In this sizzling and suspenseful Operation Mayhem novel by USA Today Bestselling author, a soldier betrayed falls for the doctor who changed him.
He’s searching for revenge. She’s searching for redemption. The answer to their dilemma lies in each other… she’d helped create the serum that had not only enhanced their abilities, but tied them to a life of pain. She practically lived in her lab, testing and researching, spending every waking hour trying to undo the damage.
John Dawson lived for revenge.
His team had abandoned him, left in the hands of General Rainier to die. But he hadn’t died – he’d survived and thrived under the guidance of the General. Surrendering under the guise of needing his Team’s help, he infiltrated their secret lair, turning himself over for voluntary 24-hour observation. He’d play nice, pretend he was back and then…
The best laid plans.
Dawson didn’t count on the very sexy doctor monitoring him morning, noon and night. Poking. Prodding. Invading his dreams. Turning his plans inside out. His instinct to kill morphed into an undeniable need to protect and possess.
Melissa took one look at him and knew he needed her. Her heart beat fast. Her hands shook. She knew he was dangerous. The men of Mayhem had warned her. All her logic and all the evidence told her that Dawson was unsavable, but…this time she couldn’t rely on her brain, her heart was taking over.
Time was running out. She had to convince Dawson to trust not only his Team, but himself. Dawson had to see the truth, before he loses the one woman who can save him.
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Wow! A well written story with a great cast of characters. The team believes John has turned against them because of the things he’s done. And he believes they left him behind. A rollercoaster ride of emotion, action and suspense.
Can’t wait to see what Ms. Cross comes up with next.
I was given an advanced reader copy and I voluntarily leave this review.
We’ve been on tenterhooks since the last book. John surrendered to the team after almost killing his daughter. But is he really a doting father dealing with a traumatic brain injury and brainwashing at the hands of Rainier? Or is he a plant to get the inside scoop on Rainiers original supersoldiers?
John was always going to be the hardest hero to understand, mainly because he really doesn’t know himself what the truth is. He believes he was discarded by his team but as time passes in the Mayhem Mansion bunker, he finds himself wondering more and more about what the truth is. Add in his weirdly intense bond with Quantum, which neither of them can really understand.
Melissa is a woman on a mission to cure the Mayhem men. She feels intensely to blame for their condition but she was duped by Rainier just as much as they were. But can running herself ragged to find a cure really be her best course of action?
I’m dreading this series ending cos it’s been a brilliantly original concept. Melissa and John should be all wrong for each other but they work. There are layers upon layers in the story, finding out who is pulling the wool over whose eyes and what are their true motivations. One shining certainty is John’s love for his daughter, even when you think he’s at his lowest, that burns brightly.
Had to read in one go as I could not put it down!
Mayhem’s Betrayal by Lindsay Cross is an emotional roller coaster of a ride. Ever since the team discovered John Dawson was alive, I wanted to know more about him. This is his story. There were so many misconceptions between all of them which has led to guilt. Then enters Dr. Melissa Averton who has guilt of her own.
From the beginning I believed that there was more to Dawson than what was obvious. All of that comes out in this book as well as where he is able to go from here in his life. A romance would seem not something he is able to handle but is exactly what he needs. This is a story of overcoming unimaginable trauma, resiliency, learning to trust, and forgiveness as much as it is about love. Kudos to the author for this outstanding book.
The publisher/author gave me a complimentary ARC of the book which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Another great book in the series! Romance, mystery and action – as usual this book has it all.
Mayhem’s Betrayal by Lindsay Cross
Operation Mayhem #5
Another wonderful addition to this series about battle scarred warriors with enhanced abilities brought on by what could easily have been lethal experimentation carried out under the orders of General Rainier. Throughout the series I have wanted each of the men to find a way through the madness and mayhem, find their true love and eventually find a happily ever after with a much more normal life than they had been handed by the military. I have wondered how it would all work out and IF it could work out for all of the men.
In this book we hear about John Dawson who had been considered dead by his team when they managed to escape from the lab they were being held in. John thought he had been abandoned by his team. When the story begins up he has been held by his team in a cell and has been receiving the serum that keeps him alive as he is slowly on his way to dying. Enter Dr. Melissa Averton, scientist in charge of keeping Mayhem’s warriors from dying as she looks for a cure that will allow them to be “normal” again – or at least not need frequent shots to stay alive.
John and Melissa are definitely drawn to one another BUT is it real or fake? Can the team ever trust John again? Can John trust the men? What will happen with John’s daughter Faith? Will Rainier be taken down in this book or will it take another? And, will there be another book for Juarez? Also…we didn’t hear for sure whether or not the “cure” is 100% effective for all of the men. So, I am guessing there MIGHT be another book in this series…maybe…and there might be a romance for Juarez…don’t think he has found his HEA yet but think the rest of the team has.
