True Devotion

Now that I've told you about all of the O'Malley series that I've read, let's turn to the only other Dee Henderson book I've read: True Devotion, the first book in a series called Uncommon Heroes.

The two protagonists in this book are Kelly Jacobs and Joe Baker.

Kelly was the wife of a Navy SEAL who died some time before this book begins. Now she's hurting emotionally and spiritually, and it takes a near-drowning experience as she tries to rescue a teenaged boy before she can start straightening her life back out.

Joe, also known as Bear, is a Navy SEAL who was best friends with Kelly's husband. He knows exactly how much Kelly hurt when her husband died, and he can't ask her to risk that pain again, no matter how much he loves her.

And then - danger. Closer than any of them could ever suspect, the man responsible for Kelly's husband's death is back. Not only do our heroes have to worry about the deadly missions, but important work gets done before each mission as well. This man's last contact (for clarification: not Kelly's husband) ended up washed up on a beach dead; and now, Kelly is his new contact. Joe pulls out every trick in the book to keep the past from repeating itself, but it just might not be enough.

I liked this book. The only thing keeping me from reading the others in the series is the fact that Henderson seems to thrive on murder mystery material, and at least one murderer appears in every book of hers that I've read so far. Reading too much of that might start to depress me, or scare me; not sure which one.

But in small doses, I like her books, and this one is no exception. I feel really awful for one of the characters, and I forget what happens to him by the end of the book; but other than him, pretty much every ends up with their happily ever after.