Feature Post and Book Review: Midnight Abduction by Nichole Severn

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for Nichole Severn’s new Harlequin Intrigue – MIDNIGHT ABDUCTION (Tactical Crime Division Book #3).

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, an about the author section with book purchase links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

Welcome to the Tactical Crime Division, a rapid-deployment joint team of FBI agents specializing in hostage negotiation, missing persons, IT, profiling, shootings and terrorism, with Director Jill Pembrook at the head.

 For the Tactical Crime Division, no case is left cold.

When Benning Reeves’s twins are kidnapped, the frantic father knows who can help: the Tactical Crime Division and Ana Ramirez. Even though Ana once shattered Benning’s heart, the special agent is the only one he can trust. But Ana is still tormented by the unresolved case that brought them together years before—a case somehow entangled with Benning’s children. It’s up to the TCD and Ana to discover why…before it’s too late.

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48829282-midnight-abduction

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

MIDNIGHT ABDUCTION (Tactical Crime Division Book #3) by Nichole Severn is the third book in the Harlequin Intrigue multi-author series featuring members of the FBIs Tactical Crime Division. This is a specialized unit of the FBI formed to handle the toughest cases at a moment’s notice anywhere in the country.

Benning Reeves is a structural inspector who discovers a skull hidden behind drywall on his current inspection site. He hides it at his home, which leads to the kidnapping of his six-year-old twins. His daughter escapes from the vehicle, but his son is now a bargaining chip in exchange for the skull.

Ava Rameriez is told by her supervisor that she has been specifically requested by Benning to work the case to find and save his son. Seven years ago, the two parted when the case she was working ended tragically. She blamed herself and vowed to never become emotionally involved again, but she cannot turn down Benning’s request.

Ava and Benning find it difficult to fight the feelings that have been dormant during their seven year separation, but they are working against the clock to save Benning’s son and discover why the skull is so important to the mysterious kidnapper.

I loved both Ava and Benning’s backstories and how the author brought their feelings for each other out again during this case and the resolution. Olivia was adorable with her love of mysteries and crime solving. There is only peripheral involvement with other members of the TCD team, so while it is still tied into the series, it is easily read as a standalone. The sex scenes are not described even as you follow them into the shower and bedroom. Though the sex is behind closed doors, the violence is not. There are several scenes of Ava and Benning being stabbed, shot and beaten to a pulp.

The plot was very fast-paced, but because of all the physical damage taken by the H/h and they just kept going, the realism and believability become strained. It was like I was reading about an action hero and not a romantic suspense. The resolution to the kidnapping and mystery also felt rushed with a character that surprised me, but who also popped up out of the blue.

I did love the H/h and the crime story and can recommend it for a fast-paced suspense addition to this series.

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Excerpt

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Ana Sofia Ramirez—She’s out for redemption. Recruited by the Tactical Crime Division’s director from the Bureau’s missing-persons’ division after her last case ended with a dead victim, she’s more determined than ever to recover Benning Reeves’s son.

Benning Reeves—Single father and small-town building inspector who’s come across evidence of a murder hidden on one of his construction sites; the cost of discovery has led to the kidnapping of his six-year-old twins.

Olivia and Owen Reeves—Benning’s six-year-old twins.

Evan Duran—Tactical Crime Division’s hostage negotiator, who’s fully invested in recovering Benning Reeves’s son due to his own dark past of losing his sister as a child.

JC Cantrell—Tactical Crime Division’s tactical-operations specialist, who’s good at planting bugs, leading surveillance ops or coming up with a ruse to distract someone.

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“Well, maybe I can give her a tour of TCD head-quarters in Knoxville one day. You know, give her a chance to see what federal agents really do on the job.”Ana stilled, the weight of her attention pressurizing the air in his chest, but he didn’t miss the assumption there would be a one day for them. That she wouldn’t disappear from their lives after Owen came home, and his blood pressure spiked. She cleared her throat as though she’d caught herself making promises she might not be able to keep. Just as she had with Samantha Perry’s family. “You must be proud. She’s going to make a hell of an agent one day.”

“That’s her plan, and probably why she opened up to you the way she did. I can tell she admires you, what you do.”Benning straightened, echoes of their earlier conversation replaying in his head on a nonstop loop. He tossed the paper towel he’d used to clean his foot in the trash beside the island. “So do I, to be honest. The work you and your team do saves lives. I know I already said thank you, but I meant it.”

“Like I said, you don’t have to thank me.” She dropped that mesmerizing gaze to the counter, sweeping the spread of flour into the sink set into the island with one hand and swiped beneath her nose with the other. Toughing her face had always been a nervous habit. “All part of the job.”

“Is that what this is for you, Ana? Just another job? Because this case is definitely a lot more personal to me.” Benning maneuvered around the counter, his bare chest nearly pressed against the exposed skin of her arm. He set his hand over hers on the granite, her quick gasp searing through him. Her warmth penetrated past skin and muscle, deep into his bones. “After what you told me about the Samantha Perry case, I realize now how hard it must’ve been for you to come back here, and you’re standing there as if none of it affects you. But is that how you really feel?”

He wanted—no, needed—to know. Was this going to play out exactly as it had between them the last time? Had he made a mistake requesting her to work this case?

Her mouth parted. “I…”

Skimming his fingers along the back of her hand, he trailed a path up her arm to her jaw, and all of his thoughts burned away. There was only the two of them. The softness of her flawless skin and hardness in her invisible guard. After everything that’d happened, after everything they’d already been through in the short span of time she’d walked back into his life, he’d struggled to keep the uncertainty, the rage, the fear, at bay so he could stay strong for Olivia. To prove that he could protect her from any threat, be the father she and her brother deserved. But Ana…stripped him of all of that. With her, Benning felt raw, exposed, bare. She was real. She was here. Not a memory—a fantasy—anymore, and it took every-thing inside him to pull himself away from her. “You had some cookie dough on your chin.”

She’d left because she believed her emotions clouded her judgment on the Samantha Perry case, and he wasn’t about to complicate anything else be- tween them. Not when it was his son’s life at risk this time. Ana turned her gaze up to his, a small tremor crossing her shoulders, and an invisible anchor set-tled inside his chest in the dark, watery landscape of this case. No matter what happened, Ana would bring his son home alive. He had to believe that. He had to believe in her. Otherwise, he’d have nothing left. “Thanks.”

A soft trill broke the silence spreading between them, but she didn’t move.

“I think your phone is ringing.” He cleared his throat, trying to drown the surge of awareness burning through him, and stepped away. It was for the best. Because anything that happened between them would only take away from their focus on finding his son, and that wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

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About Nichole Severn

Nichole Severn writes romantic suspense with strong heroines, heroes who dare challenge them, and a hell of a lot of guns. When she’s not writing, she’s injuring herself running and practicing yoga.

Purchase links

Harlequin.com: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335136527_midnight-abduction.html