He refused to face his past…so it came crashing into his present.LA Times investigative reporter Jesse McMillan scores the biggest story of his career. An elusive Mexican mafia kingpin agrees to talk–but the price Jesse must pay is greater than he ever imagined.When Jesse reunites with an old girlfriend he has dreamed about, but never thought he’d see again, the increasingly dangerous … the increasingly dangerous investigation puts his budding romance in jeopardy.
The more Jesse digs, the more disturbing and potentially deadly connections emerge between his childhood home in the Canal Zone, Panama and the Mexican mafia.
Can Jesse and Clare survive the deadly secrets he uncovers about their past? Will he live to write the article?
If you like Nora Roberts, Kendra Elliot, or Mary Burton, this book is for you. Start reading now!
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It is June of 1977 and Jesse McMillan is standing under the canopy watching what will probably be his last tropical storm in the Panama Canal Zone. His 6-foot lanky frame is filled with despair because President Carter is getting ready to sign the treaty that will take away his home.
His best friend Randy shows up wanting to party and pulls a joint from the Marlboro pack in his back pocket. All his late-night partying is starting to show on his face and no matter what he says Randy doesn’t listen. Randy is more interested in partying and selling weed.
When their fellow classmate Sam is gone for three weeks without a word, Jesse finds out that Randy is into more than just weed, he and Sam have been selling cocaine. It’s their last night in The Zone and Randy tells Jesse that he has to leave the party to make a deal and asks Jesse to come along, but he tells Randy he wants nothing to do with cocaine and walks into the party.
Almost a decade has gone by since that night and Jesse now lives in Irvine, California. While he is waiting for his grilled cheese sandwich to brown Jesse picks up a dart and aims it at the dartboard on the kitchen wall. Bullseye! Right between the eyes on the photo of the former President. His cat, Millicent watches him with boredom as she finishes eating.
He’s had to change the photo multiple times as all of his friends from Panama throw darts at the photo and curse the former President for costing them their homes in the Canal Zone when he signed the treaty giving Panama back to the Panamanians. In doing so all their homes reverted to Panama and all the military-based families moved back to the United States.
Jesse is an investigative reporter for the LA Times covering the Latin American beat because he is fluent in Spanish and more importantly his association with Panama. And his boss is on his back for a front-page story about Panama now since it was upside down after an American soldier was shot down and Noriega annulled the election. He is also after him about his story about the crack cocaine that was ravaging the young kids of the barrios of Santa Ana.
Gonzalez, a Mexican mafia drug lord’s name kept coming up in his investigations about the crack cocaine, but whether he was involved was still unclear, but after his boss gave him a deadline so the story would hit tomorrow morning’s paper he needs to stall him to see if he can get a meeting with the drug lord.
When he gets home his friend Micky pulls him to a Zone party despite his pleading he didn’t want to go, but once he gets there he is happy that he did because standing before him is his old girlfriend Clare who he hasn’t seen since he left Panama.
I loved this story. It is very well written and thoroughly researched. This book is totally from Jesse’s POV and the story goes back and forth in time as Jesse realizes the current Panama crisis he is doing a story on is closer to home and more dangerous than he would like.
I love all the characters in this book. We get to know Jesse and his friends fully as he goes back in time and get a feeling for all their issues growing up – love, drugs, friendships and enemies.
I love the intrigue of the story and how it was woven through an actual event in history. This book is full of action and danger. Although Jesse gets his HEA the story doesn’t revolve around his romance, but more on his investigative story and how it all leads back to his and his friend’s past life in the Panama Canal.
This book was very emotional at times especially when Jesse finally deals with what happened in the final days before his family left Panama. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading the rest of the series!
I have recently been introduced to Ms Bawden-Davis’ books and have really been enjoying them. I read the prequel to the series and then picked up this one, and I can honestly say, I have a new author to follow now! This first installment was really a page-turner. Filled with intrigue, suspense, and action I was completely engrossed in the story till the end. The story was presented in an interesting way, switching between past and present and really helped with understanding the characters and their storylines. Plenty of plot twists will keep you on the edge of your seat anxious to find out what happens next. This was a great start to the series and I’m excited to read the next one!
I was given a complimentary copy from the author and am voluntarily leaving my review
Wow. What a great story!! Being a military BRAT & former USAF spouse, I completely related to the characters picking up their friendship years later as if no time had passed between them. I truly thought Jesse’s best friend from the Zone was behind everything. Gotta love those plot twists!! Lol. I can’t wait to read Sam’s story.
I enjoyed the book for the suspense and little romance. It was a little confusing with the back and forth of time frames. The characters were well-developed. It was a good start to the series, and I’m looking forward to reading more.
(3.5) Intrigue, suspense. This is book 1 in a series. I have read them out of order and that is not an issue. The premise is intriguing and the information provided purely in a fiction setting made me think about the Panama Canal and the zone and opened up my eyes and heart. I lived in Mexico for awhile so some of the descriptions I could relate to. The road Jesse, investigative reporter is at times heart breaking and suspenseful. This is a back and forth in time, which I personally do not care for, it was frequent enough that I had to really concentrate, and is the cause of the 3.5, but it certainly lays the ground work for some of the other characters, and the ‘secrets’ that impacted them all. There is sorrow, family, and hope.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this.
I am pleasingly surprised.
Thought provoking, page turner…
***I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.***
Facing your past is necessary
This tale travels between now and when the characters were teens in the past. The author uses back flashes to show the history of the characters.
Jesse McMillian is a hard-hitting reporter covering the Latin scene. He and his current contacts have a common joined history. Even as he reports on the current troubles with drug lords and their henchmen, he cannot escape remembering some of his childhood friends were involved in transporting or using drugs when they were young.
Read the tale as Jesse attempts to move forward in his life. As he faces the ghosts of his past–both good and bad, watch as Jesse exposes the corruption around him. Observe him as he tries to navigate the murky waters of circumstance to lasting love.
I read a free ARC.
A wonderful enjoyable suspenseful story. This engaging entertaining storyline had me glued page after page withe romance and suspense. It brought pictures of the past as you journey through the present with suspense of who is after him while wondering if he will ever find peace. The characters are interesting and well developed. I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC.
I have been looking at this series since it came out. I wanted to read and review it , but I chickened out to ask for an ARC. When I saw this on Story Origin Reviews, I thought this is my one chance to read it and I am so glad that I was approved for this book. Hopefully her others in the series ends on on Story Origin Reviews so I can read them.
I loved the book!! It got me a little confused the first time I read it. The second time I understood totally. What confused me was the flashbacks of the teen years and back to the adult years. As soon as I read it the second time, I loved it. It was much more clearer to me after the second time. Jesse and Sam fast became my new book boyfriends. It was a good fast read with a lot of excitement and some tear jerker scenes. They may not have been tear jerker scenes but they were to me. This book and series is recommended.
I receive a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review