The Cost Of Love by Drue Allen
Romantic Suspense
April 7, 2010
Hardcover, 350 Pages
Cengage Gale

Reviewed by Tori
 
Favorite quote: “If I’m staring, it’s at that ancient Glock. Why not just carry around a rock to whack people with?”

Agent Dean Dresler has seen it all. Or so he thought. But when he is shown his assignment, a bio terrorism victim, Dean realizes that this maybe bigger then he has ever dealt with before.

A bio terrorist group has declared war on the United States and intel narrows them down to Roswell, New Mexico. Dean can’t so this alone so he is given a new partner -  Dr. Lucinda Brown. Though she has no field experience, she is the leading expert in molecular biology and now Dean’s new partner. Dean does not want the responsibility he feels towards Lucy and tries to get rid of her.  But soon she proves invaluable to him.

As Dean and Lucy begin their dangerous mission, they also begin an affair that surpasses all their expectations. When the final showdown begins, Dean and Lucy will have to make the ultimate choice between their country and their love.

The Cost of Love is a fascinating foray into the grim and chilling war of domestic terrorism. Ms Allen’s superb world building skills paints a vivid and realistic portrait of the men and woman who fight in secret against those who seek to destroy us. The story line’s elaborate twists and turns provides a suspenseful tension filled read that draws you in. The realism of the plot had me on edge till the very last page.

Our hero and heroine, Dean and Lucy, are both down to earth and steadfast; each with their own reasons for entering this shadow war. They each are so real and personable that you can’t help but wonder where you know them from. As we watch them develop from partners to lovers, the chemistry and humor between them electrically arcs off the page. Ms Allen does a superb job of fleshing out their personalities and melding them together.

Dean comes off rather set in his ways but soon a romantic side to him is revealed and you fall a little in love with him yourself. Lucy is young and it shows at times but she proves time and time again that her loyalty and love for Dean will drive her to amazing lengths to protect him.

What I really appreciated about our protagonists is while they are both alphas-they aren’t over the top. Too often in thrillers (especially spy/war), the protags are so extreme in their personalities that it’s hard to connect to them. I had no such feelings about Lucy, Dean, or any of the characters. I also appreciated that the story didn’t set up either protags to carry more emotional baggage then a Samsonite company. There was no emotional obstacles for Dean and Lucy to overcome in order for the romance to progress. The story stayed on track and that was a beautiful thing.
The secondary characters were all highly developed and very personable with their quirks-  cementing the realism to the story. The small town mentality was captured perfectly by Ms Allen and had me matching her characters to people I know.

The arc of the story is exhilarating in it’s telling. We are taken step by step on their journey; never shielded from the action or the heartbreak as they experience it. As we neared towards the climatic finale I was shocked and thrilled by the avenues the author was willing to take her characters down. The ending was deeply satisfying and the fact that Ms Allen took us beyond the main story and gives us an ending to Dean and Lucy has earned Ms Allen a special place on my Authors To Watch list. I did feel there were a couple of  items that  weren’t fully explained in the book that left me wondering why they were even mentioned. But in no way did it deter from the story.

Drue Allen is definitely an new author to watch in the romantic suspense genre.

Rating: 4/5

Recent Reviews:
Love Romance Passion – 5/5
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