Enemy territory is a dangerous place to fall in love.After the deaths of three undercover cops investigating a drug ring in a seedy strip club in Seattle, Detective Mahir Hussain has been sent to finish the job. He joins the club’s security team in the hopes of finding enough evidence to bust the operation before the men in charge find a reason to put him in a shallow grave.To protect the … strippers, only gay men can work the club. Ridley, the cold and intimidating head of security, knows exactly how to test potential new hires–including Mahir. From the minute they meet, Mahir and Ridley engage in a dangerous dance of sex and mind games. Mahir needs to find his evidence before Ridley figures out he’s a cop–and before they both grow too close to betray one another.As the game goes on, Mahir burrows deeper into the operation, where he learns there’s much more happening than meets the eye . . . and why every cop who made it this far has been silenced with a bullet.
more
L. A. Witt is powerful all on her own but paired with Aleksandr Voinov, the narrative is absolutely explosive! It’s a feeling the reader will experience right from the first page and for those considering the audiobook, prepare for an unparalleled performance from the narrator! Nick J. Russo knocks the complete and utter stuffing out of this work making this one of the best listens I’ve had this year! For those contemplating an e-book or paperback purchase, please consider the audiobook format!
In ‘Hostile Ground’, readers encounter Detective Mahir Hussain who is sent undercover to investigate a drug ring buried within a strip club in Seattle. After the deaths of three undercover cops, Mahir is determined to do his best to shut the operation down. He gains a position on the club’s security team the only way he can–by proving he’s a gay man less likely to be interested in the women who operate as both strippers and prostitutes. The test is administered by the head of security named Ridley who expects a blow job as the initial step in proving commitment to the organization. Given his attraction to the cold and ruthless man, Mahir finds his test enjoyable as Ridley adds another dimension to the test by reciprocating with a handjob.
As Mahir burrows into the drug ring by winning the dubious approval of Ridley, he gains the responsibility of his nephew who is being persecuted by his father for being gay. It couldn’t happen at a worse time as Mahir is required to work at the strip club at night and to spend most evenings in a small apartment rented for his cover. That Ridley acquires access to the apartment for the purpose of furthering an intimate relationship with Mahir makes the trips back to his real home particularly risky for his cover and for the safety of the nephew who is being neglected. Spying Ridley releasing a man that he was supposed to kill, Mahir realizes he is an agent for a different law enforcement organization and that they both can band together to take the drug ring down.
The understanding that the drug ring was recruiting young boys as couriers becomes a bad situation when they discover many are reported missing from all over. Bad becomes worse when they recognize that the boys are limited to three local deliveries before disappearing. Worse becomes worse when Mahir’s nephew follows him to the club and comes to the notice of the club owner who recruits him as a courier. Ridley and Mahir have no choice but to use the nephew to get additional information about the drug operation including the disappearance of past couriers. It is discovered that the aspect of the drug operation that was bringing in the most money was the trafficking of the young boys who initially served as carriers. When the dust clears, the nephew is safe, the drug operation along with the human trafficking is busted, the bad guys are killed or jailed, the heroes are sharing a home together, and Mahir is working as a special agent for Ridley’s employer the Drug Enforcement Administration!
With such a remarkable premise, the synopsis provided here does not capture the thrills and excitement of the novel. The writers labor to great effect to build a world that is incredible with character development that extends beyond that which ordinarily occurs in a novel where the major players grow to be lovers. In addition, there is optimum pacing (the rate at which the writer introduces key elements in the story), and exemplary balance (the distribution of varying types of elements in the narrative) that keeps the readers engaged and turning the pages. What a truly thrilling novel!
Mahir is a police detective of Syrian origin who is going deep undercover for the first time as Saeed Hayaz, former military drifter, keeping his cover as close as possible to his own background.
He’d always been a bit of a loner, his partner is on medical leave and this undercover role required a gay man so it seemed a good fit. His boss was aware that Mahir was Muslim and gay but that was not commonly known at work and he wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. If the stress of the undercover assignment in a crime syndicate that has already caused the death of three of his colleagues wasn’t enough, an unexpected family problem requires his attention. Mahir is torn between his strong desire to bring this crime boss to justice and the needs of his 17-year-old nephew, nearing adulthood in a family where homosexuality is not acceptable.
I’ve long been a fan of author L.A. Witt and this story is no exception. I’m a big fan of her contemporary military gay romance. This crime/police dramatic romantic suspense with the emphasis on ‘suspense’ adds additional tension to the sexual tension inherent in the author’s gay romance.
The coauthor Aleksandr Voinov is new to me. If this is a representative example of his ability to create complicated, interesting characters and a compelling plot, I will be reading much more. Early in this story, I couldn’t imagine how this could end in any way that I could accept. There were just too many complications, too many ways that things could go entirely FUBAR, and they did.
Mahir’s attraction to the menacing David Ridley, assistant to the crime boss, quickly became a problem. The mysterious Ridley, as dominant and menacing as he is by reputation exhibits dissonant emotions and behaviors inconsistent with his role as the #2 man. On one hand, Ridley tested Mahir’s loyalty and on the other, he was concerned for his safety. Ridley is described as a cold, borderline sociopath yet the reader is drawn to him as there are little hints that things are not as they seem.
Hostile Ground is a riveting story that doesn’t let the reader lose focus or be drawn away from the story. The authors describe the characters with precision but the reader’s understanding of the characters and the story changes while the suspense grows. I suppose that one could call this an enemies to lovers story although it was the circumstances that required that they be at odds rather than the men themselves. I highly recommend that you add this to your priority TBR.