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Run: Gemma Falls never expected to use her game theory expertise to outrun a killer. But for years, that skill is all that kept her one step ahead of a deadly stalker. When Gemma gets the chance to teach at D.C. University, she hopes she and her young daughter have found a safe harbor. The only flaw is the arrogant philosophy professor who’s always underfoot giving unwanted advice—in his sexy British accent . . .

Hide: Jethro Hanson has blood on his hands. He’s working within ivy-covered university halls now, but he knows that his work with the Deep Ops team and the deadly acts he once committed for the sake of Queen and country place him beyond forgiveness—until he meets Gemma . . .

Seek: Soon, the passion between them stuns them both. But when Jethro discovers a threat is fast overtaking her, he must choose between the redemption he seeks—and releasing the ever-present killer inside . . .

3.5 stars

My soft spot for Rebecca Zanetti’s ‘Deep Ops’ stems from a misfit crew under Angus Force that don’t really bother to hide their brokenness (but in fact, almost revel in it) and slowly becoming a dysfunctional family as the series progresses. The individual books’ focus on each pairing however, do vary in quality and romantic tropes underpinned by suspense.

In ‘Unforgiven’, the entire team gets thrown into chaos by the whirlwind that’s Gemma Falls and her daughter–a mother-daughter pair on the run from an abusive ex. The sudden insertion of Jethro’s super-evil, over-the-top smart villain of a brother who threatens to wreck the fragile peace the crew has been enjoying also conflates the danger that Gemma faces. With the twin threats, Zanetti’s storytelling is pacey as the crew fight fire on both fronts, with Jethro neatly bulldozing himself into Gemma’s life and bed.

It was nice to see the return of the crew as a whole and the dynamics that they create when they are around each other; the addition of some side characters does helps keep the plot more lighthearted than darkly violent. Zanetti’s brand of humour that she lends the secondary cast can be somewhat off-key, though it certainly does well enough to serve as a tension-reliever at times.

I’m a little less enthused strangely, about the Deep Ops’ crew’s individual stories and it’s no different here–the violent past of each of Angus’s team member is often touted to be the reason and excuse why they don’t take any emotional plunges, then switch their opinions almost immediately when ‘the one’ appears. It’s a holding pattern that repeats like clockwork and frankly, I’d like to see a bit more nuance with this particular tortured and overused trope.

Jethro’s insistence on railroading his way into Gemma’s problems (going so far as to order a background check on her when it wasn’t his place to) simply because she was reticent with him didn’t put him in the best light, more so as he’d also just come off a one-night stand when he’d met her. That he also flipped so quickly from steadfastly refusing any commitment to any woman to suddenly wanting to play family because of his need to protect Gemma and her daughter felt more of a product of the constant adrenaline rush from a sudden roll of traumatising events than one forged out of deep emotional connection and understanding.

Zanetti’s blend of suspense and action is probably what will keep me coming back still; maybe the next pairing is the one that will really unearth that pot of gold for me…who knows?