The Hot Zone

Excellent read.

When I was half way through this story I actually wondered if I made a mistake and bought one of her older stories. It seemed extremely familiar. Super strong hero and super strong heroine? Check. Heroine in peril? Check. Hero dashes in and saves her with all the smooth efficiency a hero is capable of? Check. Fast pace and instant attraction? Check. Awesome sidekick? Check. Although I will admit this is not my favorite series of this author (I have read every book published by her as Stephanie James, Jayne Ann Krentz, Amanda Quick, and Jayne Castle...) I have always felt her books in series, though related, can be read easily on their own and still make sense. But with this book I felt the story was a bit rushed and there was a certain lack of backstory for first time readers who happen upon this author for the first time. But the ending was where I wondered if I'd missed something. It felt as tidy as ever, but extremely abrupt and super quick for happily ever after. I kept thinking the bad guy would turn out to be someone hiding in plain sight, one of my favorite plot twists of this author normally. But instead he seemed to be lacking in description and with very little character development. I wasn't scared of him, and not because of the heroine's bravery, but because he seemed secondary. This story had the feel of a novella. A short segue to another, bigger story that I'll have to wait a few years to find out what happens next. It is not something I'm usually left feeling with this author.