Next to Die (Navy SEALs, Book 4) [Mass Market Paperback]

Marliss Melton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2007

Penny Price dreads the sound of her ringing phone. She's convinced that the person barraging her with threatening calls is a man who got away with murder--her father's. Armed with evidence but branded a target, Penny's only salvation is the playboy nextdoor--Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander Joe Montgomery. The sole survivor of the worst disaster in Special Forces history, Joe has been drowning his guilt in a potent mix of alcohol and isolation. Penny refuses to indulge his behavior and a tentative friendship begins, charged with desire. But as her father's killer sets his sights on Penny, all bets are off. The killer will do anything to protect his identity and Joe fears Penny is...NEXT TO DIE.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Back in America following a disastrous mission in Afghanistan, lone survivor Cmdr. Joe Montgomery lives in a whiskey-induced haze, consumed with guilt over the death of his men. His neighbor, navy physical therapist Penny Price, helps him heal both mentally and physically, but she has demons of her own—namely Eric Tomlinson, former business partner of her murdered father. She's been receiving threatening phone calls she believes are tied to Tomlinson, and soon the unknown assailant makes Penny and her sister, Lia, his targets. Joe, looking for redemption, throws himself headfirst into the mystery, discovering love with Penny along the way. The latest in Melton's Navy SEALS series (after Time to Run) features a romance that sizzles, and a subplot involving Lia's own special SEAL works well. Unfortunately, Melton's mystery doesn't maintain the kind of suspense that keeps readers hunting for clues. (Aug.)
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Review

'I highly recommend this talented author.' - Heather Graham

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Forever (August 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446618349
• ISBN-13: 978-0446618342
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was fortunate to enjoy an exotic childhood growing up overseas. Entertainment came in the form of reading, riding on elephants in Laos, Sunday visits to museums in Paris, and tracking tigers in northern Thailand. With the world my home, I excelled in language, music, and, above all, story-telling. Language is my thing, which is why I've taught Spanish, ESL, and linguistic at various insitutions, including the College of William and Mary, my alma mater. Because I'm the wife of a retired Navy veteran, writing military romantic suspense suits me best. I live with my husband and many children near Virginia Beach, where I'm inspired by real-life stories of Navy SEALs' sacrifices and their struggles to combat terrorism.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Her Best Yet!, July 28, 2007

By 

auntee (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Next to Die (Navy SEALs, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

Lt. Penny Price is a physical therapist in the Navy. Her hunky next door neighbor, Joe Montgomery, is a Navy SEAL Lt. Commander recovering from injuries he suffered in a mission that went so horribly wrong that he was the only survivor. Joe is dealing with a lot of survivor's guilt and blames himself for the loss of his teammates and takes to the booze.

His neighbor Penny (who has a long standing crush on him and who he has never really paid much attention to) coincidentally becomes his physical therapist (giving great massages!), then his friend, and eventually, his lover. But Penny doesn't expect much from Joe, because she's witnessed his love 'em and leave 'em lifestyle and she doesn't really expect a commitment from him.

Penny's somewhat irresponsible younger sister Lia comes to live with her due to the threats she receives from the person who she believes to be their father's killer. (Their father worked at a bio tech weapons lab where the deadly chemical ricin was a toxic by-product and some mysteriously disappeared and was sold. They believe that he was run off the road in a car accident because of what he knew.) Both Penny and Lia are now in danger and Joe decides to help protect them.

Penny and Joe's romance develops slowly and believably and becomes passionate, and when Penny's life is directly threatened, Joe questions just what she means to him and what he really wants out of life.

Lia (a bit reluctantly at first) has a romance of her own with a very sweet younger-than-her Navy SEAL. Even though he's younger, Vinny's much more mature, and helps Lia to grow and be more responsible.

Whew...this one really got to me. Two great romances in one book! I was dabbing at my eyes the whole way through! I especially loved that characters from the previous three books made appearances, too. Some, like Hannah Lindstrom working with the FBI on Penny's case, had significant roles. By the end of the book you will find out the latest with Gabe & Helen, Luther & Hannah, Sebastian & Lela, and Westy & Sara. The touching finale is like a scene from a movie.

If you enjoy reading Suzanne Brockmann, I can almost guarantee that you'll enjoy Marliss Melton's books, and I think that this may be her best one yet!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4th in the series & still going strong, July 30, 2007

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Next to Die (Navy SEALs, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

Navy commander Joe Montgomery returns to the US after a disastrous Navy SEAL operation that left his entire team and a rescue crew dead in Afghanistan. Resigned to bury himself in a bottle, his perky neighbor Penny Price, a physical therapist assigned to nurse his wounds won't let him stay there long. Despite her crush, she knows that Joe is a womanizer, and has seen first hand just how adept since his hot tub is just below her window. As his therapy comes to an end, Joe has found something in Penny that he's never had with another woman; a true friend. She is there for him when he breaks down and expresses his fears that he is responsible for the deaths of his crew. But his feelings are put to the test when he attempts to introduce her to other men in his new squad, and realizes that he doesn't want her seeing anyone else.

Penny's sister Lia is a wild child. After their father was killed in a car accident (and both Pen and Lia believe it was murder), Penny became a second mother to Lia, losing her fiance in the process. Lia is now finding herself in the wary position of being attracted to a younger man whose car she crashed into. That Vinny is on Joe's squad is just a coincidence. As Pen and Lia look into their father's death, as well as the theft of ricin from the lab where he worked, they soon find themselves in jeopardy as their father's business partner is a man on edge, and turn to their SEALs for help.

Melton's fourth SEAL Team 12 tale is not quite as good as her other efforts (particularly the incredible "Forget Me Not"). All the old characters are back in supplemental (and often unnecessary) roles, but the story is a little overpopulated, with just too much to do in such a short time. The detour to visit with Vinny's family makes them out to be a stereotypical Italian family. But even with flaws, Melton's gift for storytelling and writing still make it a pretty darned good novel.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Seal Team 12 more like 3 &1/2 stars, July 17, 2007

By 

Elaine C McTyer "avid reader" (Dawson, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Next to Die (Navy SEALs, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

Marliss Melton returns to the stories of Seal Team 12. I have loved the first three books and this one is good. This story takes place during the same time as TIME TO RUN and tells the story of the new commander of Seal Team 12.

Penny Price is a physicial therapist at the Naval Hospital in Norfolk, Va. She lives next to Lt. Commander Joe Montgomery, they are not friends but she has looked after his cat while he was away and one of his many girlfriends did not take care of the animal. Penny and her sister Ophelia have found an e-mail from her father's partner that may prove he had a part in her father's murder. Now they are getting threatening phone calls.

Lt Commander Joe Montgomery is a Seal when working and a playboy when at home. He has numerous girl friends and a hot tub that gets quite a workout. On the last mission he took the place of his Senior Chief, who was sick, the mission went terribly wrong and he is the only survivor. Suddenly his priorities are changing, did he cause the death of his men, can he face the possibility.

Joe was seriously hurt in the mission and finds that Penny is his Physical Therapist. When funny things start to happen in their neighborhood he comes to her rescue.

I enjoyed the book but it is not as good as TIME TO RUN. I was disappointed in the playboy aspect of Joe, but that is probably a very accurate discription of most SEALS. While I did enjoy the book and will buy her next one I hope it will be better.