Love, Lust and Terror: Tales from the Compound [Paperback]

Gloria Shepherd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2004

The genre is a erotic adventure or erotic suspense and also suspense/thriller. In this epic tale featuring the main characters from The Compound, Ken Morgan-the erotically fearless commander of one of America's most elite Special Forces units-barely escapes a plane crash while on a mission in Chechnya. His lifelong partner and adopted older brother, Russell, leads a search and rescue mission to locate him. Simultaneously, Ken's wife, Carly, organizes her own Soviet-led search and rescue to locate her missing husband-unintentionally placing him in even greater danger. The three-once lonely, abandoned orphans-become involved in a tangled love affair when Carly, while deeply in love with her husband, also realizes an intense love for Russell. As they strive to come to terms with this unique relationship, Carly is kidnapped and held for ransom. Ken must now embark upon a horrifying mission to rescue his beloved wife. Her deranged captor doesn't demand money for her ransom, but instead demands Ken voluntarily turn himself over, to be tortured and sold to the Red Chinese, in exchange for her life. Russell, together with the military unit, fights against time to save both his lover and his brother from a fate worse than death.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Draws you in subtly--intensely—finally you’re so immersed you can’t read fast enough to reach the outcome. -- Diane M. D. – A Fan

Riveting page-turner. International intrigue with a taste of down home USA. Sexual tension is dynamic. Terrific weekend read. -- Jill M. – A Colorado Reader, May 30, 2004

From the Publisher

Turbulent love affair carries two men and a woman through an international maze of perilous rescues, kidnapping, and torture.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Aventine Press (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593302231
• ISBN-13: 978-1593302238
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,360,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece!, December 15, 2005

By 

Tyrone V. Banks (Newington, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love, Lust and Terror: Tales from the Compound (Paperback)

"Love, Lust and Terror: Tales From the Compound" is another exciting novel written by the talented and experienced Gloria Shepherd. I read and reviewed "The Compound" last year and I could not wait to review this one. The story is complex and wholesome and closes out the series with an uplifting tone.

"LLT: Tales From the Compound" is the story of Carly (Manning) Morgan, her husband Ken Morgan and his adopted brother Russell Taylor. The elite COMPOUND (Covert Military & Political, Operational & Unconventional, National Security Detachment.) continues to handle the spread of democracy doing the things that are supported but denied by the Government across the globe.

Carly and Ken continue their relationship and are married with a son named Danny. Carly and Ken are in love but Carly feels that Ken is not giving himself to their relationship. Russell can see the strain that his brother's bride is experiencing but he has to allow their relationship to progress on its own Russell's "bad-boy" image attracts Carly as well and she admires and eventually falls in love with him for those attributes. It is as if Carly's perfect mate would have Ken's looks and Russell's personality.

Carly's admiration for Russell evolves into an erotic scene that unfolds between the two only to have Ken walk in and witness the two people that he has always loved and trusted over all others - betray him. Ken is whisked across the globe on a dangerous assignment. Ken welcomes the assignment because it allows him to focus on things other than the betrayal that has broken his heart. Ken survives a plane crash and is eventually rescued. During his days in seclusion Ken's will to survive is strengthened by a desire to set things right and deal with the strange love triangle that has evolved.

Ken returns to his home and it is apparent that the tryst between Carly and Russell is far from over and Carly is also carrying Russell's first and only child. The trio eventually works through the complex emotions and things are slowly normalizing until Carly is kidnapped. Her captor is one of the hundreds of enemies that Ken and the COMPOUND has made and he holds Carly captive and eagerly awaits the arrival of Ken, so that he can torture and kill him. Ken and Russell arrive and launch a rescue mission to retrieve Carly. However, they are captured and brought to Carly's location and a twisted scene of horror followed by justified vengeance unfolds.

