Morgan'S Mercenaries: In The Beginning Heart of the Wolf. The Rogue, Commando [Paperback]

Lindsay Mckenna (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 736 pages
• Publisher: Silhouette; 3 Bks in 1 edition (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373201850
• ISBN-13: 978-0373201853
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 3.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #372,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

That Gemini energy got the best of me in this life time! The best place to introduce the multi-facets of my varied life is through my blog: www.talesfromechocanyon.blogspot.com. There, you will me me, the author as I pen writing journal info for aspiring writers, the gardener who loves roses, Iris, Day lilies and anything else that blooms, the medical astrologer, the person who came from Eastern Cherokee metis background via my father, the horse lover, the Earth lover and the mystic.

I was raised in a metaphysical household. The strange was normal. My father, being the metaphysician he was, would often talk of ghosts coming through the house, who they were, what they said, and so on. I know this probably sounds pretty out of this world--but that was my world growing up. My father's Cherokee blood runs strong in me in many ways. He used to tell us stories all the time and I'm sure this rubbed off on me and fueled my desire to write, which started at age 13. My mother used to read us stories when he didn't tell us a story. I believe that reading being prominent in our household all conspired to help me be a storyteller when I grew up!

I went into the US Navy when I was eighteen years old. I became a meteorologist because I loved Father Sky and the cloud beings. Before I went into the military, I got my student pilot's license. I soloed at age sixteen in twelve hours time. I earned my money picking night crawlers every night in our orchard and selling them by the hundreds of dozens to local sporting goods stores in the area. By the time I went into the Navy at eighteen, I had forty hours of flight time logged. And because of my military background, I created the sub-genre of Military Romance in the romance publishing Industry in 1983 with Captive of Fate (Silhouette Special Edition). I write what I know and I honor and respect all men and women who either served or are serving our country. They are all heroes and heroines in my eyes.

I was a fencer (I met my husband, David, in fencing--we crossed swords and it was love at first parry...) for many years. Being part of the East Coast fencing salles, I was one of the few women to take on epee and saber--and fight the guys on the copper strip--and win. The women who refused to just use a foil to fence with, opened up a whole new era for women after us to fence all three weapons. Men said the epee and saber were 'too heavy' for us girls--but we showed them differently! Now, in the Olympics, women are allowed to fence in more than just foil. That makes me proud of our burgeoning efforts so long ago. Women can do anything!

I was one of the first women firefighters in Ohio back in 1983. I routinely rolled on 400 of the 600 fire calls a year we had, and knew how to drive the pumper, the tanker and do any job a volunteer firefighter has to do. I also took training in hazardous materials down at the Reynoldsburg Fire Academy in Columbus, Ohio.

My life has been one of breaking through stereotypes, breaking down doors closed to women and showing that women are smart, strong, and capable. As a Native American raised woman, I came from a matriarchal background--not a patriarchal one as most women come from. And because of that, my books show strong, smart women who are equal to any man. I like showing the world that women are equals. We don't need to say one gender is better than the other. Rather, we need to realize, honor and use everyone's best skills and talents to make this world a better place to live. I feel like I've lived about five lives packed into one and all of this adventure and experience is reflected in the books I write.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars :), August 2, 2001

By 

Jennifer Medlock (AZ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Morgan'S Mercenaries: In The Beginning Heart of the Wolf. The Rogue, Commando (Paperback)

Morgan's Mercenaries are a group of men that are employed by the famous Morgan Trayhern. Morgan is the Hero from the previous books by Lindsay Mckenna. The three stories in this book are about men that work for Morgan's company Perseus. This is a company out to make the world a better place.

Heart of the Wolf--Morgan Trayhern the famous character from the popular series by Lindsay McKenna has formed his own company called Perseus. The main goal of this company is to make the world a better place. Morgan has plenty of resources at his disposal and his company is made up of only the best. Wolf Harding is one of those men and this is his story. Wolf has returned beaten and battered from his last mission and right now he wants away from it all. Wolf needs away from people, to be able to deal with what happened in South America, and to be able to find peace again. Wolf asks his boss, Morgan, to use his resources to help him get away. Wolf is sent to Montana as a forest ranger. His first day on the job takes him to Sara Thatcher. Sara is a woman in need of protection, and being the man that he is, Wolf will do his best or die trying. There are men that want Sara's land and will do anything to get it. Sara is a bit naive at times and I believe she makes things worse on both her and Wolf. Both Sara and Wolf need to heal from their pasts and hopefully they can help each other. This is a great story of a man who has been through the worst kind of hell, but is now trying to live and love again.

