Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Running Out of Time - Cindi Myers (HI #196 - July 2020)

Series: Tactical Crime Division (Book 4)

When a terrorist is on the loose, the Tactical Crime Division is on the case.

To find out who poisoned medications, two of TCD's agents are tapped to go undercover posing as a married couple and infiltrate the company. But as soon as Jace Cantrell and Laura Smith arrive at Stroud Pharmaceuticals, someone ups the ante by planting explosives in their midst. Turns out that the small-town family business is hiding a million secrets. Could they unknowingly be protecting a vengeful killer?

Terrific mix of suspense and romance. A pharmaceutical company in West Virginia is the victim of product tampering and the TCD is sent to investigate. In addition to the public team that is sent, Jace and Laura are sent undercover as a married couple. Laura will be the admin assistant to one of the executives while Jace will work on the floor of the factory. Neither of them is especially happy about the assignment as they don't get along very well.

I enjoyed the interactions between Jace and Laura. The tension between them at the beginning was evident. Laura is very much a by-the-book agent while Jace tends to be a little more creative in his approach. Laura thinks Jace is a loose cannon and Jace thinks Laura is wound too tight. Both will deal with their dislike to catch the killer. I loved watching the changes they went through as they were forced into close proximity. On the professional side, there were several occasions when Laura saw the benefits of working outside the box. On the personal side, the development of their relationship was fun to watch. Previously they only saw each other as fellow agents, but living together gave them a whole different outlook. The sparks of antagonism that flew before now turned to sparks of passion. Jace notices Laura's long legs and softer appearance when she is dressed casually. Laura gets quite a surprise when she gets a look at Jace in a wet shirt. The more time they spend together, the stronger those sparks grow and the closer they get. As the case nears its end, both Laura and Jace have to decide what will happen with their relationship. A close call at the end opens their eyes to what they really want.

The suspense of the story was fantastic. It opened with a bang, literally, as a bomb detonated at the factory soon after Jace and Laura started their new jobs. Jace and Laura look for motive and opportunity from within the factory while the rest of the team looks at the broader picture of who might have a grudge against the owners or the company. There are multiple options for suspects and with each new attack, the number seems to grow. When a note is found that says "two down, four to go" the TCD is determined to find the killer before anyone else dies. The tension grew as the team closed in on the culprit. I was on the edge of my seat as my suspicions grew about one person. The final confrontation was very much a mind game between the killer and the agents until Jace figured it out. Then it was a race against time to save the last target. 



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