Customer Reviews

In Her Sights

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was an amazing and very suspenseful story. I couldn't put it down! Luckily, I picked this up on a Friday evening because it was 1:30 AM before I hit the final page and let out a sigh of relief. This was an extremely fast-paced romantic suspense novel (with a very heavy emphasis on the suspense).

Jazz Parker has reinvented herself after a horrible childhood as the daughter of drunken prostitute who was beaten to death by one of her clients. This same client came back the next morning to beat and rape 10-year-old Jazz and she managed to kill him with the baseball bat that she was supposed to use to defend her mother. She is guilt-stricken because she was unable to protect her mother. After years bouncing around the foster care system, she finds herself fifteen and on the streets trying to survive. She is rescued by a friendly sheriff who she is very reluctant to trust because of her previous experience.

Jazz changes her name, has her juvenile record expunged, and starts a new life as a police officer herself. When the story begins she is the only female SWAT sniper for her county. She is part of the SWAT team but holds herself aloof from her colleagues because of real trust issues. She is under investigation by Internal Affairs in the person of the spoiled son of the County Sheriff who was beaten out for the SWAT team by her. He is out to get her and, since she hasn't tried to be part of the team, her teammates aren't on her side.

Enter Luke Montgomery. He is a former Army Ranger turned investigative reporter. He is also Jazz's former lover. She walked away when it looked like he was getting too close to her secrets. Luke is a very black and white sort of guy. He is determined to find and report the truth no matter who it hurts. He is currently investigating corruption in the police department. One of his suspects is the officer who has targeted Jazz.

When Jazz and Luke meet again, sparks fly. Neither has gotten over the other but both still have the same reservations. He knows she is lying to him by not talking about her past; she is still intent on keeping her past a secret. Both of them have trust issues. His are because he has been betrayed before by colleagues. Hers are because of her childhood. Otherwise, Luke is part of a large and loving family that is very supportive of him. One of his brothers is Jazz's only friend on the SWAT team. Luke is also the father of an adorable three-year-old daughter. He didn't know she existed until his former girlfriend died. She had left him because he was so determined to put himself in danger doing his investigations which certainly didn't help with his trust issues.

Jazz has also become the target of someone from her past who wants revenge on her. At first, the two cases seems separate but soon it looks like Jazz's enemies and Luke's corrupt cops are getting together. Luke and Jazz have to solve both problems before they can work on their relationship.

The story was an excellent, page-turner. I recommend it to anyone who likes a good romantic suspense novel.

Jazz Parker is a woman who is good at her job as a female sniper as well as creating a new life for herself. Thanks to the support of an unlikely source she has been able to make over her world and do good in an attempt to bring some good from a troubled past.

Once she catches the attention of Luke Montgomery, a journalist who stumbles upon her true identity, there are demons from the past that resurfaces and threaten to destroy not just Jazz's life but those she loves as well.

IN HER SIGHTS by Robin Perini is a multi-layered adventure that tackles not just the quest of one individual to renew her life and her purpose but understand and appreciate her worth as well. In the process we learn that Jazz is not the only one dealing with issues from the past, and when both individuals come face to face it is a real battle of wills and a moment of truth when it comes to will they allow the troubles of their past to shape the lives they can have today.

"I wanted to save people..." So says Jazz, however she seems unable to still see that she deserves the same salvation she wants to give to others.

This is one of those books that men and women will be able to find something they can enjoy and discuss together. That is what makes IN HER SIGHTS a read that well worth the time and the journey the writer takes you on.

My Review:
This was a fabulous book and surprisingly, a first book by this new author. This book is about Jazz, Jasmine Parker, who is the lead sniper on a SWAT team. The book starts when she is 10 years old, so that as the reader, you know a bit about her history that she has worked diligently to hide and escape from her entire life.

Luke Montgomery is a man from her past. He is an investigative reporter and she left him when she realized that he could never forgive or get past a deception, knowing that she was hiding her entire history from him. But now he has been tasked with writing a series of articles about her and is digging.

The first story features her front and center on the first page after a shot that she took, saved the governor's young daughter. That first article puts her on someone's radar that knows her past and wants Jazz to pay.

It's been two years since Luke and Jazz have been involved, but the sparks are still there for both of them, but the closer Luke gets to Jazz, the more that he realizes that he never really knew her when they were involved two years ago. But as they become closer, the more that Jazz realizes she is putting Luke and all of his family, including his young daughter in danger. That is not an acceptable risk to her so she keeps pushing him away.

