Crossfire ~ Review

Crossfire

Extreme Measures #2

By Lynette Eason

Julianna James is proof positive that a life going wrong can be turned around. Working with the FBI, she is one of their top hostage negotiators, and she takes pride that she has never lost a hostage during her years with the FBI. But she is haunted by an incident in her past, and with the 15th anniversary fast approaching, she's having to deal with the added stress to her already busy life. 

When a hostage situation arises during a courtroom trial, Julianna is called in to negotiate. Clay Snyder's younger sister, Reese, becomes the only eyes and ears available to law enforcement as the situation drags on. When Reese and the other hostages make it out alive, Julianna and Clay, along with Dottie (Julianna's teenage sister) and Reese, soon hit it off in the friendship department. Unfortunately, Julianna's past is about to put them all in danger - when a "hostage taker" begins to target Julianna and her perfect negotiation record.

Meanwhile, someone is determined to make threats against those nearest to Julianna. Can she keep her sister and friends safe while dealing with someone determined to destroy her?

Crossfire is the second book in the Extreme Measures series, and it is filled with intense action and suspense. And there is, of course, the makings of a romance if only the past and its regrets can be laid to rest. Both Clay and Julianna are dealing with past regrets that keep them from pushing past the guilt that has fettered them with its recriminations. Though this is part of a series, this book can be read as a standalone as each book focuses on a different main character. The friendship between Julianna and her best friends and their work seems to be the string that ties the series together.  I really liked Julianna's sister Dottie who is dealing with her own smorgasbord of troubles with school, her relationship with her mother, and did I mention school.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations; all thoughts expressed are my own.                               

About the Book:

FBI special agent Julianna James is a top-notch negotiator who has never lost a hostage. Surely, she can manage to take care of her much younger sister, Dottie, who showed up unannounced to live with Julianna while she finished her senior year of high school.

A former sniper with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Clay Snyder left the army after a tragic incident that he can't get past. Now he's working as a high school resource officer until he can figure out what to do with the rest of his life.

Their paths cross when Julianna is called in to negotiate a courtroom hostage situation involving Clay's sister. Impressed and a bit intimidated by the calm, capable woman with dark hair and blue eyes, Clay invites her to speak at his school. Dottie's school.

But as the anniversary of a school shooting from Julianna's past approaches, it becomes clear that her perfect record is about to be tested and that Dottie is at risk. If Julianna and Clay can't figure out who's behind the attacks, more innocent people will die--and Julianna just might be one of them.

This intense story of revenge and redemption from bestselling author and master of suspense Lynette Eason will have you up all night as you race toward the explosive finish.