Striking Distance (The Colby Agency, Book 16) (Harlequin Intrigue Series Extra) [Mass Market Paperback]

Debra Webb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2004

This riveting fast-paced single title continues Debra's bestselling Harlequin Intrigue miniseries, "Colby Agency. CIA recruit Tasha North must neutralize an unknown assassin--but she finds "getting close" to her target very unnerving...and incredibly passionate!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Striking Distance by Debra Webb is a fast-moving, sensual blend of mystery and suspense . . . I thoroughly enjoyed it." -- New York Times bestselling author Linda Howard

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (February 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373835574
• ISBN-13: 978-0373835577
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,171,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been a story teller for as long as I can remember. I wrote my first story when I was eight or nine. Now, with my husband as my partner, I create gritty, sexy romantic suspense and chilling thrillers.Look for my debut thriller series, the Faces of Evil.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lucas and Victoria...finally!, March 1, 2005

By 

Susan Bischoff - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Striking Distance (The Colby Agency, Book 16) (Harlequin Intrigue Series Extra) (Mass Market Paperback)

Though not part of the Harlequin Intrigue category, this book continues a story that is on-going within that line. However, this part of the Colby Agency saga was just too good to try to whittle down to 75,000 words. So it emerges as a single-title novel which will hopefully be found by Webb's Colby devotees who may be left wondering, Hey, when did that happen? After all, this is the all-important and much anticipated story of Victoria and Lucas, and also solves the mystery of what really happened to Victoria's son, James Colby, Jr.. But since this book is so stand-alone excellent, let me try to talk about it on its own.

There are really two sets of protagonists in this story, Victoria Colby and Lucas Camp, and the mysterious assassin named Seth and green CIA agent Tasha North. Usually this kind of multi-plot in a romance takes away from the overall appeal and suggests that neither couple is strong enough to have carried the book. However, that is certainly not the case here, and the way the Colby series developed makes this approach all the more satisfying.

Victoria Colby is a hunted woman. Readers have never really known until this book why she has been stalked all these years by Errol Leberman. All we have known is that Leberman was responsible for the kidnap, torture, and murder of Victoria's husband, James Colby, and that Victoria believes him to also be responsible for the kidnapping of their child, James Colby Jr., a child she believes has been dead for eighteen years.

Leberman's grudge extends to Lucas Camp, James Colby's close friend, and a friend and confidant to Victoria all these years that she has dedicated herself to making her late husband's private investigations firm, the Colby Agency, the best in the business. Lucas's background is varied, heroic, and more secret than the mere CIA. He's currently involved in Mission Recovery, Webb's spin-off series from Colby, in which he recruits only the best of the best for his covert operations. All these years that he has stood by her, Lucas has been waiting for Victoria to be ready to put away her grief and move on. And it seems, at the beginning of Striking Distance that she is finally ready to put the past behind her and act on her long-suppressed feelings for Lucas.

This, of course, makes it the perfect time for Leberman to launch his ultimate plot against Victoria. He has an assassin waiting in the wings, ready to finally take her life now that she is finally ready to live it again. An assassin who calls himself Seth, and who is cold, ruthless, and just as dedicated to Victoria's destruction as Leberman himself. An assassin Leberman has been training these past eighteen years...

Lucas knows that Leberman has an assassin following Victoria. He knows that in Leberman's twisted mind, this would be the perfect time to strike. And yet he doesn't know why the assassin hasn't yet made a move against her. He needs someone to get close to the killer. Someone who would qualify as the best of the best, and yet, someone who is not so versed in field operations that Seth won't spot her as an agent right away.

Enter Tasha North. Not your typical Harlequin heroine. She's not shy and retiring, she hasn't been so focused on other things that she doesn't have any experience with men. This is a woman who knows that she'll need every weapon at her disposal to eliminate the threat against Victoria Colby and earn herself a spot on the Mission Recovery Team. She knows her assets and she's not afraid to use them.

The relationship between Tasha and Seth seems impossible given Seth's nearly inhuman qualities. But the sort of challenge that presents to the heroine and the author makes it all the more appealing. Webb handles their relationship in a way that is believable under the circumstances, rather than falling into the trap of creating some sudden, implausible about-face in one of her characters as so many authors are wont to do.

I found Striking Distance to be an excellent read, as well-paced as a Robert Ludlum adventure, but with better characters and believable romantic entanglements. Definitely worth any extra trouble to obtain, especially for Colby Agency fans.

If you haven't read the Colby Agency series, start with Webb's Safe By His Side (ISBN: 0-373-22583-0), Harlequin Intrigue #583.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful things come to those who wait!, February 21, 2004

By 

Selena Maneval (Mt. Pleasant Mills, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Striking Distance (The Colby Agency, Book 16) (Harlequin Intrigue Series Extra) (Mass Market Paperback)

I started out as a fan of Ms. Webbs by reading Keeping Baby Safe. I absolutely loved the book and it got me hooked on the Colby Agency novels. I've waited for this one since I heard it was coming out several months ago and I wasn't disappointed. The romance between Lucas and Victoria was wonderful, the circumstances that defined both their lives made you want to shed a tear for them. But in the end it all pays off, big time. It was definately worth the wait!
I was also intrigued by the budding romance between Seth and Tasha, I hope Ms. Webb incorporates more of their story into future books. Seth is the kind of tortured character you love to hate. He's evil but in a good way and you want him to be able to get past his demons and live life to it's fullest with the woman he's realizing he loves.
Then there's that final twist that makes you think about what you know and what you think you know. All in all Striking Distance is a five star book and it's made me a fan of Debra Webbs for life.

5.0 out of 5 stars Colby series fan, must read, August 17, 2009

By 

Jo E. Linhart "Colby fan" (Columbus OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Striking Distance (The Colby Agency, Book 16) (Harlequin Intrigue Series Extra) (Mass Market Paperback)

Great read, if you are a fan of the Colby series you will want to read this book. Victoria at long last gets her man (in more ways than one) and the mystery of James Jr. is revealed.