Jazz is a really complex character. She has learned methods for how to separate herself mentally from stress and emotion which serves her well as a sniper, but not so well in relationships. She's overcome a lot in her life to get where she is and through the book, she starts to see all that work crumble which is absolutely devastating for her.

On the other side is Luke. Two years ago, he went after one of his best friends in an investigation with no mercy and that is what scared Jazz away from their relationship. Since then, he has realized his mistakes with the friend and the handling of Jazz. He realizes now that he would always let her deflect his questions rather than getting to know more than the physical side of Jazz.

Both of these people are learning and growing throughout this book, but at the same time, they are going through some amazingly difficult times together. The suspense and the action in the book is phenomenal!

There are a lot of possibilities for the bad guys that keeps you guessing up until almost the very end. The story is fabulous too. I fell in love with these characters and was completely immersed in the outcome of their story, including the side characters. When Gabe (Luke's younger brother) got hurt...OMG, my family just had to stop talking to me for a few pages. Yes, it really is that good.

This book was so good. I read it over the Thanksgiving holiday, and kept having a hard time pulling myself away from it to interact with my family. It is riveting. It is suspenseful. It is sexy. I adored the entire Montgomery clan and really hope that this new author is already writing the other Montgomery boys stories because they all have some fabulous possibilities.

This book drove me crazy. Robin Perini's bio states she has won awards for writing romance books and teaches competitive small-bore rifle shooting. With all this in mind, her romantic writing skills were the pits! Here is a quote page 7 "He knew she loved her sex hot and her whiskey straight. He knew she couldn't stand cantaloupe or cauliflower, but was addicted to butter rum Life savers. He knew she liked her showers scorching, her kisses gentle and she purred in the middle of night when he splayed his hands along her hip and nuzzled her neck." I swear I broke out laughing and I thought I had a great comic novel on my hands. I couldn't read her sex scenes at all with a straight face, however when the sex turned rough the words became believeable. Go figure?

The action scenes were good and I liked her female sniper Jazz. For the most part Ms. Perini's use of guns was accurate, but..... I will come back to this later.
As for the mystery, well it was just okay. I kind of figured it out half way thorough the book.

Good points: the book is short and reads well. The idea of a female sniper was neat. The action was ok.
Bad points: writing of the love scenes is a hoot. The mystery is fair but not very interesting or new.

There are two things that really really got my goat. One was that Denver was such a hot bed of violent crime that it had two crimes within 24 hours that reguired swat. Next the idea that a professional sniper would not check her rifle before shooting some one was stupid. Plus this really big bone head mistake: at the end of the book Jazz is carrying a Beretta and Ms. Perini writes " Jazz pointted the .357n at Lisa." A Beretta is 9mm and .357 is a revolver bullet thatn can not be fired in an automatic. This from a rifle teacher.

So this is an okay book. If you love romance novels then this for you. If you lilke comedy this is for you. Other wise run.

I received Robin Perini's romantic suspense In Her Sights from Amazon Vine for review. Here's my take on it.

Jasmine Parker is Jefferson County SWAT team's only female sniper. She's a near-perfect marksman and she's earned her reputation, but Jazz' public persona is only a part of who and what she is. At the age of fifteen, records of her past were expunged and she took on a new name.

But someone from her past has uncovered a record and is using it to threaten her and Luke Montgomery, her former lover. That someone wants her discredited and both of them dead.

Following the successful elimination of a murderer who was holding hostage the governor's daughter, ex-Ranger Luke, now a journalist on a mission to uncover police corruption, writes a story on Jazz that begins the unraveling of her closely guarded secrets. As the attacks become more personal and infinitely more dangerous, Jazz and Luke must work together to uncover the fiend behind the destruction. Their history makes their task all the more difficult because they've never been able to forget about what they had together. Can Jazz learn to trust the one man she ever cared about?

For years I've followed Ms. Perini and noted her successes in RWA-sponsored writing contests. Many times a finalist, a couple of times a Golden Heart winner, publishing success seemed to elude her. Finally, her persistence has paid off with a contract from an Amazon imprint and soon, a release with Harlequin Intrigue. Naturally, I raised the bar very high in reviewing In Her Sights. It's short, well-written and suspenseful. It's also very sexy in that the hero and heroine are constantly remembering intimate details of their six month liaison. For me, this was a tad distracting, but Perini's writing is strong and the pacing of the story swept me along to the surprising conclusion.

