Operation Katie (Harlequin Superromance, 1064)

Rating:
Summary: powerful romantic suspense
Review: For the last decade, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Zach Forrester has successfully worked the nastiest cases. However, Zach faces his most difficult assignment of his life, one he doubts he will survive. When his sister dumped his three-year-old niece on him, Zach must take care of little Katie who misses her mommy. OPERATION: KATIE includes brushing hair and making peanut bitter and jelly sandwiches (the only thing the kid eats). However, the key to survival is to keep Katie safe from someone who wants her dead. Zach takes Katie to Fossil Hill, Colorado so she can be safe.

Talk about a full plate. Widow Dana Hathaway raises two children, manages a ranch, and is a practicing veterinarian. When Zach arrives, Dana is stunned to see her high school boyfriend who deserted her following the senior prom. She does not want him back in her life, but watching him tenderly care for little Katie touches her heart, propelling her to fall in love again. He shares her emotion, but hides it because he believes he is inadequate for her.

Roxanne Rustand furnishes sub-genre readers with a delightful romantic suspense tale that works because the interrelationships between the key characters seem real. The story line is loaded with action yet filled with angst. Dana is a courageous heroine while Zach is a flawed champion struggling with doing the right thing emotionally for Katie. Though the lead couple is charming, the tale belongs to little Katie, who desperately needs adult compassion and love at a time when her mental health is fragile. OPERATION KATIE is a powerful romantic suspense that readers will highly value.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: powerful romantic suspense
Review: For the last decade, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Zach Forrester has successfully worked the nastiest cases. However, Zach faces his most difficult assignment of his life, one he doubts he will survive. When his sister dumped his three-year-old niece on him, Zach must take care of little Katie who misses her mommy. OPERATION: KATIE includes brushing hair and making peanut bitter and jelly sandwiches (the only thing the kid eats). However, the key to survival is to keep Katie safe from someone who wants her dead. Zach takes Katie to Fossil Hill, Colorado so she can be safe.

Talk about a full plate. Widow Dana Hathaway raises two children, manages a ranch, and is a practicing veterinarian. When Zach arrives, Dana is stunned to see her high school boyfriend who deserted her following the senior prom. She does not want him back in her life, but watching him tenderly care for little Katie touches her heart, propelling her to fall in love again. He shares her emotion, but hides it because he believes he is inadequate for her.

Roxanne Rustand furnishes sub-genre readers with a delightful romantic suspense tale that works because the interrelationships between the key characters seem real. The story line is loaded with action yet filled with angst. Dana is a courageous heroine while Zach is a flawed champion struggling with doing the right thing emotionally for Katie. Though the lead couple is charming, the tale belongs to little Katie, who desperately needs adult compassion and love at a time when her mental health is fragile. OPERATION KATIE is a powerful romantic suspense that readers will highly value.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down! Very highly recommended
Review: For the last ten years, Zach Forrester has excelled at training, worked high profile cases, and faced impossible odds to track and capture dangerous men who make headline news. Now one three year old moppet brings him to his knees with a challenge that exceeds any other: Operation Katie. Now he must learn to detangle fine baby hair, make peanut butter sandwiches with the crust removed, and endear lunch in froufrou restaurants filled with lace and dollhouses. Moreover, he must keep her safe from the man who wants his tiny niece dead. So he takes her to Fossil Hill, Colorado to heal and to find safety a town that once rejected him.

Widow Dana Hathaway raises two children, maintains the Rocking H Ranch and a thriving veterinarian practice. Fifteen years do not weaken the shock of seeing her high school sweet heart again. The years have only honed his dangerous, unpredictable edge. So many times she relived the magic of their Senior Prom and the disillusion of his disappearance the next day without a word of explanation. She wants to maintain her distance to protect her heart. But the contrast of the powerful, protective male and the fragile child touches her profoundly. Worse, he ignites the memory of passion, of burning need. But Zach knows that his past working undercover has made it impossible to give the honesty and commitment necessary for a relationship. Too bad his heart does not believe his head.

Intrigue keeps the plot moving and interest piqued, but the characterizations are what make OPERATION: KATIE truly sparkle. Roxanne Rustand has a gift for capturing the essence of relationships in all their complexity and charm. Zach bears scars both externally and internally that make him a flawed, extraordinary hero. Dana never backs down from her independence, yet can act with courage and passion when circumstance demands. Secondary characters are equally vivid, especially young Katie who demonstrates the behavior to be expected from such horrific circumstances, yet reveals her own appeal and intensity. I absolutely couldn't put OPERATION: KATIE down. Very highly recommended.