Beyond Limits by Laura Griffin (Tracers #8)
Released: January 27, 2015
Romantic Suspense
Pocket Books

Reviewed by Mandi

Laura Griffin can write really good suspense. In previous books I’ve read, her bad guys are BAD. Her heroes and heroines are smart and the books are always action-packed. My one complaint has always been the lack of romance. There is always a HEA, but the road to romance is not always super sexy or detailed. I’ve actually skipped her last couple because reviews have said the romance is even less than normal. But this book has a Navy SEAL hero and a FBI heroine with a terrorist plot – that combination appealed to me.

Liz and Derek have a past as they met about a year prior (I’m guessing it may have been mentioned in a previous book). But as Derek’s career takes him overseas and Liz is busy being a special agent, they have lived separate lives. But when a terrorist plot is revealed, Derek and Liz have a common goal – stop the terrorists before they strike on US soil. Derek was on a mission rescuing an American hostage when he uncovers a map of Houston. Not sure what it means, he captures one of the guys where the map was found, and brings him in for questioning. The problem is, the captive was handed back to his country for a different crime he committed and allowed to escape. Now the FBI have been alerted to this threat, and Liz steps in to investigate. The leads start pouring in as they think the bad guys could be infiltrating through Mexico into Texas.

This book is heavy on the suspense. I think Laura Griffin writes such believable suspense, which is so important to me when reading this genre. I never feel the need to roll my eyes or snort when the characters go into action. Their thoughts and actions always seem smart and reasonable. Liz is a heroine who is a little more cold and stand-offish. She is very serious about her job and doesn’t have time for the sexy SEAL who keeps popping up on her job. She doesn’t want to be the token female agent placed on the job or the one chosen just because she has a friendly relationship with the SEALs. She wants to prove herself and works tireless. While she is a little colder, I liked her a lot.

Derek’s stake in this terrorist plot is personal. When one of his fellow SEALS die while rescuing the hostage, he wants these guys to go down. On leave, he is able to meet up with Liz and start poking around and using his own contacts. He is tall and muscular and wears cowboy boots. He is much warmer than Liz and much more eager to explore the chemistry between them. As I mentioned earlier, I’m always itching for more sexual tension in Griffin’s books. The romance falls a little flat for me but at the same time, I really appreciated the fact that they take the terrorist threat seriously and don’t ignore it while jumping under the covers.

Overall this is a nice suspense story. If you like terrorist plots, try this one.

Rating: B

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