Monday, November 13, 2023

Review: Caught in the Crosshairs by Natalie Walters

About the Book
When it comes to a battle of the wills, these two may have met their match--in each other

Claudia Gallegos's career in the CIA once sent her to the Middle East, but that was in the past, and it's against policy to be in contact with any foreign entity outside the scope of a mission. So when the personal bodyguard of a Saudi prince exiled to Virginia calls her with an urgent plea for help, her first instinct is to ignore the request. She's not going to risk her job over some pampered black sheep from a royal family. But, it couldn't hurt to just check it out . . .

Former Army PSYOPS officer Ari Blackman is comfortable putting his expertise to use to influence governments, organizations, and people in ways that are more favorable to the mission at hand. Now he's been charged to use those skills on a fellow intelligence officer to determine whether she's compromised her oath and is involved in the death of high profile foreign national on US soil.

Thrown together in a fight not their own, Claudia and Ari have no reason to trust one another. But they must learn to work together to prevent a coup that could put America at risk.


MY THOUGHTS

This was an exciting and fast paced read. I loved seeing some familiar characters and enjoyed getting to know Claudia better.

Claudia finds herself in a bit of a tricky situation when she receives a phone call and texts from the head of security for a foreign royal asking for her help. There’s an address, a security code, and a request to hurry. When she arrives, she’s too late. She walks into a brutal crime scene just minutes before the police arrive, making her the perfect suspect. Was this a setup? How can she prove her innocence?

Even though this story is connected to Natalie Walter's Harbored Secrets series, it stands alone perfectly fine. I liked Claudia and Ari, and thought their banter was entertaining. This is a novella, so I thought it was a little lacking in some places and a little too fast moving in others, but I enjoyed it overall.

THREE STARS

4 comments:

  1. Novellas are great when you don't have a lot of time to read, but I often find myself wishing for more character development and plot from most of the novellas I do read.

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    1. I agree with you. I've read a lot of novellas this year because I haven't had the time to read as many full-length books, so I appreciate the fact that they're quick reads, but I do miss the character development in a lot of them. (Blogger's being weird again and put your comment in my spam folder. I need to get better about checking that. I had several of my own old comments in there too. 🤦🏻‍♀️)

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  2. This sounds like quite the thriller! I love when a hero is falsely accused and has to work to prove their innocence.

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    1. Me too! It's always interesting seeing the obstacles they come up against and trying to figure out who's behind it and why.

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