Flashpoint

Rating:
Summary: VERY GOOD ACTION & SUSPENSE NOVEL
Review: As a fan of Brockmann's earlier novels, HEART THROB and a few of her Navy SEALs series books like THE ADMIRAL'S BRIDE, I enjoyed FLASHPOINT for several reasons: the one storyline and the action and suspense. I had not enjoyed her previous Troubleshooters due to the WWII flashbacks and multiple storylines but with the focus on one storyline, the story did begin very slow. The plot of the book took too long to execute. Again, we have a secondary relationship that is slowly developing between Sophia and Deck who were more compelling and had more chemistry when compared to the principal characters Nash and Tess. I liked Tess. She was no nonsense and stood her ground but she was infactuated with Nash and 80% of the book has them going back and forth with their feelings along with the assignment that they are working together. Deck and Sophia had more electricity between them and their story promises to be a good one since Sophia has some baggage.

The negative reviews could stem from the changes that Brockmann incorporated in her novel that worked for me: the one storyline and more action and suspense. The romance is secondary and there are no overlong sex scenes which is a plus for me. If Brockmann is aiming at suspense fans, I'd suggest she work on a plot that is more plausible and executable in a reasonable time frame. The mission in this book too long to excecute. The last 50 pages or so were more compelling that the previous hundred pages.

My grade, B and the reason is that after the initial beginning, the story did drag and I could put this book down and forget about it. I am glad to see that Brockmann seems to be concentrating more on the suspense and less on the usual conventions of romance. She just needs to work on the plot and lose the surfer dude voice which was quite annoying when you have everybody talking like that, it's distracting and if your writing suspense, you'd have to be rid of that first and foremost. A good book.

Rating:
Summary: I don't think Brockmann's heart was in it!
Review: Maybe I'd give this book three stars if it were written by an average author, but it's by Suzanne Brockmann! Is this fair? Probably. The other reviewers are right when they say that Tess and Jimmy aren't fleshed out, that you don't really feel as if you know them, nor was I drawn to them. I have loved all of Suzanne's long SEAL books, and I bought this one, but wish I hadn't. In Suzanne's other books, I couldn't wait for the protagonists to finally get together, but in Flashpoint, I must confess that I really didn't care. In fact, I was much more interested in Jimmy's partner, Decker. Plus, there was six other minor characters sent to (or native to) this God forsaken country and the characterization was so shallow that I couldn't tell the difference between them. And come on, we're supposed to be in suspense because the team goes to retrieve a laptop, for heavens sake! The action climax almost occurred off the page and Suzanne told us about it, instead of showing us. It took me about four days to finish this book; usually I have read most of her SEAL books in one, compulsive night! All in all, this book reads like an uninspired first draft. My advice to you: don't buy the book.

Rating:
Summary: Another Brockmann "Must Have"
Review: The main reason Suzanne Brockmann's books fly off the shelves is because she's an excellent writer. She has a way of creating characters that stick with the reader long after we close the book. She's also flawless with her creation of secondary characters, making us want more of them with subsequent novels.

Ms. Brockmann does not disappoint with her writing in FLASHPOINT. It has the customary humor, so entwined in her romances; it also has the action, adventure and controversy we've to which we've become accustom.

Once again, you'll love her hero, her heroine and especially the secondary cast of characters including the darling "Decker". My only question for Suz: When does Decker get his happily-ever-after?