A hunt for dangerous secrets leads to explosive chemistry in this exhilarating romantic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Off the Grid.A team of Navy SEALs go on a mission and disappear without a trace—they are The Lost Platoon. With his men scattered to all corners of the globe after a disastrous secret op in Russia, Lieutenant Commander Scott Taylor is trying to find … Lieutenant Commander Scott Taylor is trying to find out who was responsible for leaking the information that killed half his platoon. Were it not for Natalie Andersson, the woman he’d been secretly dating in the Pentagon who’d warned him of the danger, he knows they’d all be dead. Scott is devastated when he hears that the woman he loved and hoped to marry has been killed for helping him—until he learns that Natalie was the spy who betrayed them. But when his search to clear his name brings him face-to-face with a very much alive Natalie, Scott realizes that justice and vengeance might not be as clear-cut as he thought.
Natalie Andersson, or as she was born Natalya Petrova, has put the memories of her early childhood in Russia behind her. She never dreamed that she would be at the center of an elaborate “sleeper” espionage program. Even when she learns the truth, she refuses to spy for the country of her birth, until the Russians threaten the lives of the only family she’s ever known. But Natalie is the worst spy in the history of spying, falling for her target. When her attempt at misdirection leads to irreversible consequences, she’s forced to run for her life, with her lover hot on her tail.
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OUT OF TIME is the third instalment in Monica McCarty’s contemporary, adult THE LOST PLATOON romantic, military suspense series focusing on SEAL Team Nine whose members are MIA or dead following an unsanctioned and undercover mission to Russia than went horribly wrong. This is thirty-three year old Lieutenant Commander Scott Taylor, and former executive assistant to the deputy secretary of defense, twenty-nine year old Natalie ‘Natalya Petrova’ Andersson’s story line. OUT OF TIME can be read as a stand alone but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion as there is an on-going theme and premise throughout including the rekindling relationship and romance between former husband and wife duo Colt Wesson, Team Nine’s former chief, and CIA agent Katherine ‘Kate’ Wesson.
NOTE: If you have not read the previous instalments there may be some spoilers in my review.
Told from several third person points of view including Natalie and Scott, and Colt and Kate, OUT OF TIME follows in the aftermath of SEAL Team Nine’s disastrous mission to Russia in which eight men didn’t make it out alive, and the survivors have found themselves in hiding around the world. Thirty-three year old Lieutenant Commander Scott Taylor struggles to get past the betrayal of his former love, a woman now deemed a Russian spy for her supposed role in the attack against Scott’s former Team but also a woman presumed dead in an accident meant to cover a trail of betrayal and spies. Determined to uncover the truth, Scott goes in search of a someone with connections to the past but discovers the woman he once loved is alive, with more secrets that are about to change the course of their lives. What ensues is the rebuilding relationship and romance between Natalie and Scott, and the potential fall-out as a suspected mole has sent their sights on the remaining members of Team Nine.
The relationship between Scott and Natalie is one of second chances. Scott wants nothing more than to take down and crush the woman he once loved but once the truth is uncovered and revealed Scott must come to terms with what was, and what is about to be. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
Meanwhile, former husband and wife duo Colt Wesson, Team Nine’s one-time chief, and CIA agent Katherine ‘Kate’ Wesson find themselves working together in an effort to bring home one of their own. Colt’s past treatment of his former wife is reprehensible and heart breaking in light of the revelation of secrets and truth, and as such Colt works tirelessly to win back the woman who’s heart he destroyed.
The world building continues to focus on the search for the truth. Secrets and lies are exposed; betrayal and treason come at a cost.
OUT OF TIME is a suspenseful and revealing story that follows several paths towards truth and retribution. The premise is heart breaking, engaging and real; the characters are animated and colorful as they struggle to make sense of it all; the romance is seductive. OUT OF TIME is a compelling and energetic read but I struggled with the quick resolution, and the lack of information regarding the guilty party’s demise.
I recommend this entire series. It’s so well-written
Packed with danger, intrigue and suspense, Off the Grid, delivers a punch in the Lost Patrol series and leaves you wanting more. I wish the platoon wasn’t so dispersed, so they could have more of a group dynamic to the stories. I want to be pulled in deeper to them as a group. That being said – I loved the mystery, romance and edge to this book.
My final review for 2018! Loved closing out the year with an action suspense romance, and surprise this one is a two-fer! Not only do we get to enjoy Scott and Natalie’s story there’s a second couple throughout who share a redemption. Now, in order to truly understand all that goes on in this book, I do recommend reading books one and two as they outline the whole backstory AND the bomb dropped (no pun intended) at the end of book 2 that leads to our hero and heroine reconnecting. On the run as he’s supposed to be dead, Scott has recently learned that the woman he loved (and thought he lost) was a double agent, working as a sleeper Russian spy within the US government. Brokenhearted, he goes on a mission to find out her secrets and if he and his men can figure out who leaked their original mission.
Natalie is also on the run. A sleeper spy she is not but no one will believe her. Threatened by a true spy she unknowingly gave some information but risked it all to save the man she love’s life. That risk cost her everything and now she has to take on a new identity in order to survive. When Scott shows up, looking for the identity she took over and finding Natalie instead, its a battle of truth and trust. With all the secrets she kept, how can Scott ever believe the biggest one she has and its the only one to make him truly trust her. As Scott has to learn to trust his gut with Natalie, he can’t deny that he wants to protect her at all costs. There’s still the same flare of attraction when they touch. Being on the run is no easy romance, and the suspense will keep you guessing until the end.
The side story throughout Out of Time was a shinning point for me. In the previous novels, we learned about Kate, Scott’s newly discovered half-sister, and her now ex-husband Colt. Torn by what Colt thought was an affair between the two (which was really a new sibling-ship), their divorce and now uncivil attitudes spark off the page. Both still love one another, but Kate can’t come to terms with Colt not trusting her, and Colt doesn’t understand how badly he hurt Kate in his doubt. As the climax of the Lost Platoon’s fate comes to a near-end, Colt and Kate reconnect in am explosively sexual way, cutting the tension with heartbreaking passion. Two couples reunited through tragedy, learning to trust and love each other again! My only disappointment is that the true leak of the platoon’s mission seemed too easy to figure out and almost had an anticlimactic ending. But let’s be real…we’re all here mostly for the romance!
Great series; my only complaint is it seems like the series ended too soon..
This was the best in the series! All the questions about what really happened that fateful day when all but 6 of a Seals platoon are killed while on a secret black ops mission in Russia forcing them to go dark and pretend they are dead until they can figure out who betrayed them.
Lt Commander Scott Taylor was the one that got the warning to call off the mission right before everything went FUBAR managing to save 6 of them. The warning came from his girlfriend who works at the Pentagon. While they are still Russia trying to figure out how to get out undetected he finds out that she had died and suspects it’s because she warned them.
Months later the remaining team find out that Natalie was a sleeper Russian spy and Scott grapples with betrayal about the woman he thought he knew and loved.
From here things get interesting… I won’t spoil anything, but things are not always what they seem. Throughout each of the books there has been more than just the ongoing look into who betrayed the team. Colt Wesson, who trained Seal Team 9 but was not part of the mission in Russia, and his ex-wife Kate who is a CIA analyst, ongoing messy relationship finally comes to a head and resolution in this book. The two of them, though at odds, where big parts of all 3 books. The main plot points of the series are wrapped up by the end of this book and though some were sad the majority were very satisfying.
I read there may be a spin off of the series and hope that’s true as I have truly enjoyed The Lost Platoon which Monica McCarty first contemporary romantic suspense series (in case you didn’t know she is known for writing Scottish historical romances)