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After a near-fatal head injury, navy SEAL lieutenant Tom Paoletti catches a terrifying glimpse of an international terrorist in his New England hometown. When he calls for help, the navy dismisses the danger as injury-induced imaginings. In a desperate, last-ditch effort to prevent disaster, Tom creates his own makeshift counterterrorist team, assembling his most loyal officers, two elderly war veterans, a couple of misfit teenagers, and Dr. Kelly Ashton-the sweet "girl next door" who has grown into a remarkable woman. The town's infamous bad boy, Tom has always longed for Kelly. Now he has one final chance for happiness, one last chance to win her heart, and one desperate chance to save the day...



Character List
(view spoiler)[
Commanding Officer of SEAL Team 16. Nicknamed L.T. by his men.
Kelly Ashton: Physician. Has a private practice in Boston and has known Tom since they were children. Had a crush on him when they were teenagers.
David Sullivan: Artist and photographer.
Mallory Paoletti: Tom's niece.
Joe Paoletti: World War II veteran, Tom's uncle.
Charles Ashton: World War II veteran, Kelly's father.
Jenny Ashton: Charles's wife and Kelly's mother.
Cybele Desjardins: Woman in the French resistance.
Brandon Crane: David's neighbor and friend.
Roger (Sam) Starrett: Member of SEAL Team 16.
Gary Brooks: Kelly's ex-husband.
Tiffany Brooks: Gary's current wife.
Lieutenant Alyssa Locke: Navy sharpshooter.
Angie Paoletti: Tom's sister.
Henri: French resistance fighter in WW2
Admiral Larry Tucker: Navy Brass. Not a fan of Team 16.
Guiseppe: Joe's alias when he is undercover in WW2.
Chip Crowley: Admiral responsible for Team 16's activities.
Wilhelmina Hampton: Woman rescued by the Seal Team 16.
Dominique: Member of the French Resistance.
Betsy McKenna: One of Kelly's patients.
Luc Lambert: Member of the French Resistance.
Marlise: Member of the French Resistance.
Pat Geary: Kelly's administrative assistant.
Kurt Kaufman: Professor of History at the Boston College. Book author.
Brenda McKenna: Betsy's mother.
Janice: Brandon's ex-girfriend.
Marie: Member of the French Resistance.
John (Nils) Nilsson: Member of SEAL Team 16.
Mark (Jenk) Jenkins: Member of SEAL Team 16.
Kenny (Wildcard) Karmody: Member of SEAL Team 16. Computer specialist.
Vince Martin: Kelly's colleague.
Luc Prieaux: Member of the French Resistance.
Casper (Jazz) Jacquette: Member of SEAL16. Executive Officer.
Frank O'Leary: Chief, member of SEAL Team 16. Sniper.
Jay Lopez: Member of SEAL Team 16. Medic.
Mrs. Lerner: Cleaning lady.
Carolyn: Mel's boss.
Richard Rakowski: Alias for a terrorist
(hide spoiler)]

Discussion Questions
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Question #7
Question #8

Special thanks to Monica for the discussion questions!

Our series group read begins in January!

Cannot wait! Very excited about this one!

I am right there with you...I am excited about this one.

This will be a reread for me and I am really looking forward to it! This is a wonderful series. I fell in love with the whole team as they were featured book by book.

Brockmann is an incredible writer and certainly knows how to tell a story. Best of all she can weave a couple of stories through out the book. Looking forward to the discussion.

I agree! It's amazing how she keeps track of it all.

This is the first time reading this author so I am looking forward to it. I am ready to go. :)

I'm excited about this series too. I've heard so many good things about it.

I just re-read the first 15 books in the series again. I still need to buy the rest of them. Love this series.

Yay!I am looking forward to reading this sister.

Looking forward to re-reading this! Gonna have to balance work, reading, and studying for my board exam lol.

All right, I'm in! How can I not be, everyone says this is great and I've been dying to read it for ages.

Robin wrote: "I'm excited about this series too. I've heard so many good things about it."

Oh, you are in for a treat. I read this book back when it first came out and I fell in love with this crew. I think this was the first book I can ever remember reading featuring Navy SEALS and the first series I can remember where there is a secondary background romance that runs through multiple books of the series almost requiring you to complete the series to see how it all comes out.

I haven't read this in forever so I would be completely in for a re-read.

I would love to revisit this series as well! Excited for this! I am relatively new to group reads.

It's January 1 and the official start of our group series read! Hope you enjoy.

Feel free to comment as you read the story. Please use the spoiler feature for any revealing comments until January 15 when this becomes a spoiler zone.

I started this a little early and am really enjoying it. The characters are so good. It's not just the main characters, either. Also, it's a bit of a slow boil, plenty of frustrated passion.

I had to read this one for a Dec. Challenge and loved it! It's almost like getting 2 or 3 stories in one.

I've also added a character list in the first comment, for your convenience.

I'll start a little later in the month.

Planning to start this one this weekend.

