Sonja Grey, a narcotics detective, and her nemesis, Max Trent, are handpicked to go undercover to capture a thug—Johnny Stone, aka Rock—who’s dealing drugs at Sonja’s church. Their operation is unwittingly aided by the interference of Sonja’s eccentric aunties. For Max, this assignment has two objectives: get their villain and capture Sonja’s heart. Will Sonja break free of the shackles of her past and embrace Max’s love, or will they be destroyed by danger?
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This book has potential, but it falls short. The main characters are flat and immature – they’re supposed to be detectives with the police, but the way they approach their attraction to each feels more like inexperienced high schoolers than adults.
Their skills as police are also very inexperienced. Instead of using digital surveillance equipment, they hide out in alleys to listen to conversations. Instead of creating believable, subtle cover stories, Max goes out of his way to be annoying and obnoxious, drawing as much attention to himself and Sonja as possible.
Then there are the aunts and the drug dealer. I get that she’s trying to do the quirky-character thing, but it feels forced. There’s no real reason why the aunts should have so much power over a vicious, dangerous drug dealer. With some character development a somewhat believable reason could be created, but it comes across as a ploy.
Instead of characters that capture your attention and action that makes your heart race, basic, underdeveloped characters and plot seem to trudge along. Sadly, this very much feels like an early draft that didn’t get a good edit. It could be a really good story, but it falls short.
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