Review: With No Remorse

With No Remorse
Cindy Gerard
Romantic Suspense
Black Ops Inc/Book 6
Pocket/July 19, 2011

A DANGEROUS MAN

For Luke Colter, downtime is an illusion.  He should know better than to ever leave his gun behind, especially since now he's risking his life to save world-famous supermodel Valentina.

A REBELLIOUS WOMAN

Val thought traveling incognito through the mountains would be the perfect cure for her bruised heart ... until someone tries to kill her.  Without knowing who is after her - and why - does she dare trust her irresistible protector?

A PERILOUS MISSION THAT COULD SEAL THEIR FATE

Luke's elite military training offers little defense against his feelings for Val.  When his BOI team links her ruthless enemy to the cutthroat global weapons trade - and to a man from her troubled past - he'll do anything to save her.  So when Bal offers herself as bait, will he make the right call ... or surrender to the hold she has on his heart?

Black Ops Inc is such a intense romantic suspense series!  Ms. Gerard has a talent for creating fascinating characters, placing them in dangerous situations and putting the reader right in the thick of it, feeling everything the characters feel.   Luke and Val's story holds that same intensity throughout most of the book with only a few minor hitches in the plot.

Poor Luke "Doc" Colter can't even take a vacation with getting shot at!  If that's not enough, he gets to go all fan-boy on his teenage crush, supermodel Valentina.  It's every man's wet dream come to life, except for the bullets and bad guys chasing them.  Along with the action and suspense is Luke's trademark humor, his way of dealing with tough situations.   I've liked Luke from the beginning of the series and he holds up well in his own story.  He has a darker bent to him this time.  After nearly dying a year before, Luke's lost the love of the chase and the rush that comes from his dangerous work.  He's questioning his purpose and his abilities to not only keep himself safe but save others.

Valentina is trying to take a break from the spotlight after the breakup of her marriage.  So where does a supermodel head for rest and relaxation?  Peru - of course!  She does have her reasons but I was a little surprised at the location.  Val isn't my favorite heroine of the series but she wasn't as annoying as I was expecting a supermodel to be.  It's the one thing that would have made me skip this book had it been the first book in a series. I have a hard time getting behind a supermodel as a heroine.  But Val did prove me wrong and she came through in the most dangerous situations.

It's not a Black Ops Inc (BOI) book without the gang getting into the action.  I love how Gerard has incorporated females into the team.  Crystal and B.J (from Whisper No Lies & Feel the Heat, respectively) now hold important roles within the BOI.  They're not there as support staff, these women kick-ass - blowing up things and applying their considerable weapons skills.  The men of the team are still protective of the women but they do respect their abilities and put the women in danger because of that respect.

The sixth book in the series delivers all the action and suspense I've come to expect with smart, often fearless heroes and heroines.  With the last book in the series already out, I look forward to seeing how Gerard closes out the series - no doubt with a very satisfying bang. 

Rating: A- 

Black Ops Inc Series 

Show No Mercy
Take No Prisoners
Whisper No Lies
Feel the Heat
Risk No Secrets
Leave No Trace novella in Deadly Promises anthology
With No Remorse
Last Man Standing