The latest FBI Romantic Thriller from New York Times bestselling author Toni Anderson. FBI negotiator Charlotte Blood is at the top of her game. In an effort to halt a tension-filled, armed standoff before anyone else gets hurt, Charlotte is determined to unravel the mystery of a young woman’s death on a remote mountainside. Pity she has to fight her sexy, stubborn, Hostage Rescue Team … stubborn, Hostage Rescue Team counterpart every step of the way.
As a highly skilled operative, HRT Gold Team leader Payne Novak doesn’t have time to play detective or make nice with killers who flout the law. His focus is on getting inside the compound and ending the siege as quickly as possible.
Forced to work together to prove the tactical and negotiation arms of the FBI can cooperate, the battle-hardened HRT team leader and the quietly determined negotiator figure out they might have more in common than they realized.
As the clock ticks, Charlotte discovers there are some dangers she can’t talk her way out of, and the race to unearth long-buried lies becomes a matter of survival for everyone on the mountain.
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COLD WICKED LIES is the third instalment in Toni Anderson’s contemporary, adult COLD JUSTICE: CROSSFIRE erotic, romantic suspense series-a a spin off/crossover with the author’s COLD JUSTICE series. This is FBI negotiator Charlotte Blood, and HRT (Hostage Rescue Team) leader Payne Novak’s story line. COLD WICKED LIES can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalments or the original series is revealed where necessary.
Told from several third person perspectives including Payne and Charlotte COLD WICKED LIES focuses on a potential hostage situation and armed stand-off with a fortified compound after a US Fish & Wildlife officer is shot, and a young woman is found dead. Enter FBI negotiator Charlotte Blood, and HRT (Hostage Rescue Team) leader Payne Novak. What ensues is the slow building relationship between Payne and Charlotte as they must navigate the cold and blustery forests of Washington State in an effort to stop any further deaths when a number of environmental protestors find themselves caught between a group of end of days zealots, and the FBI.
Meanwhile, the compound members find themselves at an impasse as a fight for leadership is surely a threat to their own safety and numbers. As their current leader Tom Harrison and his eighteen year old son TJ prepare to flee, TJ must face the possibility that not all is well with the people he once called family and friends in the face of a murdered girl that may be connected to the people in charge.
The relationship between Payne Novak and Charlotte Blood begins acrimoniously as both come with preconceived notions about one another. Charlotte is an FBI hostage negotiator who doesn’t like to be considered ‘less than’ capable in a male-oriented environment of wanna-be cowboys and power hungry men, and her first impressions of Payne leave much to be desired. Payne Novak struggles in the face of demons from his past . Ordered to work together in an effort to quell their growing dislike, Payne battles between head and heart as his attraction to Charlotte continues to grow. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
COLD WICKED LIES is a story of power and control; suspense and intrigue; relationship, friendships and love. The premise is dramatic and intense; the slow building romance is seductive; the characters are energetic, capable and charismatic.
Copy supplied for review
4.5
Toni Anderson cannot write a bad book.I am sure of this. When it comes to romantic suspense, she is one of my favorite author.
In Cold Wicked Lies, we have enemies to lovers, mysteries and steamy scenes . What can we ask more?
Payne and Charlotte are both strong and stubborn characters. They have to work together and find a middle ground even though they cannot stand each other.
What I like the most is, how well written the story was. The plot twists and surprises catch you offhand.
5 stars
FBI negotiator Charlotte Blood is in Washington state to deal with the death of a woman on the mountain. A wildlife officer was shot and left in front of the bunker of Tom Harrison. When the sheriff’s department tries to recover the body, a deputy is shot. So Charlotte was called in along with the Hostage Rescue Team. Payne Novak is SSA of the rescue team. At first they cannot see eye to eye so their supervisor partners them up for seventy two hours, until they can get along. As they try to work together, they slowly realize the other is not as bad as they thought. A blizzard hits is when everything is comes to a head and the situation turns from bad to worse. The heat between these too starts to heat up but will they blow it before they even get started?
Charlotte is strong and independent. Payne is handsome and has had relationship troubles in the past, so he’s a little gun shy to get involved. Plenty of action and suspense with a little hanky panky thrown in. Awesome story that will keep you occupied for hours. I love getting lost in a good story and this one is exceptional.
OMGoodness!! What a fun fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat ride this was! Charlotte and Payne are both awesome, kick-butt characters. They’re coming from opposite sides to an investigation but when they are made to work together, Charlotte and Payne realize they are better together.
Great romantic suspense with plenty of heat and heart between the main characters.
I received an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.
Another awesome romantic suspense addition.
Toni Anderson is one of my favorite romance suspense writers. She can pull you into a story and have you invested in just a few pages.
This one has so many layers – there is the push/pull of two FBI agents who are extremely good at their job, but don’t like/want to work together. Yet they are thrust together 24/7 which ends up working out unexpectedly; there is TJ and his isolated family and the drama of the murder on the mountain. Who was it…who did it…who else will get hurt because of it! The unraveling of mystery and lies will keep you enthralled.
This was a real page turner and the chemistry was steamy! Charlotte and Payne are not your ordinary couple nor do you want them to be. That is part of the allure of their story.
I’m loving this series.
I voluntarily requested and read an advance reader copy.
With each book Ms Anderson writes I ger more and more hooked on her books. This is no exception. Book 3 in the series sees Agent Charlotte Blood and Agent Payne Novak end up on the same team. With friction immediately obvious the SAC of the case pairs them together to work out their differences. Oh boy! This was an explosive situation to start with as they’re tasked with a hostage rescue up in the mountains. What follows is a fast, action packed story with so many twists and turns it’ll keep you hooked from the first page to the last. Awesome book.
Charlotte and Payne are two agents trying to defuse a volatile situation where a dangerous group people who are held up in a bunker. She is the negotiator and he is head of the rescue team. They start off butting heads and are not happy when ordered to work together to straighten out their differences. They both have strong personalities so things do not start out well but the more they work together that friction turns to attraction. It was entertaining to see how they each handled the chemistry and admiration they started to feel for one another.
This story has several twist and turns that kept you guessing on what will happen next. There is always at least one person in a story that you love to hate. And what can I say about TJ and Kayla-TJ’s was caught up in a difficult position and it was heart wrenching. The epilogue was fantastic and a great ending to this story. Toni has a way with suspenseful romantic adventures and you can never go wrong with reading one of her books. I look forward to see what the next adventure will be.
I received a copy of this book as a gift and this is my honest and voluntary review.