Wednesday, August 16, 2023

HOOPLA/ BOOK REVIEW- Cold Snap by Toni Anderson

      

Evidence that a notorious criminal is hiding out in a small, seaside town in rural Maine leads to an FBI agent going undercover in this new Romantic Thriller from New York Times bestselling author Toni Anderson.

Grady Steel returns to the insular community of Deception Cove, Maine, where he spent his troubled youth unfairly labeled the town’s bad boy. Now a member of the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team, Grady is on a risky undercover mission, hunting one of the FBI’s Most Wanted fugitives.

Recovering from a broken marriage, Brynn Webster comes home to the sleepy small town—where nothing ever happens—to help her parents run their seaside cafe during her mother’s illness. After diving into the frigid waters of the winter harbor to rescue a dead man, Brynn begins to realize that the ocean isn’t the only place swirling with dangerous undercurrents.

Grady befriends the pretty manager of the local cafe in an effort to unearth the town’s closely guarded secrets. Deceiving Brynn isn’t easy, though, especially when he starts to fall for her. Then, when decades-old crimes lead to modern-day murder, Grady’s mission becomes a race against time as he strives to catch a ruthless killer—before Brynn becomes the next victim.

AMAZON LINK

5+ STARS

Grady Steele was a great main character.  Someone who gets dragged into a dangerous, serious  investigation without prior heads-up or even his permission.  The way that FBI Agent Ropero and Agent Dobson marched him out of a HRT (Hostage Rescue Team) briefing was so unfair. Remember the name, Eli Kane because that's the name of who they are searching for. 

There is a couple of flashbacks to 27 years ago.  Usually I don't enjoy switching back and forth between past and present.  However, this was very well done and was a good foundation that I liked.

I will say though that the early days of Eli Kane include some very serious details of some sex parties that I didn't like.  Hoping that only adults would be reading or could kind of skip over those parts, because the actual rest of the story was outstanding. 

Coming back to Grady's childhood home is hell on earth for him.  And it's not going to get any better.
His former friend/nemesis is Sheriff Darrell York, who would like nothing better than to put the cuffs on him and drag him to jail permanently.   What a "dog" he was.  He was married but still chasing after a VERY uninterested Brynn Webster.  And abuse of power?  Yes, pencil his name into the dictionary for that description also the fact that he's inept at his job. It definitely stirred my emotions to want to see him caught and forced to face his actions.

Grady's sister Crystal HATES him with a passion and he doesn't know why.  He's never really done anything to her.  We'll find out why later.  There are a few people in town that stand up for him though which I liked when it happened.
Brynn Webster, what a great but ill-used woman.  Her ex-husband left her self-confidence and trust so low.  Some many people of the town looked at her with pity but also being a small town were eager to get more insider gossip.  She had courage, loyalty, integrity and she cared about people. Someone that made me want to see win especially having someone who truly loved her.  A friendship develops between her and Grady, and a romance blooms too. Because of secrets you know that's going to have some serious problems. Just to let you know that isn't the only problems cropping up in Deception Cove, Maine.  What an appropriate name for this town because there is plenty of deception going on.

''Cowboy'', Ryan Sullivan is not only a HRT member but also Grady's best friend.  Ryan shows up with another HRT member Donnelly for undercover backup.  They kept things interesting.

What a stunning conclusion with surprises when it comes to the identity of the former Eli Kane. Never saw that coming.  And it's just the first of MANY revelations and the "hits" just kept coming. Following those revelations is plenty of pain for several people. There is a H.E.A for Brynn and Grady  which put a smile on my face.

I read this book through the HOOPLA Library App

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