Just a note about something said by another reviewer claiming the Beretta mention by Ms. Perini couldn't be a 357 magnum. Actually, the Uberti Beretta Renegade is that caliber, however, that gun is a carbine, not a pistol, so Ms. Perini is incorrect in calling the Beretta pistol a .357. A minor item, but one that should probably have been corrected since the author is listed as a small arms expert. That error notwithstanding, if this is a sample of what Ms. Perini has up her sleeve in future, readers will be in for some thrilling reading.

I'm not sure which is stronger, the emotion or the suspense. This book is exploding with ripping action and nail-biting tension. I enjoyed the sniper storyline and details, but I felt every ache in Jazz's heart as well. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! I can't wait to read another book from Robin Perini.

Jasmine "Jazz" Parker thought she had put her childhood behind her, and as an adult she did everything she could to keep people from learning her darkest secret. Now a highly trained member of the Jefferson County, Colorado's SWAT team, Jazz preferred to keep to herself.

When her former lover, an ex-Army Ranger turned newspaper reporter, exposed her role in saving the life of the Governor's young daughter, Jazz' life began to spin out of control.

She suddenly became the target! An internal affairs investigation into her past and an increasing number of personal attacks soon has Jazz on the defensive. Who is willing to kill those she holds dear in order to bring her down?

In Her Sights is Robin Perini's first novel, and it is a non-stop thriller that never slows its pace. The author creates realistic characters and places them in tight situations in order to build tension and suspense throughout the riveting tale. Readers will find themselves holding their breath as each scene is vividly set up leading to the shocking conclusion.

New fans will certainly look forward to Perini's next offering.

In Her Sights

I liked that the heroine was a sniper. As a woman who loves to shoot, I had to get this book. The story was good and I enjoyed reading the book except for all the trials the heroine went through, it seemed a bit excessive. It was more than a little discouraging to see her go through so much. And her co-workers, left a lot to be desired. I know she got her job back at the end but I'm afraid I might have told them to shove it if I had been her. Who needs a bunch of guys like that? The book had some good plot twists and kept my interest, again, all the horrible things that happened to her started to get a little depressing. Also, the way her fellow police were so eager to turn on her left me cold. Other than that, a good story.

Jazz had an ugly past that she has boxed up in her mind and set aside. She's now a Jefferson County SWAT team's only female sniper and has a new name and a new identity. She is making herself a new life. Then things start going wrong...

Jasmine "Jazz" Parker is a very strong female character. The author gives her a lot of inner strength and has made her a cool, focused cop with no soft spots anywhere. So when her past comes back to haunt her, it shakes up who she is but doesn't change her determination to do her job and protect the people around her.

Ms. Perini also creates a very strong male character. Luke is a war veteran who is now a journalist searching for a big story. She's attracted to him but has no room for him in her life; especially not if he wants to write about her. Alone is the way she likes it best. The author takes these two strong but vulnerable characters and sticks them in a life or death situation where they must trust and depend on each other. Ms. Perini also makes them both self-sufficient and hard headed enough that trying to stay alive is secondary to them; they want to catch the killer. They are each trying to protect each other. And just to add a bit more emotional impact to the story, the author adds a child. Luke found out he was a father after he returned from war and he's just getting used to being one.

This author has the ability to wring your heart out. Both main characters have baggage and Jazz is afraid of love because of her past. As you watch them try to solve the mystery of which person in her past might be in her present, they both share heartache and worries and spend time dancing around the mutual attraction they feel.

The story is a good mystery. I found myself relating to the characters easily. It's a fast paced story with no let up as Jazz tries to find her enemy and Luke tries to save his daughter. It'll keep you sitting on the edge of your chair as you read it.

I'm putting my copy in my permanent library. If you enjoy a good suspense/thriller story with a bit of soul searching and romance included, this book is for you.

Originally posted at the Long and Short of It Romance Reviews

I never read anything by Robin Perini, but when I had the opportunity to read In her Sights, I got the book and loved it. I was already fascinated with the fact that her lead female character is a sniper and a darn good one. However, Jazz is hiding behind more than just her sniper rifle...Jazz has a past that she does not want exposed. The fear of exposure caused her to break up with her boyfriend Luke (military turned reporter). Jazz was too afraid Luke would hate her for her past and never be able to accept her for who she really was.

The choice was taken out of Jazz's hands when her past catches up with her. Jazz eventually has no choice but to trust Luke and pray that they find out who is after Jazz before the people they love are hurt or killed.

The author is fabulous and truly makes you feel for the characters. Once Jazz's past was reaveled I was left wondering why she felt she had to go to such lengths to change her identity, but that one negative for me never took away from the story or the characters overall.

I truly enjoyed this book and I hope to see more of these characters and the Montgomery family. This is an author I would absolutely read again.