Deep
I waited until the VERY LAST MINUTE to read Deep because I knew I'd want to read the conclusion right away. Now there's only a couple of weeks away, and yeah, I'm already jonesing. Also, I've been with the Blake Security series from the very beginning. I say that because I keep trying to decide whose book I want next, and I'm never right.
After Shameless I desperately wanted Rafe's story. Well, that didn't happen. Instead we got Jonas and JJ in the Force Duet. I was happy to see it play out that way, since JJ needed to come next, and it made perfect sense. So once I reviewed that, I even ASKED Nana Malone if we'd get to learn about Matthias next.
Can you see where this is going? Yeah, this isn't about Matthias, is it? It's Rafe. They pulled a fast one on me. They planted a metric crapton of bread crumbs about the soft-spoken, yet dangerous tech-wizard, and then they dropped Rafe on us like an 8-pack of Guinness in an Irish pub.
I'm so not complaining though. As I was reading, I kept saying to myself, "okay, so they're going to end this half like this...". No. "hmmm not like that then, maybe, THIS?" No. The ended it on a cliffhanger, of course, because they TELL US THAT. But it's not where I expected. And poor Rafe, it's not where HE expected either.
Speaking of that canny devil, Rafe is back in all his glory. He finds himself in Deep in several ways. (see what They/I did there?) His old lives are coming back to haunt him. An old job with loose ends has some new activity, and the old higher-ups want his intel. Rafe wants nothing to do with his past now that he's back with his sister and his new family, and he bristles every time they contact him.
He's also taken in a stray. A literal stray. Diana - who he found at the scene of an accident, battered and bruised. Rafe has taken her in and sheltered her from her abusive ex. I mean, who better to protect her than an ex-spook, current badass Blake Security Agent, and Hero Complex sufferer? Nobody, that's who.
On the other hand, Diana is haunted by her past. She definitely has a difficult time believing that someone like Rafe would want to protect her. But is that all she wants from him? She's not nearly as cut and dry as she appears, and Rafe is very distracted by his attraction to her. Turns out, even women with agendas can get involved, which makes for a very complicated situation.
Man, this book was goooood. I know it's the "setup" part of the story, so I'm looking forward to the conclusion where it really heats up. I had a couple of teensy issues with the fact that Rafe seems a little out of character, but I hand waved a little of that due to the whole "thinking with his privates" thing.
So I give Deep 4.5 really strong Aspirin tablet stars.