Caffeinated Reviewer

He writes thrillers—she lives them.

Recruited as a sniper by Counterstrike, a covert team who rescues kidnap victims, former Olympic biathlete Jaimee Fleming fills the void created by her tragic past with dedication and purpose. But when one of their own is killed, she is shattered by the loss and leaves the agency. Thankfully, her new life as a dog walker offers no high-stakes danger—until she witnesses a murder.

Best-selling novelist Eli Croft doesn’t court danger—he only writes about it. But when his grandmother, the matriarch of the wealthy Croft family, is found dead, he suspects one of his relatives hired the assassin. On a mission to uncover the killer’s identity, Eli encounters Jaimee, running for her life . . .

Jaimee fears relying on the charming and persuasive Eli could be a fatal mistake. But Eli is hard to resist, and the two join forces. With the help of her former Counterstrike teammates, Jaimee and Eli must stop a murderer before she becomes the next victim. If she lives long enough, will Jaimee let go of her past and trust Eli with her future?

A former member of a covert rescue team turned dog-walker plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer in Fatal Encounter by Jannine Gallant. Can she trust the dashing author offering her aid? Grab a cup of coffee and see why I recommend this first in series romantic suspense.

The opening prologue takes us on the last Counterstrike mission that former Olympic biathlete Jaimee (Scarlett) Fleming participates in, before hanging up her sniper rifle and heading to rural Maine. Here she run a successful dog walking business for folks like, Mrs. Croft, matriarch of the wealthy Croft family. When she returns with Watson from his walk, she finds Mrs. Croft dead and the killer still in the home.  The tale that unfolds had suspense, romance and plenty of twists to keep me entertained. 

Best-selling novelist Eli Croft fears one of his family members is responsible for his grandmother’s untimely demise and investigates. He stumbles upon the dog walker, Watson in tow. Can she trust him? Can he trust her?

It took me a bit to warm up to Jaimee. There is some baggage there. Despite her skills and control during a mission she has some trust issues and rightly so. The romance was a slow-build more need in the beginning but I warmed up to the idea and thought the two worked well together.

Gallant wove a clever mystery with plenty of suspects and viable reasons from money to secrets. I really liked the Counterstrike Rescue Team and wondered how they would play a role in this series since Jaimee left but the author did a splendid job of weaving that into the story making it feel realistic and right for the character.

We see arc direction, character development, and plenty of heart stopping action as we drew towards the climatic ending of the case. While not perfect, I felt this was an excellent start to the series and I am excited to get to know more members of the Counterstrike team.

Fans of secret off the grid teams with alpha members, dangerous missions and daring rescues will want to add Fatal Encounter to their bookshelves.

About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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