This is the third and final book in the John Medina Series.All I can say is WOW! What an AMAZING ride this story was. This is the story of Lily Mansfield, a contract killer for the CIA. She was recruited at the young age of 18 and is now 37 years old. Everything she has done, she has done for her Country. She never once questioned who she was sanctioned to kill because she believed that if she was asked to kill somebody, then it was necessary for her to kill them.... and that was all she needed to know. Unfortunately, because of Lily's job, over time she's totally separated herself from her Mom and Sister because she doesn't belong in their world, and they certainly don't understand hers. They are apart of the Before, and she is irrevocably in the After. Her friends in the business have become her family—and they have now been slaughtered.Lily finds out her friends have been killed by a very powerful and dangerous man by the name of Salvatore Nervi. Her friends Averill and Tina came out of retirement to bomb a laboratory owned by Salvatore, and she wants to know what made them come out of retirement to take this job. Salvatore is literally untouchable because of the connections he has with various Government's including the American Government in particular his exchange of information with the CIA. Lily doesn't care that Salvatore is protected by her own Government, all she wants revenge. Her friends and family have been murdered and not only them, but also innocent 13 year old adopted daughter Zia. Lily goes undercover posing as Denis Moral and catches Salvatore's attention. She eventually gets close enough to him that she's able to poison him, but in order for her to get Salvatore to drink the wine that she's tampered with, she must also take a sip of wine as well. Salvatore dies, and Lily becomes extremely ill. She then has to prove to Salvatore's son Rodrigo (who is now the head of the Nervi family) that she had nothing to do with his father's death, but she also got sick from the poison. Lily is finally released from Rodrigo's custody and then goes underground to find out why her friends were murdered. When Frank Vinay, the Director of Operations of CIA finds out about Salvatore Nervi's death and that it was one of his own(Liliane Mansfield) who did it, He is forced to do something about it. He pulls up her security-coded file and reads it. Her psychological profile says that she’d been operating under some strain for a couple of years now. He realizes he should have pulled her out of the field when she first started showing signs of psychological strain, but it was too late now. So, he has to deal with the situation that now exists. Frank calls in Lucas Swain. Lucas is described as "walking like a cowboy who had nowhere to go and wasn’t in any hurry to get there". Ladies seemed to like that about him. Swain was one of those good-looking people who seemed to be perpetually good-natured, too. There was a goofy smile on his face as he said hello..He was a devastatingly effective field officer because he went in under people’s radar. He might be a happy man, he might have a walk that looked like the definition of laziness, but he got the job done". When Frank tells Lucas of the "delicate situation", and that one of their contract agents has gone off the reservation and killed a valuable asset, Lucas is given the job of stopping her.This is where the story become very interesting and intense. After a lot of 'cat and mouse', Lucas finally tracks Lily down outside of the laboratory her friends bombed in Paris. He rescues her from being shot at by Rodrigo's men, and drives her to safety.Lucas and Lily team up and discover why Tina and Averill took the job, and when they finally do, they discover it's bigger than anything they could have ever expected. Now it's a race to stop the lab from completing what they have set out to do.Lucas is on his own in this mission because he discovers that there's a mole in the CIA giving Rodrigo all of the intelligence he's passing on the Langely.This story was full of excitement, thrills, suspense, and wicked-intense chemistry between Lucas and Lily. ...and even though the story is intense and non-stop adventure, the Author has also written some really witty bantering between Lucas and Lily. My favorite scene is when Lucas has to rent a more reliable and non-noticeable car, so Lily makes him rent a Fiat. The whole time Lucas is driving it he makes a high pitched wining sound like a sewing machine when the car changes gears. The Epilogue is one of the best and most unexpected surprises I read in a long, long time... BRILLIANT!!! Lucas and Lily will definitely be characters I WILL not soon forget! Absolutely another Linda Howard favorite!
5-I Love Linda Howard Novels-stars!!Yesterday, I was in such a bad book-rut! Picked up three books, and couldn't even get past the first few pages!! It was just didn't have a certain magic I wanted. Light on the suspense with, all the heroines seeming like walking nymphomaniacs with no brain cells whatsoever!So since I didn't have any Kristen Ashley to bust me out, I turned to Linda Howard, and WHOOOO!!!!! I trusted Miss Howard's writing so much, I didn't even read the synopsis, just downloaded and started reading!And I Loved It!! The story is filled with so much depth and character development.Both the hero/heroine are in their late thirties/early forties. They are set on this path together, where one's goal is Revenge and another's goal is Duty. With multiple POV's keeping the story fresh and suspense, I was hooked from the first page!! Complex suspenseful webs are woven, connecting so many characters, and blossoming so beautifully, I just couldn't put it down!! Setting up the stage with the suspense/thriller, slowly building the relationship between the hero/heroine, that by the big twist in the last chapter, I was a bawling mess!This book had everything I wanted, and have come to expect from Linda Howard novels!Sweet, Endearing Alpha Male:CHECKHeroine perfectly written with a strong, warrior persona while balancing a vulnerability that doesn't make it contradictory: CHECKComplex storyline: CHECKGood/Great Romance: CHECKTwists: BIG CHECK!Humor:CHECKI loved this book!!
What do You think about Kiss Me While I Sleep (2005)?
Seeking revenge for the death of her best friends and adopted daughter, Lily Mansfield, a contract agent for the CIA, goes after Salvatore Nervi, the man who ordered their deaths. When the CIA learns that one of their assassins has gone rogue, they send CIA Agent Lucas Swain to take her down. Lily wants to learn why Salvatore Nervi had her friends killed, while trying to out maneuver his deadly son, Rodrigo, and hiding from the operative she is sure the CIA has sent to stop her.This is the third book in Linda Howard's CIA series. I found Lily to be a strong character. She is dealing with her grief while seeking revenge for her friend's deaths. She is also working all alone with no one to help her with her plan. Lucas Swain is not your usual dark brooding CIA operative. This guy has a sense of humor and loves fast cars. It was a refreshing change. The story has some good twists. Your never sure when the bad guys are going to pop up in the book or how our heroine is going to get away. My rating: 4.5 Stars
—Robin
Great narration by Joyce Bean and Dick Hill, each playing the role of hero or heroine, Lucas Swain and Lily. However, the story itself gets about 3 stars. It was good, but not Howard's best. Suspenseful, sexy, and bittersweet, with the most abrupt ending EVER, a 180 plot twist, and a slow start to the relationship (but the suspense begins with a bang). The hero does not meet the heroine till about chapter 10. Too many pages are consumed with the minutia of planning and carrying out the bombing of a bioterrorism laboratory. Not enough pages devoted to the final epilogue.It's part of a series, but very loosely linked to the other books. No need to read the prequels. Of the three books in the series, this is the weakest. But it's a Howard, and I love her bold heroes and tough heroines, so it's all good.
—Kathleen
Unabridged audiobook version - from Speaking of Audiobooks, Male Narrators 6/08/09Narrated by Joyce Bean and Dick HillThis one worked very well as a moving romantic suspense tale with an above average female narrator and only average male narrator. It unfortunately suffers in grade due to the fact that I can't help but compare it to other Howard romantic suspenses. It's better than the average romantic suspense book but doesn't measure up as well to her others. Also I had to work at accepting Dick Hill’s voice for the hero I saw in my mind's eye. He sounded too old for the part.
—Lea's Audiobooks Hensley