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series/by this author? Yes
Should you read the previous books first? I would recommend you do
Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4 Stars
John Dawson was the man left behind but it was because his team thought him dead and weren’t able to get his body out. While he feels betrayed and left his team feels sick and would never had left him behind if that had been an option. However, after he attacks them at their place and blinds his best friend the team has to wonder did their friend betray them? This is Dawson’s story and in this book the answer of who betrayed who will be found.
While he’s been with the team he’s gets a front row seat to Dr. Melissa Averton and her work in the lab but what he notices is that while she takes care of everyone else no one, lest of all her, is taking care of her.
He fell for Melissa the first time he saw her but she doesn’t know. What she does know is that Dawson isn’t doing as well as the other members of the team and she’s afraid she’ll lose him. Maybe just not as much as a patient but as the man, who clearly seems to be connected in some way with her. After all, he seems to be able to read her mind.
Read this book as we follow John, Melissa, Faith (his little girl), and the team members and see if they can find their way to each other before it’s too late
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Lindsay Cross brings to you a new Military Romance, with enough heat to melt your Kindle, and enough emotion to melt your heart. Don’t miss John Dawson, and Melissa’s romance, and the story of the men of Mayhem. This is a must read, with Five Golden Stars!!!
A wonderfully written story filled with suspenseful angst, this book sends on an emotional rollercoaster ride that leaves you turning your kindle pages as quickly as you can to find out what will happen next. Melissa and John fight to figure out what is happening and how John was presumed dead. The author writes characters that are believable and make you want to root for them. I found this book to be engrossing and this is probably my favorite by this author.
Mayhem’s Betrayal is the fifth book in the Operation Mayhem series. I do recommend starting at the beginning. As a standalone, some back story will be lost and make this confusing.
John was captured at the end of book four after trying to kill his own team, who he believes left him behind in the hands of their enemy. Rainier messed with his body and his mind to poison him against his former team and make him forget his own family.
Melissa is still working as close to 24/7 as she can to find a cure for the men who have been altered to “super soldiers” by Operation Mayhem. In the meantime, she keeps making more of the serum they need injected weekly to survive. John is needing his injection daily and his body is deteriorating faster.
John’s prison cell is near Melissa’s work lab in the basement of the super secure mansion they are living in. Over time they talk and begin to trust each other. Finding themselves attracted to each other but unable to act on it. John keeps encouraging Melissa to eat and take care of herself. He starts sharing his meals with her and won’t eat unless she does too. They share a bond and another soldier, Quantum shares a mental connection with John also.
The race is on to find the cure and stop Rainier who started a new lab and made new Russian super soldiers even stronger and less emotional than the Operation Mayhem team. Who will make it out alive and will there be a cure for these men so they can lead a “normal” life?
Love finds a way….
Each book in this series has built off the last as the story arc moved Team Mayhem ever closer to finding the truth. Melissa worked feverishly to keep the team members healthy, atoning for her part in the situation they found themselves. She had to find a solution or they would die and the clock was ticking. John was a betrayer in their eyes yet in his mind, they were the ones who abandoned him…
The tension was ever present as this time the imminent danger was not in the form of a gun or a knife. They needed a miracle and that would rely on Melissa’s dedication and the trust that didn’t exist anymore between John and his former brothers in arm. It was heartbreaking to see John struggle through memories that divided him from his team mates, his family, and his little girl. Melissa was his champion though and she wasn’t going to see him lost, to the enemy or to himself…
It was tense, it was steamy and it all culminated in an ending that reminded me why this was a military romance. Be prepared for anything…
*Reviewed for Nerdy Dirty & Flirty
John and Melissa’s story is one that will keep you wanting to read. He is locked with his old team because they don’t know what he is really doing and can’t take chances. Melissa being the doctor trying to find the cure but starts to fall for him while taking care of him. A great continuation of the series
**I received a copy of Mayhem’s Betrayal from the author in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. My opinion below are mine alone and not solicited in any way.**
Mayhem’s Betrayal by Lindsay Cross is the fifth book of the Operation Mayhem series as a loyal reader of both Operation Mayhem and Men of Mercy I give this story 4.6 stars for keeping you on your toes.
Can John Dawson be trusted back into the group especially since Reaper is still thinking he betrayed them? After all he tried to kill the men when they confronted General Rainier he was his body guard. But when Melissa starts to see him needing more and more doses she knows his time is find a cure. But as his migraines increase he knows where Rainer is and that there’s more super soldiers can the men trust him again to take out the man who did this to all of them? There is also a unusual connection between Quantum and Dawson will the connection be explained as they can connect telepathically?
