Going Deep by Anne Calhoun
Series: Alpha Ops, #5|
Romance Suspense
November 1, 2016
St Martin’s Press
Reviewed by Tori
Famous pop singer Cady Ward, Queen Maud to her fans, has come home to rest and recuperate after a long grueling tour. When an overzealous fan is able to make it backstage after her last concert, her manager demands she hire a bodyguard.
Police officer Conn McCormick has his own problems with a potential scandal that could ruin his career. His captain decides to place Conn on bodyguard detail while IA investigates his case.
Not looking for a relationship, their close proximity only fuels the flames of their chemistry and soon Cady and Conn give into their desire. But someone is messing with Cady and when Conn’s investigation reveals who the culprit is, he will have to choose his heart or his job.
Going Deep is the 5th book in Anne Calhoun’s Alpha Ops series. Each book can be read comfortably as a standalone though there is character and scene cross over from previous books. Though this is listed as a romance suspense, It is more contemporary romance with a suspenseful/mystery element running through it. The evolution of the romance takes precedence. While well written with a smooth pace, a steady stream of reveals at appropriate intervals, and the expected steamy scenes; there is a curious sense of disconnect in here. The characters and the storyline develop and progress as expected but with none the emotional intensity and sense of anticipation I usually experience while reading her books. The spark that would have brought it all to life is not in evidence. The full novel length helps evolve the storyline but not enough to save it.
The beginning introduces us to our protagonists and has a promising start. Cady is a famous musician who has come to her hometown to relax for a couple months before beginning another tour to promote a new album. Having fired her last bodyguard, she bulks at needing a new one in her hometown. When a drunk fan sneaks backstage to profess his love and a string of bad luck begins to plague her, her manager demands she hire a bodyguard. Here we meet the super sexy, super broody Conn McCormick.
Conn McCormick, a former soldier turned police officer, is a quiet self-contained man who’s being accused of assaulting a prisoner in his care. His lieutenant decides to get him out of the office and public eye while they investigate the charges brought against him. As Conn has some documented anger issues, he suspects he’s being set up. His lieutenant refuses to allow him to look into it, instead loaning him out as Cady’s bodyguard and asking him to trust the system he pledged to defend.
Calhoun spends time showcasing the contrasts between Cady and Conn and slowly introducing their compatibility. I enjoyed getting to know Cady and Conn as individuals. They seem very different on the surface yet deep down they want the same thing. Love. Respect. Commitment. Choice. Cady had a decent childhood with some mild angst while Conn was shuffled around, unwanted, from relative to relative after his deadbeat father disappeared. Cady isn’t naive but she also isn’t as jaded as one would suspect for a rockstar. She accepts the negative along with the positive aspects associated with her career choice. I liked that she while she wasn’t a pushover she also wasn’t a diva. She’s very comfortable in her own skin. Conn, on the other hand, is a mass of contradictions. A solitary figure, he is most comfortable surrounded by his brothers in blue- his family. A family that wants him, is proud of him, and will never desert him. Being accused of a crime he didn’t commit hits him on a multitude of levels. He feels betrayed and abandoned.
Where I would have expected more friction here (Cady is famous, rich, and very mobile while Conn is middle class and firmly settled in his job and the town) it’s very minimal. Every possible stumbling block is easily resolved with little to no fanfare. This couple is excruciatingly affordable. Nothing really seems to phase them. We see some raised emotions from time to time but overall they roll with the flow. Watching them come together is nice and sweet but nothing momentous. There is quite a bit of downtime as Calhoun works to put this couple on the same page together.
As Calhoun is the queen of erotically charged romances, I’d be hard pressed to find fault with the physical scenes in here but again, it’s all very circumspect. There is a faint push and pull in the beginning as Conn seeks to talk himself out of wanting anything personal with Cady but easily overrides himself at every available opportunity. Some hot and heavy love scene adds to the chemistry we feel from the beginning, they didn’t do much to solidify this as a viable romance. It has insta-love all over it and while I could see understand Conn falling for Cady-she offers him stability and family- I wasn’t sure what tipped the scales for Cady.
A cast of secondary characters flirts in and out of the storyline, adding to the suspense and mystery of behind both conflicts. No one really stood out beyond their place settings with the exception of Cady’s sister. Her scenes are some of the strongest aspects of foreshadowing I’ve seen in a long time. Calhoun excels at making her an unlikable character.
The two main conflicts set up nicely but fail in delivery and development. Calhoun seems to lose interest in them early on and they stay in the background until she pulls them out to remind us they are there. I was disappointed in the resolutions. They were flimsily constructed and their lack of development has them falling flat once we get all the facts behind them.
While Anne Calhoun remains an erotic siren whose couples and romances are a literary feast for the eyes and senses, this particular book seems to deviate from Calhoun’s usual fare and just wasn’t what I expected.
Grade: C-
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