The trio returns to the compound and Carly has found Ken's natural father. The small group starts a new family as Russell and Carly's daughter is born. As you have read, this is a masterpiece in regards to plot, character development, story progression and action. A suitable sense of closure will prevail as you read the last words. The story ends but it has the ability to continue as the characters, with so many enemies and missions in the background, start their new lives, still together. Through what I have written one could imagine and visualize the scenes that play out. But, if you read the book from cover to cover, there is so much more than one reviewer can point out. "Love, Lust and Terror: Tales From the Compound" is a "buffet" of images, emotions and characters that will satisfy anyone's hunger for great literature.

Tyrone V. Banks of Betsie's Literary Page

5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLIANT!, March 21, 2005

By 

Karen H - A Colorado Fan (Ft. Collins CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love, Lust and Terror: Tales from the Compound (Paperback)

Gloria Shepherd is brilliant!! A style all her own . . . Both The Compound and its sequel Love, Lust & Terror are amazing! I rank her writing talents right up there with three famous and previous favorites of mine--Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts and James Patterson. She has quickly become a new favorite author of mine. Ms. Shepherd's colorful and creative writing captures her reader's interest and imagination with every exciting, energy-packed page turned. What a unique talent, in my opinion. Ms. Shepherd is quickly becoming one of the best authors in the industry! If you're looking for reading filled with human ambition, adventure and at times a provocative twist, then Gloria Shepherd's novels are a must read!

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Triology!, September 6, 2004

By 

Writers Room Magazine (Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love, Lust and Terror: Tales from the Compound (Paperback)

LOVE, LUST & TERROR-TALES FROM THE COMPOUND by Gloria Shepherd is all that it promises to be. It's chock full of romance, lust, love and international intrigue, a page-turning thriller and a heart-stopping romance. Ms. Shepherd has delivered an in-depth soul-searching thriller that will rival any Tom Clancy or Sidney Sheldon book on the market. She knows how to win the battle, the war, and your heart. She writes with passion, conviction, and determination. And in the end you have a heart stopping thriller you can't turn away from. Ms. Shepherd is the ultimate story teller of our decade. She knows what you want and gives it in spades.

In this tale of love, lust and terror, The Compound actually stand for the COvert Military & Political, Operational & Unconventional, National Security Detachment. These soldiers answer directly to the US President and Secretary of State. This story is about Commanders Ken Morgan and Russell Taylor, who are members of the elite Special Forces. The men, along with the Compound, carry out the nation's more obscure and dangerous missions.

In Part One, Ken Morgan barely survives a plane crash. His partner and adopted brother, Russell Taylor, attempts to rescue Ken. All the while Ken's wife, Carly, goes to Leningrad and organizes her own search for her missing husband. But while there she places Ken in even more danger, leaving him to fight for his life once again, and fight alone.

In Part Two, after Ken is rescued life deals him another blow when he discovers Carly and Russell have been having an affair and appear to be in love. The problem is, Carly still loves Ken; he is her soulmate. And while her passions are intense for Russell, there will never be another Ken. This situation eventually turns into a unique family unit and a love triangle that becomes even more in-depth than any of the three could ever imagine.

In Part Three, when we think nothing more could happen to the trio, we are greatly surprised as Carly is kidnapped and shipped to Greece, and there is a demand for her ransom. The captor doesn't want money, but instead he wants Ken to turn himself over to the Red Chinese in exchange for Carly's life, to be sold and tortured. Russell accompanies his brother on this dangerous mission to save her, and to save him, once again. This time with the aid of the military unit who arrive in the nick of time, the three are again free and saved from death's grip.

In Part Four, after Ken, Russell, and Carly return to the States, and while recovering from their injuries, Carly decides to give her men a gift of her own. She is going to locate the parents who abandoned Ken and Russell years earlier. With this gift she hopes the brothers will finally have some closure on their past. She locates Ken's father, and before long Ken and Carly are back to working their Texas ranch. After much reflection, Russell decides to join Carly, Ken and his newly-found father on the ranch, making them now a true family unit.