Someone scratched a death threat in the paint of CDC nurse Kini Kerek’s rental car. She’s in Utah researching Hantavirus, but damaging rumors about the CDC have left residents suspicious and uncooperative. Thank goodness for hot, sexy, former soldier Smoke, a man of few words, who’s assigned to protect and help her navigate the isolated desert town as she races to identify a deadly virus before … before more people die.
Memories from the combat zone leave ex-Special Forces soldier Lyle Smoke in a constant state of battle readiness, and he finds no solace, even after returning home to Small Blind. When he meets Kini Kerek, he discovers his heart isn’t entirely dead. But, that might not last long, because this outbreak is no mistake, and he’ll need to use all his survival skills gleaned from the military and his Native American upbringing to keep him and the beautiful, but secretive, Kini alive.
Each book in the Outbreak Task Force series is STANDALONE:
* Viable Threat
* Smoke & Mirrors
* Sleight of Hand
* Search & Destroy
* Hell & Back
more
Kini Kerek is in Small Blind, Utah to collect patient histories and blood samples for local residents, most especially those of Native American Descent. Kini is a CDC nurse and member of the Outbreak Task Force and she has been tasked to track the incidence of infection and the development of antibodies for the Hantavirus. There is some weird pneumonia going around town and people are showing up at the hospital sick. Rumors start to escalate and Kini finds herself in a dangerous situation when the townspeople think she is the cause of it.
Lyle Smoke, known as Smoke to everyone that knows him is back home in Small Blind, Utah after spending eight years in the army. He was once a soldier that could track ghosts and capture boogeymen, but now he is no one. He just wants to get away from it all and have a quiet week in the desert, but after meeting Kini he vows to keep her safe from harm. He garners a job with the Outbreak Task Force and together Kini and Smoke to to piece together what is exactly going on with people coming to the hospital in droves with symptoms like the Hantavirus. But, someone will stop at nothing to make sure that Kini is silenced forever. Will Smoke be able to keep Kini alive long enough to stop the outbreak from decimating the town?
Wow! Where have I been hiding that I have not read anything from Julie Rowe before? Smoke and Mirrors is absolutely amazing and everything that I look for in a Romantic Suspense book – tortured brooding hero and kick ass heroine blended into an action packed, edge of your seat storyline that had me completely hooked right from the beginning. The romance and suspense were meshed so well together and I never felt like one tried to outdo the other. I quickly found myself thrust right into the action and was non stop right from the start. It almost felt like I was watching an action movie.
Lyle Smoke is the ultimate Alpha hero. He is a man of few words and uses his talents he learned in the army to keep Kini safe. Smoke has a tragic past that still haunts him to this day and does not feel as if he is deserving of a woman’s love because he is broken. He learns a lot about himself with help from Kini and although, he feels an attraction to her he knows their relationship can not last as something permanent. He is not built for forever and his past keeps him from getting to close emotionally. I absolutely LOVE Smoke and he is my new boyfriend so hands off ladies he’s all MINE!
Kini is a strong and capable heroine who has a few tricks up her sleeve and can hold her own against men bigger and stronger than her. She too has a tragic past that keeps her from getting involved with men like Smoke. But, she comes to quickly learn that Smoke is not like other men and she soon finds herself wanting forever when she knows forever may not be possible. Kini moves around a lot for her job and even though she would like to settle down and have a family, her career does not afford her those kinds of opportunities, but is there hope for Kini and Smoke when she finds herself warming up to the big strong man?
Smoke and Mirrors is an intense, action packed story filled with wonderfully drawn characters, a sexy steamy romance, and a mystery that will keep you guessing all the way till the end. This is definitely a book that you do not want to miss. Trust me!
You may know me as a historical fantasy writer, but I love reading other genres. Julie Rowe’s Smoke and Mirrors, book two of her Outbreak Task Force series is an edge of your seat page turner. Her author brand, where beakers, bullets and books collide is an understatement!
The entire series was informative. Enjoyed the characters and story line.
This author knows how perfectly blend suspense, deadly infectious diseases, sizzlin romance.
This series like its predecessor blends Military and CDC personnel. Kini Kerek is a CDC health care nurse who was sent to Utah to gather blood samples and research for a cure for the Hantavirus. She is running into resistance and getting death threats when she finds out there are current cases of people dying at the hospital from the Hantavirus.
Lyle Smoke recently discharged from Special Forces after 8 years is returning home with memories of pain and blood. He is hoping for some alone time to go out hunting on his own to release the anger that lives inside him. What he wasn’t expecting was a sexy woman to be sleeping in his childhood bed. When he realizes how much danger she is in he accepts a job offer from the CDC Outbreak Task Force so he can keep Kini safe while also trying to figure out what is going on in his town with the sudden outbreak which is killing residents at a fast rate.
Not as edge of your seat as some of the previous books but still a page turner.
Outbreak Task Force #2, Another great book. In this one the romance plays a more prodomainte part. The outbreak isn’t in full force yet and the characters have sometime to build up their relationship before all hell breaks loose. Sergeant Lyle Smoke was just discharged from the Army, his buddy and fellow former Special Forces soldier offer him a job with the joint task force between Homeland Security and the CDC, the Outbreak Task Force, but before Smoke makes any decisions he needs to go home first. When he gets home he doesn’t find a peaceful rest he finds a CDC nurse in need of help.
