Deadly Dance (An A-Tac Novel) [Mass Market Paperback]

Dee Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2012 | Series: An A-Tac Novel

As the intelligence officer for A-Tac, a black-ops CIA unit masquerading as Ivy League faculty, Hannah Marshall is used to working behind the scenes. But when a brutal murder hits too close to home, Hannah finds herself in the middle of the action, falling in love while racing to outwit a sadistic mastermind.

A KILLER CLOSES IN
After the death of her A-Tac partner, Hannah doubts everything she thought she knew about love and loyalty. When handsome Harrison Blake joins the team, she's reluctant to trust him - or to act on her intense attraction to him. Then Hannah receives a podcast of a gruesome murder, and the only person who can help her find the killer is Harrison.

Harrison has spent years trying to hunt down the cunning monster who killed his sister. Now investigating with Hannah, he faces a shocking possibility - his sister's murderer has resurfaced. As the danger escalates, Hannah and Harrison grow closer, the desire simmering between them ignites. And when Hannah disappears, Harrison has only one chance to save the woman he loves.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"4 stars! Davis' latest installment brings us back into the world of A-Tac, an elite black-ops CIA unit masquerading as Ivy League faculty. The solid plot is filled with action centered around Hannah, a strong, intelligent woman with a rough past. Davis brings in the suspense and romance in good, equal doses." (RT Bookreviews )

"What an intense and thrilling read! In addition to the gripping writing and stellar pace of the story, the intriguing references to previous A-Tac books guarantee that I'll be checking out books one through four." (USA Today )

About the Author

Bestselling author Dee Davis worked in association management before turning her hand to writing. Her highly acclaimed first novel, Everything in Its Time, was published in July 2000. Since then, among others, she's won the Booksellers Best, Golden Leaf, Texas Gold, and Prism awards, and been nominated for the National Readers Choice Award, the Holt Medallion Award, and two RT Reviewers Choice Awards. When not sitting at the computer writing, she spends her time exploring Manhattan with her husband, daughter, and Cardigan Welsh corgi.

You can learn more at:
DeeDavis.com
Twitter @deedavis
Facebook.com/deedavisbooks

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Forever; Original edition (April 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446582948
• ISBN-13: 978-0446582940
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #657,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dee Davis has a BA in Political Science and History, and a Masters Degree in Public Administration. During a ten-year career in public relations, she spent three years on the public speaking circuit, edited two newsletters, wrote three award winning public service announcements, did television and radio commercials, starred in the Seven Year Itch, taught college classes, lobbied both the Texas State Legislature and the US Congress, and served as the director of two associations.

Her highly acclaimed first novel, Everything In Its Time, was published in July 2000. She's won the Booksellers Best, Golden Leaf, Texas Gold and Prism awards, and been nominated for the National Readers Choice Award, the Holt and two RT Reviewers Choice Awards. To date, she has written twenty-one books and four novellas, including A Match Made on Madison, and the A-Tac series. She's lived in Austria and traveled in Europe extensively. And although she now lives in Manhattan she still calls Texas home.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Can I be as good with you as I have learned to be alone? March 17, 2012

By Mary J. Gramlich VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Harrison Blake is new to elite, super-secret A-Tac group coming over from the FBI with years of experience dealing with the criminal mind. Unfortunately, for Blake he is very familiar with the cruelty human beings can afflict on one another. Hannah Marshall is a long time A-Tac member, and she knows you always sleep lightly and fear that which walks alone in the dark.

Hannah and Harrison have been working friends and when a serial killer starts hunting in their area, they become close teammates. While the days are spent chasing down leads and exploring all options the nights are for Harrison and Hannah to figure out if they are friends with benefits or have the benefit of being more than friends. Both have terrible relationship track records yet they are willing to throw them aside to see if the two of them can figure out is this the "One".

The serial killer seems to be on a personal vendetta toward A-Tac or maybe even someone specifically on the team. This possibility has the team wondering what would have created such a scenario and how does this maniac stay a step ahead all the way. The kills are erratic and do not follow the common but horrid frame of mind of former predators which has the team scrambling to find answers.

During the day, Harrison and Hannah are trying to close in on solutions to halt the chance of another victim. At night, they are exploring new places of passion and pushing the buttons of excitement into pleasure. Both feel like damaged goods with an inability to give love completely but they are proving to one another that is so not true. If they can stay alive to fight this to the end, they might just have a chance.

