With No Remorse [Mass Market Paperback]

Cindy Gerard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 2011

Black Ops, Inc. operative Luke – Doc Holliday – Colter is taking some much needed down-time, making his way across the Peruvian Andes via rail, when banditos attack the moving train in the midnight hours.  It soon becomes apparent that robbery is not their intent but the abduction of super model Valentina, who is traveling incognito while recovering from a public scandal involving her ex-husband, high profile US Senator, Marcus Chamberlin.  Luke whisks Valentina off the train in a daring escape but the two of them become the targets of a relentless manhunt.  Enlisting the aid of Luke's BOI teammates, they soon discover that Val’s intended abduction is linked to a plot put in play by an international gun smuggling alliance.  The BOI team led by Luke, with Val along as a necessary pawn, must race halfway around the world to thwart a ruthless attack that would not only result in a devastating loss of life but destroy a tenuous peace the US and her allies have established in a vastly unstable part of the world. 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

CINDY GERARD's New York Times bestselling Black Ops, Inc. series also includes SHOW NO MERCY, TAKE NO PRISONERS, winner of the RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense novel, WHISPER NO LIES, and FEEL THE HEAT. She is the author of the bestselling Bodyguards series and thirty contemporary romance novels. She lives in the Midwest with her husband.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star; Original edition (July 19, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451606818
• ISBN-13: 978-1451606812
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Cindy Gerard has forty plus titles in print. In addition to 6 RITA nominations and 2 Rita wins, Cindy has numerous RT nominations and various awards to her credit. Each book of her single title romantic suspense series, Black Ops Inc, has appeared on the New York Times Bestseller top 20 list. Cindy writes sexy, heart-pounding romantic suspense and has had her work twice featured in COSMOPOLITAN Magazine as Red Hot Reads.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What's not to love about Luke?, July 20, 2011

By 

MsBaba4 - See all my reviews

This review is from: With No Remorse (Mass Market Paperback)

"Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then FEEL the answer. Learn to trust your heart."

Gosh, what's not to love about Luke? I love his sense of humor and he's sexy as sin, sensual, strong, caring and he's got enough self-doubts to make him human and accessible to my humble self. And he's got a heart of gold. Luke is worth your time and money and deserves five stars. The plot is good, there is enough action and romance and as always you get to see a lot of his "brothers" in action. Loved all this affectionate bantering and their interaction. So amazing!

Why I didn't give 5 stars:

I couldn't warm up to Valentina. To be honest, she couldn't live up to my expectations. And I didn't feel "connected". I wanted her to be more emotional throughout the story and I wanted her to trust Luke. Completely. Always. She had a major TSTL moment when she called her ex. I couldn't believe it and I got rather angry. She had her good moments, especially at the end of the book but it didn't do it for me, though. I remember Gabe and Jenna. What a couple! When I look back now, it is not only Gabe I loved so much in SNM but also Jenna. Jenna gave everything she had; she was extremely feisty and a wonderful smart-mouth and I love to see when a heroine brings the hero to his knees!

Anyway, back to With No Remorse. There's Joe...He did step up to the plate, too. He's also a guy who hides a lot of pain underneath his usually cool exterior. I'm absolutely sure that Steph is strong enough to make him come undone at the right moment. He'll be the hero of the final BOI's book "Last Man Standing". According to the author it'll be very dramatic and the sneak peek is highly promising! I am on pins and needles and can't wait to read his story! Currently I'm wondering what will happen after Last Man Standing will be released? With No Remorse featured a few new guys especially Mike "Primetime" Brown. I think that Cindy has a few options left for her readers...(less)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Black Ops series around, but ..., September 2, 2011

By 

A Book a Day (New England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: With No Remorse (Mass Market Paperback)

In my opinion, Cindy Gerard writes one of the best Black Ops series in the market today and she's on auto-read along with authors like Christy Reece and Pamela Clare in the romantic suspense department. This can be a good or a bad thing because I tend to hold their books to a much higher standard and I can't tell if this is the reason why I was left unsure of how to rate this particular installment. The writing is very good, the bad guys are believably bad, the hero was alpha hot, but the heroine was wishy washy and the chemistry was simply lacking something. In this genre, it's still a solid 4 read and would work as a standalone if you haven't read this series before, but for Ms. Gerard, it's more like a 3. On the upside, if you have read the series, most of the regulars are back and its always great to see them working together.

While Luke "Doc" Colter is on two weeks vacation, he spends his time working with other medical professionals providing health care in Peru and not sunning himself in Italy as he stated in the last book. When it's time to leave his two weeks of peace, he boards the midnight train to the airport to go back to work with Black Ops, Inc, but his peaceful mission is deeply disturbed when the train gets hijacked and gun men start searching the train very obviously for the tall lanky boy sitting across from Luke. Knowing nothing good can come to the boy, Luke intervenes, saves him and pushes him off the train in escape, only to find out that the boy is actually a woman, and not just any woman. She's actually the supermodel and Luke's boyhood fantasy, Valentina. Valentina has been in Peru to escape the ugly details and news splash of her recent divorce, meanwhile dealing with her severe trust issues, and claiming back her independence. She has no idea why these people are after her, but she finds herself, once again, dependent on a man, and this time it's for her very survival as well as her heart.

