Brynn Kelly delivers the danger in A Risk Worth Taking, the latest installment of her Legionnaires series.
Samira Desta might have the skills to upend the world order with her laptop, but she was happy with her quiet life as a computer systems security engineer—until her whistle-blowing fiancé was murdered. After that, she stepped up to find and expose the truth. She’s been on the run ever since. There’s been no safety and no solace on her journey except for a stolen moment she shared with French Foreign Legion medic Jamie Armstrong. It’s been a year since they last met, but when Samira needs him again, he rushes to her side. While scrambling through Europe, barely one step ahead of the mercenaries on their trail, the passion between them reignites.
Kelly’s characters show all the smarts and abilities necessary to face down overwhelming odds, but they also demonstrate surprising vulnerability. Samira’s fierce drive for justice is contrasted by overpowering fear that sometimes sends her into full-fledged panic attacks. She struggles with feelings of helpless, vulnerability, paranoia and a heavy load of guilt over her fiancé’s death, for which she blames herself.
And while Jamie might wisecrack like an action movie star while bullets are flying, his charming façade masks deep problems that are slowly revealed over the course of the story. It’s heartbreaking watching him brace himself for the moment when Samira realizes he’s not a perfect hero after all. He believes he’ll let her down, like he’s let down so many people in his life before.
Hunting the pair down is a somewhat Trumpian villain, a politician with a lot of popular appeal—and a beautiful, well-spoken daughter who is his biggest advocate—which lets him brush aside the accusations against him as a politically-motivated witch hunt. But deep down, he’s as calculating as he is brutal, and every time Samira or Jamie falters, his henchmen edge in a little closer. The tension stays as tight and tense as a high wire. It can be a little exhausting, watching every safe haven become a danger zone just a short while later, but it’s certainly exciting to experience unrelenting suspense all the way to the end.
This story offers extra rewards for fans of the earlier books in the series, especially in a crucial role played by in the final act by Rafe and Holly from Deception Island. New readers may be so intrigued by the references to past adventures that they’ll hunt down the previous Legionnaires books!