Kini Kerek was just supposed to do some field research for the CDC before they decide what to do, if the natural antibodies of the Hantavirus are capable of containing itself or if the CDC needs to step in a create a cure. But Kini is met with open hostility and rumors spreading that she’s conducting experiments, death threats keyed into her car and physical attacks have her bosses send someone to help luckily he already calls the place home and with Smoke’s knowledge of the area and the people it should make things easier. Until the Hantavirus starts affecting more and more people the next thing they know it’s a full blown outbreak and the rest of the Task force is called in. But it’s a little too convenient that this outbreak happened right when Kini showed up and now Kini and Smoke need to find out why before it’s too late.
Overall, a great read. Fantastic writing and and ending I wasn’t expecting. A little more descriptive setting than the last book and it really helped paint a nice picture when they were in the desert. The romance between Smoke and Kini was really nice, I loved that it was practically instantaneous Smoke had some emotional baggage but Kini was able to help him work through it and it was a real nice HEA
Kini is having a hard time. She only wants to take blood samples to help develop a theory for the CDC vaccine. But the locals are against her from the start, she has been associated with a number of deaths that occurred after she arrived. Her car has been vandalised and she has had some other “bad luck”. So the CDC send out Smoke to protect her.
It should be an easy job. Smoke is returning to his ancestral lands, he knows the people and is a grade A bada$$! But Smoke hasn’t been home since his son passed away and he has guilt weighing him down. But Kini, well she is enough to make any man wish for a HEA!
Intense, fast paced, chock full of action and suspense…oh and a bit of sexy time thrown in! Kini can read Smoke like a book, which is handy cos he’s not the most communicative of fellas! What Smoke lacks in verbals he makes up for in smarts and skills. The banter was off the charts. You can’t help falling for a guy who says he fell in love with someone 30secs after meeting her!
4 stars
I purchased a copy of Outbreak Task Force book 2: Smoke and Mirrors by Julie Rowe and this review was given freely.
Recently retired Special Forces Sergeant Smoke returns home unannounced and gets more than he was bargaining for in the form of CDC Nurse Kini who is a target of frequent violence and a town epidemic. This love at first sight romance contains an awkward first meeting, Smoke joining the CDC as Kini’s protector, sarcastic humor,innuendos, corrupt police, a vindictive brother,multiple violent and grizzly scenes as well as some mildly steamy scenes.
We have some crazy situations out there and I have to say that when I thought of the CDC I used to think about them in the small situations like figuring out some diseases not the outbreaks like this, I know that was small minded of me and has opened my eyes, has given me some fear to because a lot of things could happen with some pretty crazy radical folks out there. So in this segment we meet Kini Kerek and she is nurse who is working for the CDC. She is searching for antibody to assist with a Vaccine. But unfortunately she is met with rumors and suspicion making her job harder and threats of violence are not helping. She needs help and that comes in the form of Lyle Smoke an Army vet who has been recently discharged and his friend River asks him for help or offers him a job. Him and Kini are attracted but again time is not really on their side since they have to stay ahead of trouble and get the info they need and keeping them alive is the at the foremost…Enjoy!
Rcvd an ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) Voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions.
Great romantic suspense that kept me awake and almost late at work in the morning. The story and characters are well built with a nice depth. I just enjoyed reading it and had me sitting on the edge, no I lie I was laying in my bed but kept me interested all the way to the end. Beautifully written with enough suspense, hotness, mystery and action…I almost forgot to say that I really love to read about people in uniform, I can’t help it, it is stronger than me. Can’t wait to read the next book by Julie Rowe.
**I received a copy of Smoke and Mirrors from Entangled Publishing and Net Galley in exchange for a voluntary and honest review**
I’ve read all but one of Ms. Rowe’s Biological Response Task Force and now two of the Outbreak series and I have only 3 words for this addition: Oh.My.God. this was a fantastic book!! Plus with the epilogue the author brings back one of my favorite characters DS is back (Plus Rivers and Henry Lee) and hopefully he’ll eventually get his own story.
Lyle Smoke is home in Small Blind, Utah for the first time since the death of his girlfriend and son and has the nightmares that comes from being in the Special Forces. But there is something going on in small town people are falling ill with a mysterious kind of pneumonia that kills within 24-30 hours. Since its early morning he crawls into bed but wakes up a few hours later with a naked woman draped over him. Little doesn’t he know that his parents have given his room to Kini Kenek who’s in town a visiting nurse for the CDC. Since Smoke is well know for saying everything that needs to be said in two words a sassy nurse from the CDC shouldn’t be a probably especially one who’s being harassed and goes through rental cars like candy. When River offers him a job with the newly created Outbreak Task Force he accepts to make sure that Kini stays safe and out of trouble.
Kini Kenek is a snarky nurse who has been sent by the CDC to talk to the residents of Small Blind to track incidents of Diabetes and heart disease but since the residents don’t trust anyone from the government she’s been run off by dogs, shot at, her car keyed, t-boned and blown up perhaps she does need Smoke to guard her. But Kini has her own demons to fight because of her late father who tried to fight his own but ended up taking his rage out on his wife and daughter. Somehow both Smoke and Kini manage to take on the gossip mongers of the Post Office, the surly doctor in the local hospital ER (who doesn’t want to admit there’s a Hantavirus outbreak), and crooked lawmen who are cooking up something awful outside of town. Whether they win or lose will come down to Smoke, Kini, his father Jim and grandfather who both use two word sentences. Can they and the CDC save the town from something that could make a terrorist a very happy person?