The Rogue--Morgan Trayhern the famous character from the popular series by Lindsay McKenna has formed his own company called Perseus. The main goal of this company is to make the world a better place. Morgan has plenty of resources at his disposal and his company is made up of only the best. Sean Killian is one of those men and this is his story. Killian is a very close-mouthed individual which makes his next mission perfect for him. Susannah Anderson is related to Morgan and was shot after returning from a visit with him and his wife. Susannah awakened from a coma after two months and does not remember the accident and is unable to speak. Susannah's life may still be in danger from the gunman. Killian usually does not take jobs that involve women, but Morgan orders him to take this case because its personal and Morgan does not trust anyone else. Killian goes to Susannah, but he is unprepared for the emotions that she stirs in him. Sometimes it is hard to tell who is helping who-Killian helping Susannah or Susannah helping Killian. Out of the two of them I would say that Killian is the more wounded one. This bear of a man has always bottled everything up inside him and Susannah is determined to help bring it all out. This is a good story of a man whose job has him constantly fighting battles physically and it never ends for him mentally or emotionally until one stubborn determined woman enters his life.

Commando--Morgan Trayhern the famous character from the popular series by Lindsay McKenna has formed his own company called Perseus. The main goal of this company is to make the world a better place. Morgan has plenty of resources at his disposal and his company is made up of only the best. Jake Randolph is one of those men and this is his story. Jake's next mission is to be a bodyguard for the beautiful Shah Travers. Shah's father, at first, paid Perseus to kidnap his daughter and bring her home, but he quickly learned that kidnaping is not a part of what Perseus does, so he agrees to having Jake as her bodyguard. Shah's job is to investigate the destruction of the tropical rain forest in Brazil. The job has turned dangerous for Shah, but she refuses to back down from the men that are threatening her if she continues to investigate. Jake has suffered a tremendous personal loss in his past and is surprised at his feelings for Shah. Shah has suffered at the hands of all of the men in her life. She has learned to be distrustful and has a hard time accepting Jake's offer of help, but eventually she gives in. Together Jake and Shah face the danger from the men determined to destroy the rainforest and together they work through the pain in both of their pasts. This is the story of a man, given a second chance at love and happiness, and his courage to take it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent -but a bit improbable., June 14, 2001

By 

Tamsin Green - See all my reviews

This review is from: Morgan'S Mercenaries: In The Beginning Heart of the Wolf. The Rogue, Commando (Paperback)

Lindsay's latest three-novel trilogy covers the relationships that develop between three of Morgan's Men- Wolf, Sean [Killian] and Jake, and three somewhat innocent and naive ladies- one's a sapphire miner,one's a schoolteacher, and one's a crusader for the earth.

Now, I recognize that it's a common practice for authors in the romance genre to try to balance out world-weary, haunted heros with idealistic women who will love them, no matter what. And to an extent, I enjoy reading about the trials and travails of characters in such a situation. Certainly, Lindsay manages to give all of her female lead characters more depth than your average earth-mother healing type female-character. But there is a limit to my own tolerance, and while Lindsay did an excellent job producing suspenseful situations, interesting and amusing dialog, and sheer emotional 'pull', she failed to do two things, and that failure cost her one star. First of all, this compendium showcases only her more innocent, and, regretably, somewhat foolish female characters. Women in her other books -most recently, Heart of Stone- are more interesting reads, having more character and depth to their actions, as well as to their emotions. Only the last story, Commando, had a female character with the type of grit exibited by Inca and Maya, in their respective stories. The other fault in this book is its lack of well developed 'evil' characters - the antagonists tend toward flat, rather uninspiring or original motivations. Again, read Heart of Stone,or Heart of the Warrior, for an example of Lindsay at her best.

Overall, an inspiring and warm read full of positive aspects which make these stories all worthwhile reads, but which lacks the stellar aspect of, say, later novels or one of Elizabeth Lowell's intrigue-filled heart-twisters. Read it, please, but don't believe this is the summit of Lindsay's work. She's done better, more recently.

Also, warning to prospective readers: be prepared for a great deal of frustration as you follow up on the series, because almost all of Lindsay McKenna's books have been out of print for ages and will cost you an arm and a leg to get -assuming you can even locate them.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tragic Heroes, April 25, 2001

By 

Jamie Powers (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Morgan'S Mercenaries: In The Beginning Heart of the Wolf. The Rogue, Commando (Paperback)

If you like your hero to be brooding, vunerable and tourtured you will love this Three book collection. These three unforgetable characters have faced terrible hardships such as tourture, death of a loved one and failure. All try to overcome these obsticals to be able to be with the wonderful, strong Heroines. I trully enjoyed this book but I am still trying to figure out who the Heroic figures in this book is. The men who overcome or the women who lead their way. Enjoy