Show No Fear by Marliss Melton

Show No Fear by Marliss Melton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

TBR Challenge 2011 On my TBR list for over 6 months.


Show No Fear is an enjoyable book, and in several places the action is very exciting. Unfortunately, the main characters are 2-dimensional. Neither Gus nor Lucy drew me in, and and there was little chemistry between them. Parts of the plot seemed implausible, like why a UN hostage negotiation being taken into hostile territory would including women, especially knowing how dangerous it would be if the negotiations broke down and the team became more hostages. Even if women were part of the team, the reasons for including Lucy in the assignment were vague, especially since she was newly "recovered" from PTSD. It makes no sense that the first assignment back after being okayed by the psychiatrist would be a situation apt not only to cause a relapse, but to get others killed if it happened.



On top of that, Lucy's is stubborn to the point of being unprofessional several times, ragging on being a "partner" and not following the advice of the more experienced Gus. I dislike when authors have heroines do stupid things just to prove they're "tough." Invariably, the hero takes a few minutes to muse about how he loves her stubborn streak or admire her strength, then he goes all alpha trying to protect her from her own mistakes.


Lastly, while there were some very sweet moments in the relationship, Lucy's conviction that she "loves him but can't be with him" was a flimsy plot device. Melton needed to come up with a better reason for the relationship conflict than "I can't do it because I need to focus on my job."


Marliss Melton is one of my top 5 romantic suspense authors. The majority of her books I've rated 4 stars. Even though this wasn't my favorite, I did enjoy it, and I look forward to the books to come from this author.


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