Dark Deceptions by Dee Davis

DARK DECEPTIONS (Book #1 in the A-Tac Series) by Dee Davis

April 2010 published by Grand Central Publishing in Mass Market Paperback

Great action, great characters, great read!

There is a price to be paid for everything in life. We accept this; usually do not like it but little can be done but deal with it. For former CIA operative Annie Gallagher the price she paid was to have her son way too high for any woman or mother but no amount is too great to keep her son safe.

Annie has been retired from the spy game for over 8 years but is suddenly thrust back in when her son is kidnapped and the kidnapper wants her former sharp shooting skills to be used to murder a diplomat. Annie has no idea who this mysterious voice on the phone holding her son is but she has no choice and puts the plan into action. Annie never expects to run into her former partner Nash Brennon the one man she was partnered with during her CIA days, performed missions with, loved and lost. Nash is now part of the elite American Tactical Intelligence Command (A-Tac) group where he has been since he and Annie unceremoniously parted ways many years ago. He thought she deserted him to die alone on their last mission while in fact the truth is nothing like the story he believes but will he listen when she tries to tell him she saved him she did not desert him.

But Nash does not believe Annie to be a traitor and even though he is not fully read into the story of what she is up to once A-Tac catches up with her nothing will keep Nash for being fully reunited with Annie. Time, pain and memories may be good and bad for them but the passion and lust they felt from day one is still there.

However the mission has to come first and that is rescuing her son and now Annie is part of the team that is about to set the wheels in motion to make that happen. No one knows who the mysterious person on the phone making demands is but the most elite team in the country will figure that out, get Adam back and sort out the details of what is really going on between Annie and Nash physically, emotionally and professionally.

Everything turns on a dime when the rescue is a success but the assassination is still accomplished and everyone thinks that Annie really is a traitor. But it may turn out that the past is coming back to haunt them and the man they both trusted with their lives could be the real problem as none of his stories suddenly add up and the part he played in keeping them apart starts to unravel. For Annie and Nash the price they paid cost them everything and now they need to see if they can recover from the years of damage done to their hearts and souls once all the facts are revealed.

These characters, both the primary and secondary are amazing, colorful and believable which is key to a great story. Dee Davis sets the story up fast, keeps the flow of information understandable and never lets you believe for one minute that this is not something happening somewhere on this planet. A good story teller knows the readers and how to write to please and Ms. Davis has done all that and more with this book.

Mary Gramlich is The Reading Reviewer located at www.marygramlich.com