Forced to go into witness protection, ATF Special Agent Thayne Wolfe, is less than thrilled. The State’s Attorney needs him to testify against one of the most ruthless and notorious arms dealers in the world. Expecting boredom and lots of daytime television, he instead ends up with a ridiculous new job, a stupid new name, and the world’s most annoying shadow. Jarrett Evans, is nevertheless tasked … tasked with keeping Wolfe alive long enough to put Mills Lang and his crew away for the rest of their miserable lives.
Jarrett Evans, former Marine, has always been a free spirit, doing the dirty work for Uncle Sam whenever and wherever he’s needed. One of the best snipers in the world, Evans is at peace with the man he’s become. That doesn’t mean he’s ever liked the cold-blooded killer who stares back at him from the mirror every day. The moment he meets pretty boy Thayne Wolfe, things start a slow change and redemption begins to sound possible.
Mills Lang, the world’s most ruthless arms dealer, is little more than a serial killer in his own right. Rotting away in prison with nothing but time on his hands, Lang is determined to destroy the man he allowed into his inner circle. Thayne Wolfe will die in the most painful way… along with anyone he loves.
Please Note Title includes an exciting excerpt from “Flash and Bang”
(Stay tuned for Thayne and Jarrett’s continuing adventures. “Flash and Bang” Book Two… coming soon!)
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Patricia Logan loaded this (audio)book with rocket fuel and launched it! OMeffingG! This series had been recommended countless times but I wandered around it until having the pleasure of interacting with the writer. NOW, I know what ALL the excitement is about! In the book, we meet ATF Special Agent Thayne Wolfe who had been working undercover for two years in order to bring down Mills Lang, a psychopathic arms dealer. Knowing Lang will contract a hit on Wolfe before he could testify against him, the ATF hires former Marine Jarrett Evans to serve as a bodyguard. It is known Wolfe would not suffer a witness protection program, and Evans is a better though not painless alternative.
In addition to the men sharing a one-bedroom apartment when they are so very attracted to each other, things are arranged for Thayne Wolfe to go undercover as a hairstylist in a beauty parlor owned by the mother of an agent from another ATF office. Jarrett Evans is set up as the shop’s receptionist, which gives the military sniper a unique opportunity to see those entering and exiting the shop. There’s a bounty on Wolfe’s head and his disguise does not prevent him from being recognized. Both Wolfe and Evans are forced to run from the assassin commissioned to kill him, giving them more time to be in each other’s space. Talk about sexual fireworks! With everything else that goes on, Lang’s corrupted attorney is able to threaten one of the witnesses leading to a hung jury and his ability to walk free. The only light at the end of this particular rainbow occurs when Jarrett is offered a position with the ATF and an ability to partner with Agent Thayne Wolfe indefinitely.
The book is witty and face-paced with a colorful cast of characters with depth, an incredibly solid storyline, and some of the hottest sex scenes imaginable! The writer doesn’t cheat to increase the word count by allowing the main characters to wallow or languish in a particular scene. Things move along at a rate that leaves the readers interested and engaged. This story ends as a happy for now, with the bad guy poise to make another appearance in one or more subsequent books. The audiobook is competently narrated by Michael Dean, who improves beautifully over the course of the series. Okay, Ms. Logan! I’m hooked, I’m hooked!
A wonderful start to this series. I love Thayne and Jarrett. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Thayne, an ATF agent who’s been undercover for two years, finally has the opportunity to bring the criminal boss, Mills Lang, to justice for all his brutal crimes, including the murder of an innocent man. Mills Lang, on the other hand, has plans, which include killing Thayne and avoiding prison. Jarrett is a former Marine with a dangerous past. He’s been hired to guard Thayne and hide the ATF agent in plain sight. When they first meet, Thayne and Jarrett clash, but soon that energy changes into lust, and lust transforms into something more.
The pacing of the plot was fast, with humor and action mixed in with explosive sex scenes. The characters were both alpha men who weren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty and didn’t shy away from a fight. The author went for more a Hollywood movie type of set up when it came to this plot, but it worked for the story. For action thrillers and romance books I usually ignore things that aren’t “realistic” because I’m here for the story and not an educational primer, but there were a few things that the author tried to describe or threw into the dialogue that were just plain wrong. For example, the author kept brining up the security clearances of the characters and the way security clearances were talked about was just wrong and did not add anything to the plot of the book. It didn’t bother me the first time, but talking about security clearances kept being brought up and it started to get under my skin, especially since it wasn’t important to the book at all. It just sounded like the author wanted to make the characters sound more “authentic” as ATF agents, but it backfired.
The writing was decent with a steady flow that kept the plot of the book moving forward. The real gems of the book were the characters. I really enjoyed Thayne and Jarrett as characters and their chemistry was hot. Plus the sex scenes were fantastic. I loved the energy that flowed between the characters and how they developed into a rock solid couple.
Michael Pauley (now known as Michael Dean for his MM romance narrations) did a wonderful job with the audiobook. He made it into a performance and embodied both Thayne and Jarrett very well. I judge audiobooks based on whether or not I enjoyed the narration and whether or not I was confused by who was speaking, and Michael did a fabulous job on all fronts. He kept me engaged, and was laughing and gasping as I listened to the book driving to work.
Overall Rating for the Story: 3.5 Stars – There was a few hiccups in the book when it came to some plot points, and I wished there was a little more character development, but overall I really enjoyed this book and will be reading the next the one in the series.
Audiobook Narration Rating: 5 Stars – Michael did a great job and made the audiobook into a performance and not just a narration of the book.