The Agent's Secret Child (Intrigue, 585)

Rating:
Summary: The Agent's Secret Child
Review: BJ Daniels continues the Texas Confidential series with this month's first secret child book and amnesia story in "The Agent's Secret Child." Six years after the woman he loved died in a fiery explosion, agent Jake Cantrell receives a call from a five year old child, a child who calls him father. Her mother bears a striking resemblance to Abby Diaz, the love of his life. She claims to have no memory of her life before the last six years. Could she be Abby, and can he keep her and her daughter safe from the drug lord who wants them dead?

The title and the expected happy ending shouldn't make it too hard to answer those questions. "The Agent's Secret Child" is told with enough energy and emotion to make it an exciting and refreshing read. Though the circumstances of Jake not knowing about his daughter are contrived, they were at least unique and didn't turn me against one of the characters. Anyone who is tired of secret child books, and I've complained enough about them, should know this is the first in a while that didn't aggravate me. Daniels makes Abby's slow discovery of her identity quite poignant. Jake and Abby's relationship is full of passion. This is a romance many readers will cheer for. The action never stops moving, and the equally strong hero and heroine prove their strength more than once. The mystery is well done, with juicy secrets to be uncovered and some nice investigating on the part of the heroine. The climax was slightly familiar (see last year's "My Lover's Secret," Intrigue 528) and one final twist so obvious it only made one of our heroes look stupid. Honestly, how else could it have turned out? The romance and suspense are still both consistently high and strong enough to make this one a winner.

This book could easily have been five stars (right now it's a solid four and a half) if it had been longer. (Unless you're interested in a really nitpicky point, stop reading now and go buy the book). This isn't only a book where readers will say they wished it was longer. It needed to be. "The Agent's Secret Child" is 233 pages, fifteen less than the average Intrigue, with huge margins and big type. (Temptation length. Why isn't it Temptation priced?) There isn't any place where the emotions or details couldn't have been expanded upon for greater effect. The Texas Confidential agency especially could use more detail. Two books into the series and the agency is still vaguely defined. Too many of the agency characters and background details are offered in quick one line descriptions that read like this is how her editor or the other authors described them to her. They aren't her characters, so Daniels has no idea who they are and isn't going to bother with them any more than she has to. For instance, the author keeps mentioning another agent who disappeared a year ago. This probably will come into play later in the series, but Jake thinks about this so casually and unemotionally that it seems to have no impact on him or his coworkers. It's only going to make it less effective if this plot point comes up in the future, and makes me wonder why Jake would bother thinking about it if he cares so little. It's a very minor point but a crucial one. It says "Texas Confidential" isn't holding up well as a series. (All the ads say these agents are cowboys by day. We have yet to see them do anything cowboy-related.) It's not like Daniels doesn't have room to add more detail. The book could have been expanded, and should have been.

I have no problem recommending "The Agent's Secret Child" highly. The central relationship and suspense are wonderful. Only the foundation the book and the series are set up on are too fuzzy around the edges. For top notch romantic suspense, this is still one book that should not be missed.

Rating:
Summary: The Agent's Secret Child
Review: BJ Daniels continues the Texas Confidential series with this month's first secret child book and amnesia story in "The Agent's Secret Child." Six years after the woman he loved died in a fiery explosion, agent Jake Cantrell receives a call from a five year old child, a child who calls him father. Her mother bears a striking resemblance to Abby Diaz, the love of his life. She claims to have no memory of her life before the last six years. Could she be Abby, and can he keep her and her daughter safe from the drug lord who wants them dead?

The title and the expected happy ending shouldn't make it too hard to answer those questions. "The Agent's Secret Child" is told with enough energy and emotion to make it an exciting and refreshing read. Though the circumstances of Jake not knowing about his daughter are contrived, they were at least unique and didn't turn me against one of the characters. Anyone who is tired of secret child books, and I've complained enough about them, should know this is the first in a while that didn't aggravate me. Daniels makes Abby's slow discovery of her identity quite poignant. Jake and Abby's relationship is full of passion. This is a romance many readers will cheer for. The action never stops moving, and the equally strong hero and heroine prove their strength more than once. The mystery is well done, with juicy secrets to be uncovered and some nice investigating on the part of the heroine. The climax was slightly familiar (see last year's "My Lover's Secret," Intrigue 528) and one final twist so obvious it only made one of our heroes look stupid. Honestly, how else could it have turned out? The romance and suspense are still both consistently high and strong enough to make this one a winner.

This book could easily have been five stars (right now it's a solid four and a half) if it had been longer. (Unless you're interested in a really nitpicky point, stop reading now and go buy the book). This isn't only a book where readers will say they wished it was longer. It needed to be. "The Agent's Secret Child" is 233 pages, fifteen less than the average Intrigue, with huge margins and big type. (Temptation length. Why isn't it Temptation priced?) There isn't any place where the emotions or details couldn't have been expanded upon for greater effect. The Texas Confidential agency especially could use more detail. Two books into the series and the agency is still vaguely defined. Too many of the agency characters and background details are offered in quick one line descriptions that read like this is how her editor or the other authors described them to her. They aren't her characters, so Daniels has no idea who they are and isn't going to bother with them any more than she has to. For instance, the author keeps mentioning another agent who disappeared a year ago. This probably will come into play later in the series, but Jake thinks about this so casually and unemotionally that it seems to have no impact on him or his coworkers. It's only going to make it less effective if this plot point comes up in the future, and makes me wonder why Jake would bother thinking about it if he cares so little. It's a very minor point but a crucial one. It says "Texas Confidential" isn't holding up well as a series. (All the ads say these agents are cowboys by day. We have yet to see them do anything cowboy-related.) It's not like Daniels doesn't have room to add more detail. The book could have been expanded, and should have been.

I have no problem recommending "The Agent's Secret Child" highly. The central relationship and suspense are wonderful. Only the foundation the book and the series are set up on are too fuzzy around the edges. For top notch romantic suspense, this is still one book that should not be missed.