This installment to the Black Ops series starts out with a bang, has plenty of action, and steamy bedroom scenes, but for all that, it was actually missing that magical chemistry I'm so used to with Ms. Gerard's books. Luke is charming and witty as ever, but dealing with a lot of baggage since he almost died in the last book. I was definitely not impressed with Valentina and although she turns out to be a supermodel with gumption, she has a major TSTL (too stupid to live) moment with someone who had already proven he was not trustworthy. In terms of Luke and Val together, 14 hours of acquaintence was not enough time for these two to be worried about long term relationships, especially with armed murderous mercenaries chasing after them, but we find ourselves reading about just that and it didn't feel natural. I could relate a heck of a lot more if they had simply worried about survival first and then asked one anther on a date when it was all over. Bottom line, we know how these all end, but this one was predictable from start to finish.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lived up to my expectations, and then some!, July 23, 2011

By 

Jackie-the-Greyhound "45-mile-an-hour-couch-p... (Spain) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: With No Remorse (Kindle Edition)

This is a great example of a series that gets better and better. This is not a review for a plot synopsis (see the publisher's blurb and other reviews), and no spoilers, but the point is to describe the stronger (or not) points in case someone is wondering about jumping in and trying the books out.

Yes there is a bit of a 'formula' involved--the BOI series revolves around a group of guys--not exactly mercenaries, but 'black ops' types of former SEALS, Rangers, Force Recon, even CIA (and I'm sure I've left out somebody), who only contract with 'Uncle' to do the right thing for the right reasons etc. They are strong, hot, 'skilled', competent, moral etc. Each man has some kind of history that makes them a tad 'wounded', but when they find that extra special gal, they fall hard and fast and get to save the day. The author has been working her way through the group getting them to their happy endings. She uses a variety of female leads--reporter, blackjack dealer, teacher, doctor (a significant supporting character), intelligence agent etc who have varying levels of skills, but are ultimately brave and tough.

I really love how this author writes--she does her research and gets the details right (well, for some of it I'm guessing she is right--I really have no idea about the nuances of the various Glock models for example). She touches on real life horrors--Sierra Leone, human trafficking, guns, drugs. She doesn't make the characters perfect...they can be snarky, grumpy and yes, even have a few 'too stupid to live' moments. But, she does make you care about them without preaching or 'telling' you what they are--she shows what they are.

I also like how each story has building blocks found elsewhere in the series. The characters from the other books still play significant roles and you get to see them in action again. There is also an overriding theme that goes back to a mission-gone-wrong in Sierra Leone years before...every book has some reason to think about this and, going by the hints in this book and the preview for the next, it looks like there might be some final closure.

In other words, not just some fluffy romance reading (not that there's anything wrong with fluff of course!). This is the GOOD stuff for 'romantic suspense'.

Regarding this book in particular...Luke/"Doc" has been quite the supporting character in all the stories. He was badly injured in the previous book, and I love how this book shows how difficult it is to come to terms with something like that. He gets to meet a hot supermodel--and the only weakness I think in this book is that Valentina is perhaps not given enough backstory, she is a little less believable (supermodel with traumatic event in childhood, has her fears/insecurities etc, but I wonder how she avoided being totally spoiled).

Some don't like how she called her ex at one point in the book--however later we do find out why she does have some reason to think he'd be loyal (whether right or wrong, there is reason). In reality would you necessarily completely trust the stranger (who, granted did just do heroic things to save you, but really what do you know about him)? I think she was right not to want to fall too hard, too fast given her history of insecurities. This is now verging into spoiler territory and time to stop.

In any case, this is the next to last book in the BOI series and is well worth reading. If you have not read the prior books in the series though you could start here I do recommend you start at the beginning to avoid confusion and to understand the sub plots. Even the first book is one that had antecedents in her previous Bodyguards series--I felt 'Show No Mercy' was better having gone back to read the Bodyguards first. It's not necessary, but I do recommend reading them too. The series (with Kindle links because that is how I read them):

Black Ops Incorporated:

Show No Mercy (Gabe & Jenna)

Take No Prisoners (Sam & Abbey)

Whisper No Lies (Johnny & Crystal)

Feel the Heat (Black Ops, Inc.) (Raphael & BJ)

Risk No Secrets (Black Ops, Inc.) (Wyatt & Sophie)

Deadly Promises Anthology containing "Leave No Trace" (Cav & Carrie)

With No Remorse (Luke & Val)

The Bodyguards:

To the Edge

To the Limit

To the Brink

Over the Line

Under the Wire

Into the Dark

(Amazon limits number of product links, but you get the idea)

In any case, I really like the Bodyguards, and I really love the BOI series. I think this book is a great addition and I highly recommend this book--and all the rest of them too.

JTG