Dee Davis writes an exciting book with each addition in this series. It is hard to see how she can top the last book but consistently Ms. Davis proves that she has the ability to write a story the reader will be scared to put down.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Deadly Dance April 11, 2012

By Jess

Format:Kindle Edition

Hannah and Harrison are part of the A-Tac team, off the grid CIA agents whose cover is as professors at an Ivy League college. They're following up on a disturbing email that Hannah's teacher's assistant, Tina, received and it's leading them down a deadly path. Hannah, Harrison and the team start tracking murders that look to be the work of a serial killer that Harrison knows all too well. He's convinced that the killer is the same man who killed his twin sister years ago, but when things don't add up, the killer's original patterns aren't being followed, they start to wonder if it's really the same killer, or a new player. Of course it wouldn't be an A-Tac story if the Consortium didn't play a roll, in some fashion.

I enjoyed the characters of Hannah and Harrison. They're both smart, strong agents and each one is dealing with trying to move beyond a tragic past. Hannah was abused in a foster home when she was a young girl and learned to compartmentalize the pain she suffered then and now keeps herself somewhat distanced from people in her life. Harrison is consumed with guilt over not being able to save his twin sister from being murdered by the cyber killer - a serial killer who took great pleasure in torturing and raping his victims before leaving them for dead. Harrison wasn't able to find his sister in time and he hasn't been able to find the serial killer, who he's now convinced is targeting him after all these years.

The relationship between these two frustrated me. There are sparks between them early on, but both are reluctant to start anything. When they are together for the first time, the first reaction, at least from Harrison is regret, even when he tries to explain away that same reaction later as feeling too much too fast. There's a lot of back and forth between them, a sexy scene followed by one or both of them saying they can't be together, then another sexy scene, and again with the talk not being able to follow through and see where the relationship could go. I never really understood why they kept fighting a relationship. There didn't seem to be any reason why they couldn't be together, sure it caused some relationship angst, but it didn't feel true. What did work was when Harrison and Hannah finally let down their walls and started sharing the truth about each of their painful pasts and how they might be able to finally heal and move forward.

They had some sweet, touching scenes together, one that especially stood out was when Hannah told Harrison what her childhood was like and the trauma she suffered at being molested at a young age. Those were great moments for these two and once they got over the "we can't be together" bit, their relationship fell more into place and was easier to get into, but by the time that happened, it was hard to get fully invested in them as a couple before the story ended.

The serial killer storyline is gruesome. There are multiple murders throughout the book and I was getting to where I started saying "another one?!" Hannah ends up being in the killer's path and it really bothered me that after everything she suffered as a young girl and has tried to move past as she grew older, she'd be subject to more torture and horrible suffering at the hands of this present killer. I get that she and/or Harrison were going to be caught up in the final fight at the end, but I just ended up feeling bad for Hannah and ready to be done with that portion of the story. I love seeing our heroes and heroines in dangerous situations and trying to figure out how they're going to get out of them, but Hannah's situation felt so hopeless and I didn't like that for her.

This was overall an ok read for me. I liked Hannah and Harrison and their relationship once they actually let it happen and opened up to each other. The killer(s) were all over the story from the start making the body count rise, but I ultimately just had a hard time getting fully into this story. The Consortium storyline is still ongoing and while this installment might not have been a hit with me, I've enjoyed the A-Tac series and the characters overall, and will continue to read and find out what's going to happen next.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Love Harrison and Hannah April 15, 2012

By Hope

Format:Kindle Edition

It is no secret that I love this series, and I have been waiting for Hannah's story, and I wasn't disappointed. She seems to be the little sister of the group, someone that everyone looks after, so I knew it would take a special someone to break down some of her defense walls. Lots of twists and turns in the plot, and when you think you have it figured out, another twist is thrown in there, just for good measure. I felt the flow of the book was great, the characters were awesome, and we got to catch up a little with other members. Some parts of the story seemed REALLY predictable though, like when Hannah was finally taken, you could see that coming from a mile away. But really that would be my only gripe. Otherwise, I loved the story as much as the rest of the series. I am highly intrigued by Simon, and can't wait for his story.