Customer Reviews

Not Without Cause (The Operatives) (Harlequin Superromance No. 1338)

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In the final book in the series THE OPERATIVES, Meredith Santera is front and center. She is the leader of this group of agents, who are technically paid assassins, or so thinks Jack Haden. In their past, Jack and Meredith worked together and slept together, their work being as passionate and exciting as their hot steamy nights. But when Meredith mysteriously was fired from her job, Jack questioned Meredith about what was really happening, and found he couldn't continue his relationship with a woman whose morals and ethics seriously diverged with his.

Meredith's mentor and boss, Dean Reynolds, asks for her help. She hasn't seen him in years because of their covert operation, but he has asked her to come into the office to talk to him personally because of the nature of his request. Meredith's new assignment is to find Jack Haden, who is reportedly in Guatemala, and kill him. He has become a rogue agent and traitor to the country, and she must put an end to it. She is also to find a man named Brad Prescott, a civilian, and bring him back alive if she can. The two are somehow connected, but Dean does not explain how.

Meredith travels to Guatemala, thinks she's found Prescott but has instead accidentally found Jack in a prison, having been beaten and tortured and near death. What stops her from killing him, neither Jack nor Meredith knows, but it changes everything. And now Meredith and Jack are on the run. They aren't exactly sure who is after them, but they do know their lives are in danger, and whoever wanted Jack dead is probably one step behind them.

NOT WITHOUT CAUSE is not your average Harlequin Superromance. The entire series covers the lives of various members belonging to "The Operatives", but this last book in the series seemed to be the most violent. When Meredith finds Jack, she can see the abuses that were done upon him in the prison just by looking at his face. Some of the descriptions are not for the faint-hearted. The sex scenes are also steamier than the average book in this line of romance novels, but they were well done and fit with the overall tone of the story.

I'm giving this book no more than a 3.5 rating only because I had a hard time warming up to either of the main characters, but I did enjoy the adventures that Jack and Meredith had in Guatemala. There is a lot of tension-filled action as the two run for their lives, with Meredith trying her best to understand exactly who are the bad guys. The novel ties up all loose ends, explaining how The Operatives were formed and what they actually did as a unit, answering questions that may have lingered from the previous books. Meredith made appearances in all the books in this series, making the reader wonder who she really was and what made her tick. In NOT WITHOUT CAUSE, the reader will finally get introduced to this character, ending the series with a big bang. -- courtesy of Love Romances

Finally, Meredith's story, and is it ever a good one. If you've been keeping up with Kay David's Operative series, then you know these books are no ordinary Superromances. This story is action-packed from start to finish, and it's so refreshing to see a woman face what is normally considered a man's dilemma--duty and country vs. love. I highly recommend this book and the whole series.