimes.

The problem is that Lovitt has done a good job of keeping Hannah away from anyone who can cause him trouble. He had her partner killed, and now Hannah is far away on the other side of the world, in a prison in Santiago , Cuba , under the watchful and cruel eye of General Pizon. When Pizon pushes his torture too far and attempts to rape Hannah, she kills him-then realizes she still has to find a way out of her prison. Thankfully, Luther and his men have come to Cuba to rescue her, which will in turn save their fellow SEAL, Gabe. Having killed the general, Hannah's escape is facilitated by the SEAL team, and now all of them are on the run from a regime bent on revenge.

Now not only do Luther, Hannah, and the SEALs need to get out of Cuba, but they need to make sure Hannah returns to the States alive, in order to testify as to Commander Lovitt's crimes against the Navy. In the course of their trip, Luther and Hannah attempt to fight the ever-growing attraction that's between them. Luther's not a man who wants to give his heart to another woman, having already been tricked once by a cheating fiance. And as for Hannah, the death of her partner and the almost-rape by General Pizon have damaged her to the point that she's not sure she can readily be close to man again.

Marliss Melton has penned another winner. Fast-paced action, nail-biting suspense, and passion all intertwine to make this story well worth the read. I look forward to her next SEAL story, Time to Run (Seal Team 12), which is set to release from Warner Forever in February of 2006.