Tina's Reading Books

Originally read in 2001 - Re-read in 2016

This is the First of the Troubleshooters/SEAL tem 16 series.

Tom Paoletti is the CO of the SEAL team 16. After a rescue gone awry that resulted in him being a coma from head injuries, Tom is put on medical leave for 30 days. As he arrives home, he learns that his uncle is being honored as a WWII hero, he begins a romance with Kelly Ashton, the sexy doctor from next door and he catches glimpse of a long pursued,international terrorist known as The Merchant. Tom immediately alerts his superiors. However, The Merchant is believed to be dead and that, coupled with Tom's recent head injury (and an Admiral who totally hates Tom), makes them believe he is suffering from delusions and paranoia. Tom himself isn't so sure that he's not going crazy. But repeated sightings convinces him there is a real threat. Knowing he is on he own he calls in a few members of his team to help him out.

In the meantime, Kelly's father who is best friends with Tom's uncle Joe is dying from terminal cancer. The two friends met while both were behind enemy lines during WWII. The two men share years of memories of a very special French Resistance fighter with whom they were both in love (and still are).

And Tom's niece Mallory embarks upon a sweet romance with a nerdy graphic novelist who wants to use her as his muse for his latest book.

I decided to do a re-read of Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooters series in honor of the most recent and 13th book of the series, Into the Fire. That and the fact that I really hadn't re-read any of the books.

I remember when I first read this book. I had never read a Brockmann book before and, at the time this book was produced, I hadn't encountered any other books that used the military as a backdrop so thoroughly. I like her use of the salty language, the military argot and the camaraderie and trust that is built within the team.

I also like the multiple storylines. As the series went on, I soon learned that this was a hallmark of Brockmann's storytelling. She writes a main romance pairing the primary H/H. And then she includes a secondary romantic couple, one that usually runs as an arc through several books before culminating in a book of their own, and finally she includes a flashback story the centers on a WWII romance that has a connection to the people in current time. The multi-line/ long arc storytelling is right up my alley. I always likes series because I enjoy re-visiting characters. I also think it gives the author the luxury of building a depth of character that they simply can't achieve usually in a single volume.

Having Tom, the CO of the SEAL 16 team feature in the first book is a great choice. Tom is the center around which they all revolve. He is the one they all love and respect. In this first book we get first glimpses of characters who will over the course of the series become very familiar: Jazz, Wildcard, Johnny Nilsson, Chief Stan etc.

And this brings me to Sam and Alyssa. This is the book where we first meet Sam and Alyssa, the breakout couple of the series. Their angsty romance runs in the background for the next four books until book six when they get their own story. Even back when I read the book for the first time, not knowing what Brockmann had in store for S&A, I knew these two had chemistry. I like it when a writer plants these little seeds early on so that you can watch something grow over time. Brockmann is great at that and it is part of what makes this series a must read for me.

I highly recommend.