Will Dr. Melissa Averton be able to find a cure so that the men don’t have to be dosed constantly especially Quantum and John who require higher doses?
Loved this story from beginning to end! I love the men of Team Mayhem and the women who love them. John and Melissa’s story was suspenseful, intense, and John and Melissa have sizzling chemistry and an undeniable attraction. This was a page turner and I need more books in this series!
We are back with the men of Operation Meyhem. Men that were used as experiments and who have had to pay with the side effects. One man was left behind and now he wants revenge.
This man is John Dawson.
Dr Melissa Averton has made it her mission to do all she can to save the members of Meyhem after the guilt of being responsible for the serum that changed their lives.
When John surrenders under false pretenses , he hadn’t counted on Melissa .
It’s a story that will have you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last. In this engaging plot there are good guys, bad ones, intrigue, a fight for survival, trust or lack thereof, complex characters and of course, romance.
Will they survive the race against the danger? Will John realize that trust and love can be his saving grace?
Another well written story by this talented author.
I was entrusted a copy of this book. The opinions expressed are solely my own.
It was amazing, very intense and suspenseful. I’ve waited a while for this next chapter to come and I was not disappointed. John and Melissa, two very unconventional partners, she’s trying to save him and he’s been branded a traitor by his brothers. It’s a long road to regain everyone’s trust and it’s an explosive ending, but it completes with a tea party and a tiara. How could you go wrong with that type of ending, you can’t. It’s a definite page turner trying to figure out why there are connections between some brothers and none with others. The bottom line is all about family and what each will do for their family. I recommend this book, this series and this author.
I received this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
Mayhem’s Betrayal is another great read from the talented Lindsay Cross this is a story with suspense, danger and action with some love. The characters are John Dawson a soldier who feels betrayed by his team and is after revenge, then there is Dr. Melissa Averton who feels guilty for her part in creating the serum that has brought only pain to these strong soldiers, she has devoted her life to saving Team Mayhem has she finally found a way to save them all. This was a story that definitely captured my heart and It was hard to put down. I would love to say more about this book but don’t want to give too much away. In my opinion this is a must read and definitely one book you won’t want to miss. I absolutely loved Mayhem’s Betrayal and I highly recommend it.
Betrayal runs deep
Melissa works with the Mayhem men in her laboratory trying to figure out how to help them John Dawson, is being held captive down in her lab so she can monitor him, and keeping him separate from his teammates after he tried to kill King and the rest of them. However, as time continues on, John and Melissa realise they have a connection that runs deeper than either could’ve ever thought
After waiting so long since the last Mayhem book, I really did try to savour this story but Lindsay did such a great job that the words flowed and the story unfolded much faster than I wanted to read it I’m hoping we get more Mayhem stories as I’m not ready for them to be finished quite yet.
I received an advanced copy and I voluntarily leave my honest review
Sometimes what you’ve been led to believe is not true and this nail biting, heart racing, page turning romance will keep you glued to your seat and your brain ping-ponging trying to figure it out. The chemistry between Dawson and Melissa is a HAWT bonus. Loved it!!
I volunteered to read and review an advanced readers copy of Mayhem’s Betrayal . This is book five in the Operation Mayhem series .
This story is amazing as is the entire series .
I absolutely loved reading this story .This is Dawson and Dr. Melissa’s story . Dawson believed his team left him behind at the compound General Rainer filled him with lies .Now being held in a cell in the teams lab watching Dr. Melissa trying to find a serum tocure the team including him . Dawson is try ing to work through his thoughts and beliefs and gain the men’s trust back . They need to stop Rainer before he creates more super soldiers like them . Dawson finds it’s harder to trust and be trusted . When there’s betrayal on both ends . Things between him and Melissa heat up and intense feelings get involved .This story is suspenseful and emotional and definitely action packed . I highly recommend taking the time to read this five star story .
So excited to start this book. Have devoured every book by this author. She has been a top military read recommendation author of mine for years.
Been looking forward to this story after following rest of series, there’s something about them that sticks with you, matter how long it’s been between books.
Even just the start of this book is proof of why this author is a master of her craft. You are instantly drawn back into their world and you’ll stay that way long after the last page is read.
Watch as Dawson struggles with the aftermath of his time apart from the team, and how he finds it hard to know fact from fiction. Will the team and Melissa be able to get through to him?
I’m not going to say much more as Dawson’s road to redemption is heart breakingly sweet and needs to be experienced first hand. What I will say is that it was everything I was expecting and more. This poignant story, like the rest of the series, will stick with me for years to come. Definitely a must click. Would give more stars if I could.