I might have to skim this one to refresh my memory. It feels like it's been so long since I read it.

It's been awhile for me, too.

I've unearthed my dead tree copy and CANNOT believe it was written 16 years ago..... She's a truly brilliant writer, SB.
And wow, seeing Sam again.......sigh...

I didn't realize it's been that long!

Just think, before 9/11.

I'll be starting it this weekend. Sam is totally swoon worthy. :)

Love, love, love Sam Starrett!

Sorry all... I just finished this book last week in anticipation of this buddy read, and I found myself rolling my eyes a lot. Does it take a bit to get into the series?

This first book is the weakest. There's a significant difference between it and the next book. By book three, it's a completely different series.

I've always heard book one is awesome. Odd you ladies should mention this. Guess I'll see soon.

Jewels, in comparison to the rest of the series, it's different. I found them riveting.

Can't wait to start.

I think you'll like it.

I'm betting I will.

I agree with Jonetta, by book 3, you'll want to binge read the series. I know I couldn't wait to get to Sam's book when I first started out!

Jonetta wrote: "This first book is the weakest. There's a significant difference between it and the next book. By book three, it's a completely different series."

I think Book 1 just has a different vibe. It is an intro book so it has a slower feel. But I liked being introduced to the group.

For me Book #7 is when the series starts to feel like a completely different series.

The first six books to me that are the tightest written, most cohesive storytelling, most enjoyable couples of the bunch. Also those first six follow the same narrative pattern.

Book seven breaks pattern and introduced a lot of new people. Not surprising it became one of my least favorite of the series for a while.

I am finding this discussion really interesting. Finding out what is ahead is good, as I tend to ditch a series when things like that happen. Christine Feehan kept introducing lots more characters in her Game series and that became frustrating. I will start the first book soon...

I should disclose that I'm a big fan of multiple storylines and Tina is correct that somewhere down the line the plots get really intricate. Brockmann, however, is a master at managing all those details, remembering every intricate thing for each character and backstories. I participated in an online session with her years ago and asked how she was able to pull it off. She has an amazing system that supports the stories and characters so well. I loved it:)

I love the multiple storylines. It is one of the reasons I loved this series. It just felt so very different at the time. It really pushed an envelope in romance when these books were first written, imo.

Also I will say that altho Book #7 was a bit jarring in tone, I have read and loved all 16 books (well, except the last one...but we won't talk about that). And Jonetta is right, she does manage to juggle the storylines masterfully. Kinda like how the old skool soaps used to do it. When one multi-book story arc is winding down another begins.

I just read the first chapter in this one and am falling in love all over again with the team. It is just so them!

Jonetta wrote: "This first book is the weakest. There's a significant difference between it and the next book. By book three, it's a completely different series."

I loved book one so much that I was hugely disappointed when I realized that book 2 doesn't continue the story of the same couple. However, it only took a few pages before I was just as interested in the next story. By the time I finished the scene on the car hood I was hooked forever. Like many others, Sam is my very favorite character and it's hard to realized that I barely noticed him in book 1 the first time I read it.

ok I finished listening to this book and absolutely love it. I do hope that Tom is at least mentioned or have small parts in other books. keeping to just one book a month is going to be difficult. I have a feeling that this series is going to great. of course it made me cry. especially at the end.

Sheri wrote: "ok I finished listening to this book and absolutely love it. I do hope that Tom is at least mentioned or have small parts in other books. keeping to just one book a month is going to be difficult. ..."

Yeah, it will be tough! I gobbled up this series the first time I read it.

I am going to try. luckily I have other series to read otherwise I would want to dive right back in to the next book.

Sheri wrote: "ok I finished listening to this book and absolutely love it. I do hope that Tom is at least mentioned or have small parts in other books. keeping to just one book a month is going to be difficult. ..."

Each book features a different main couple, but all the SEAL characters pop up in each book in different ways. So you haven't seen the last of Tom and Kelly. And you get updates on them as the series goes on as well as the other couples too.

Also the first six books each feature a different WWII flashback storyline as well as the (view spoiler)[ background romance of Sam and Alyssa that plays out in each book in all its angsty glory until they get their own book in Book six. (hide spoiler)]

The humor quotient also ups a bit in the later books-- no slapstick funny but they she's given the guys great camaraderie and the natural humor that comes along with that.

that is all great to know Tina....I really like Tom and Kelly.

I started this last night and am liking it more than my first read...I'm listening to this one on audio this time.

Just finished this last night. I am enjoying getting to reread this series. Revisiting these characters has felt like a bit of a time warp. I had forgotten how well a job Brockmann had done starting this series.

Starting this now.

I finished the book today and to be honest struggled with it pretty much. The odd thing is I kind of liked it but I still needed ten days to read it (usually if I like a book it would take two max. three days to finish a ~400 pages book - the last one I read in something more than one day) and needed several shorter reads and two novels in-between before I was able to finish it.
I hope the discusion will help to find out what was the issue :-)

BTW I don't understand the Sam-hype ;-)