THE MIDNIGHT HOUR

Author: Brenda Jackson ISBN: 0312989970 4/2004 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: St. Martin's Press

One, CIA agent Sir Drake Warren gave his heart to a woman---a fellow Marine whose death in an explosion left him aching for justice. Drake vowed he would never love again. But his devotion to his former lover is tested when he meets his mysterious new partner, Agent Victoria Green. With golden-brown eyes and skin like melted chocolate, Victoria leaves Drake yearning for the love he lost---and flirting closely with the white-hot passion he once knew, he's sure he'll get burned. . . Few people know that Victoria was once a Marine named Sandy Carroll. . .and that she was embroiled in a fervent love affair with Drake until an explosion nearly killed her. Her life-saving surgery gave her a new face and identity---that of CIA operative Victoria Green. Now, Victoria is bound by duty to keep her true identity a secret, especially from Drake.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Ok. I admit that this is my first Brenda Jackson novel and that I know nothing about the Madaris books she has floating around out there. That being said, THE MIDNIGHT HOUR can hold its own as single read, but it's obvious by the host of secondary characters in it that you would be better off getting to know the Madaris clan first, before picking up this one. My hope is that by doing that you can appreciate this book a little bit better.

The premise is a good one. It's rather like Alias (the television show on Sunday nights) in that the people involved are CIA and ex-Marine, and one of them has become a completely different person. With the help of reconstructive surgery and physical training, the heroine, Tori/Sandy, is a new woman. That makes the book intriguing, but as I said before, I think I should have read a book or two before this one to understand how Sandy was before her transformation.

I was not too impressed with the hero, Sir Drake, either. From his "die trying" reputation (in previous books I assume) and his cocky attitude, I expect him to be more "kamikaze like" than he is in this book. He spends more time reminiscing and imagining than he does doing anything. From the secondary characters description of him, I was looking for more action. The dialogue scenes with Drake and Tori are a bit awkward to me, but the love scenes make up for that!

All in all THE MIDNIGHT HOUR is not bad. It just spends too much time talking about the past, instead of dealing with the present and future. However, if you are a fan of Jackson's Madaris novels I have no doubt you will like this one. I may pick up an earlier release and become a fan myself.

Shannon Johnson