DEADLY GAME

Author: Christine Feehan ISBN: 0515142611 3/2007 PARANORMAL SUSPENSE Publisher: JOVE

It begins as a mission to protect a politician from an assassination threat. But the operation takes an unexpected turn when Marl, a mysteriously beautiful GhostWalker, is taken hostage. At the same time, Ken Norton, expert assassin and himself a GhostWalker warrior, is on a mission of his own—one that reaches into Marl's past. No stranger to the ways of violent warfare, Marl must join forces with Ken and trust his every move—each one more intimate than the last.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

As much I liked CONSPIRACY GAME, the book preceding this one, I am not as captivated by DEADLY GAME. It's a bit over-the-top with some things and that puts me off a bit.

Love the scarred, tortured, completely alpha hero, but hate how much detail is put into why he needs pain to get off. I understand the man has been horribly skinned and maimed, EVERYWHERE, but I don't constantly need to know that he is literally barreling into the heroine in order to feel anything. Explaining it once or twice is enough—not every single time they have sex, or he thinks about sex, do I need to know about the pleasure/pain aspect. Yes, in the beginning it's hot, and I completely understand the reason it's out there, but enough is enough.

Despite my above dislike, there is still quite enough here to keep me reading. It's a fast-paced military thriller that still makes me sure our government really does have some kind of X-Files.

Shannon Johnson