Review: Cover of Night

Cover of Night by Laura Griffin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Two and a half stars.

This is very different from Laura's other series and not recommended for readers of Tracers as it just doesn't have the same tension or plot density. I think the biggest problem for me is that I can feel Laura trying to write a bigger, deeper plot and then being held back, or holding herself back, which leads to this reader feeling a bit confused and disappointed.

Karly Bonham is a journalist spending time on a luxury island resort with the US Ambassador to Thailand and his daughter as they holiday whilst writing a cover story for her magazine. Returning from a day-long boat trip Karly sees men with guns on the beach and is horrified when her companions and the boat's crew are gunned down before her eyes. She manages to make a short call alerting the authorities before swimming to shore.

Ethan Dunn is part of a small group of Navy SEALs inserted onto the island as a result of Karly's message, they are there to provide reconnaissance for a larger team to rescue the Ambassador and other guests and staff from the ACB terrorists who have taken them hostage.

Much like the previous books in this new series half of the action takes place on the island and is full of tension and SEAL bravery, then the action returns to San Diego where the pace and focus suddenly shifts to more mainstream romance rather than your typical military-romance or romantic-suspense. And then the ending bish-bash-bosh, if my Kindle version gave me pages I would tell you how few pages were used to wrap up the plot compared to sightseeing in Manila, for example, okay, I've checked and the entire plot gets wrapped up in a four minute (to read) chapter!

Overall, I just don't think Laura Griffin is clear what she wants to do with this series or how she wants to write it. I love her Tracers series and I want her to succeed at this series too but at the moment it isn't hanging together properly.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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