I received this book for free from the Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Before Nightfall by Rachel Amphletton May 29, 2014
Genres: Adult, Kidnapping, Middle East, Romantic Suspense, Terrorism, Thriller, Thrillers
Pages: 228
Format: eBook
Source: Author
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“If they move you, they will kill you.”
Kate Foster is quick to forget the advice from a pre-deployment hostage survival course once she’s catapulted into a new job in Eastern Europe, despite the good-looking instructor. But a simple day’s task in Istanbul six months later goes horribly wrong.
Trapped and alone, her only hope of survival is the man who trained her – ex-FBI Hostage Rescue Specialist, Finn Scott.
For Finn, it’s his worst nightmare. Kate was the one person he almost let into his heart. Haunted by memories of a failed hostage rescue, he is thrust into a situation beyond his control. Now, against a sinister adversary whose ambitions will split apart Eastern Europe, Finn must overcome his demons to prevent an international catastrophe.
And avoid losing Kate forever.
Kate is fresh off of a long term relationship, and she’s looking for a new job that is challenging and is one where she will flourish. When she takes the sales development job with a firm where she’ll be traveling overseas, she must go through a hostage course to prepare her for what could happen when working in some of the more hostile foreign countries. She doesn’t anticipate meeting the handsome lead trainer Finn, whose tough-as-nails training style leaves her unsure if she’s prepared for the worst. But she also knows that she can’t get away from his hot and cold attitude fast enough, even though there seems to be a mutual attraction between them.
Six months later, the unthinkable happens: Kate is kidnapped and held for ransom while she’s working in Instanbul with her boss, Mr. Hart. Finn and his boss Steve are called in for a hostage rescue, but this isn’t a cut and dry crime of opportunity at work. The ransom is a highly specialized piece of electronics for weapons, one that only Mr. Hart can deliver, and corruption runs rampant among the locals. Can Finn push aside the memory of his last hostage rescue that went horribly wrong, allowing him to focus on finding and getting Kate out alive?
Kate is such a fighter. While she’s definitely scared for her life, she keeps her wits about her, tries to remember as much about the training that she received from Finn and Steve as she can, and she never gives up hope that she’ll be rescued. And when her hope of rescue looks dim, she helps herself by being patient, smart, and using her common sense.
Finn is a bit more complex and driven by his anger, but he’s unwilling to lose another person that he could possibly save. With the skills that he’d honed in the FBI and further developed with his company, he’s more than able to investigate leads, develop a rescue plan, and execute that plan–even a country like Turkey. But he lets the fear leftover from his loss of the last hostage take him over, so he’s reluctant to even take this on at first–or admit that he might have feelings for Kate.
I give Before Nightfall a four out of five. The story starts out with a vivid setting and fast, thrilling pace that just gets you going and keeps you going page after page. You’re right in the middle of the action from the start, and I really enjoyed that. The setting and visualizations were vivid, and I could picture Instanbul as I read. The characters were well-drawn and distinct, from Kate, Finn, Steve, and her boss Mr. Hart, to the kidnappers and the minor characters. You really get to know everyone without it being over or under done. The pacing was just perfect throughout since there was a deadline to this kidnapping, and it made the narration flow to where I just read and couldn’t wait to see what happened next. The only thing that felt a little forced was intensity of the relationship between Finn and Kate after only training together for three days and then not speaking for 6 months. It felt a bit forced to me, but pushing that aside, this novel is a very exciting and intense read.
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