The Defiant Hero
“Meg didn’t understand at first. The man was smiling, and his pleasant expression and tone of voice didn’t match his words. “We’ve taken your daughter hostage.” She was in the parking garage beneath her condo, hauling a box of files from the back of her car, when he approached her. She wasn’t even a hundred feet away from Ramon, the building’s security guard. The smiling man must’ve seen the confusion in her eyes, because he said it again. In a Kazbekistani dialect. “We have your daughter, and if you don’t follow our orders, we’ll kill her.”
The Defiant Hero is the second book of the Troubleshooters series and I read it in March this year. I had totally enjoyed the experience—what a great mix of intense adventure and love story that involves a group of the elite U.S. Navy SEALs.
In this installment, the focus of the story is on Navy SEAL Lieutenant junior grade, John Nilsson, and translator, Meg Moore. John has not seen Meg in years but when she calls for him for help, all the memories of her being with him come flooding back. But what’s shocking though is that she’s not the victim but rather the person who is holding a foreign ambassador hostage.
What John does not know is Meg is being threatened and put in a deadly situation. Her daughter and mother have been kidnapped by the Extremists and issued death threats. Meg has no choice but to meet with the demands of the terrorists, even if it means having to kill someone. The only person Meg knows who could help her is John, so she very cleverly puts in her demand to only want to deal with John and nobody else.
That is how John is summoned by the FBI to negotiate the hostage situation. Things get very intense from here. John senses that something is amiss in the Meg-as-terrorist situation, but he still has his doubts. He is gambling with his career if he helps Meg to escape. Meg is very stubborn and John has to work very hard to breakthrough to her.
Having read The Warrior Elite by Dick Couch (which gives a good account of “Hell Week” and the other phases of training in the making of a SEAL), I was able to appreciate the story even more. The hardship John has to go through in the saga with Meg in the terrorist situation is reflected in this book. I also admire Meg’s mother for her courage while in captivity. She tells the love story of her love in her rescue involvement during World War II to her granddaughter. One of the terrorists who keeps watch of them is touched by the story and that somewhat “soften” him towards them.
Also, the secondary character, Sam Starrett who is also a Navy SEAL, is growing on me. I can’t wait to read more about him and Alyssa Locke with whom he always have “issues.” They both do not see eye to eye and tension is always in the air. But sparks are flying for sure. Just you wait and see.
The verdict? I loved it! Suzanne Brockmann does such a good job weaving everything together, I didn’t feel burdened by the multiple characters in the series.
The Defiant Hero is a joint-reading with Julia who introduced the series to me. Dear Julia: Thank you for reading this with me! Once again, I’ve totally enjoyed the experience. Coming up next is the review of Over the Edge, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series with you.
Related Posts:
