Author: Cari Z.
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Length: 252 Pages
Category: Contemporary, Suspense/Thriller
At a Glance: This book was absolutely entertaining!
Reviewed By: Maryann
Blurb: Elliot McKenzie is the king of reinvention. Five years after losing his job and his lover and almost going to prison, his self-help program, Charmed Life, is more successful than he’d ever dreamed. He thinks he’s put his sordid past firmly behind him, until he starts receiving cryptic threats . . . and realizes it might not be as over as he’d hoped.
Security expert Lennox West has been lost since a deadly skirmish in Afghanistan led to his forced retirement from the Army. His PTSD makes helping his ex raise their daughter a challenge. When his ex’s sister asks him to set her boss up with a security system, Lennox isn’t expecting anyone like Elliot McKenzie—a man who captures his attention and makes him feel relaxed for the first time since leaving the service.
But Elliott is dangerously stubborn. Even as the threats against him escalate, he refuses to involve the police, and Lennox fears that stubbornness could kill him. A battle of wills ensues that brings them closer to each other than either man expected. But if the threats turn real, they might not live long enough to get their future together.
Review: Elliott McKenzie had it all as a patent lawyer, and lost everything quickly after some illegal dealings. He almost went to jail and became an addict after being shot. Once he got himself clean, and with inspiration from an aged movie star, he started a new endeavor called Charmed Life. His program is geared to help give addicts, criminals, etc., a second chance. Everything is going great for Elliott until someone starts stalking him.
Lennox West is a former Staff Sergeant. After serving time in Afghanistan and witnessing the tragedies of war, he’s seeing a psychiatrist for his PTSD. One bad experience with nightmares has kept him from having his daughter stay overnight, but he makes every effort he can to make up for lost time with Lee, even putting up with his high-stung ex-wife. Lennox has a job he enjoys, working for a high end personal security company, Castillion.
Lennox’s ex-sister-in-law, Serena, who happens to be Elliott’s personal assistant, sets up a meeting with Lennox and Elliott. Of course, Elliott doesn’t think he needs any type of protection, but when he lays eyes on Lennox West, his opinion certainly changes. From notes to pictures, a pair of shoes, car wrecks, danger and action, whose stalking Elliott?
Cari Z. may have felt like Friendly Fire took her out of her comfort zone, but she created an amazing mystery. I really liked Elliott, his fedora and his sense of humor, along with Lennox being a little more serious, but they made a great couple. The connection between Elliott, Lee and Lennox was a highlight too.
Serena has a great personality and has a very good understanding of Lee. Lee proves, for a thirteen-year-old, that she understands more than Lennox thinks she does. Cari Z. really gave these characters life with their upbeat personalities. Friendly Fire is a first time read for me by this author, and I hope she takes a chance again and writes another mystery. This book was absolutely entertaining!
You can buy Friendly Fire here:
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