Force of Nature; A Novel

New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 2007. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. x, 372 pages. Inscribed by the author on the title page. Inscription reads: Ruby, May all your dreams come true! Suzanne Brockmann. P.S. Thank you for telling me about 442! Suzanne Brockmann (born 1960) is an American romantic fiction writer. She has also written works under the name Anne Brock. Brockmann attended Boston University's School of Broadcasting and Film majoring in film and minoring in creative writing. Initially, she focused on television scripts, screen plays and Star Trek novels but after doing research she decided to focus her efforts on the romance genre. Her first published novel, Future Perfect in 1993, was written along with nine other manuscripts in 1992 after her decision to publish a romance novel. In 1996, Brockmann published the first in her Tall, Dark & Dangerous series. The series develops among a fictional group of US Navy SEALs. The books following in the series, and that of the Troubleshooters, Inc. series, are all classified in a subgenre known as "military/romantic suspense". In 2014, she began writing a young adult paranormal trilogy, Night Sky, with her daughter, Melanie Brockmann. Brockmann is twice winner of the RITA Award from the Romance Writers of America. She has also appeared on the Romance Writers of America Honor Roll for having appeared on both the USA Today and the New York Times Best Sellers lists. She has been the recipient of the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards in 1996, 1998 and 1999, as well as the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Series Romance in 1997, 2000 and 2002. Hard-driving suspense and intense passion are the hallmarks of bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann's pulse-pounding thrillers. In her tales of daring, danger, courage, and desire, men and women of action fight fiercely, love deeply, and time after time raise the bar for adventure. Force of Nature is no exception. Florida private investigator and ex-cop Ric Alvarado's life is spiraling out of control. His beautiful new girl Friday, Annie Dugan, is far more interested in fieldwork than filing, and despite Ric's best efforts to ignore the attraction, sparks are flying between them. Then one of Ric's clients turns femme fatale and tries to gun down an innocent man. Thanks to quick thinking and even quicker reflexes, Ric comes to the rescue, only to learn he's done a very good deed for some very bad people. Suddenly Ric finds himself deep undercover with Annie, working for notorious crime boss Gordon Burns. One mistake from Ric's painfully inexperienced partner and they're both dead. FBI agent Jules Cassidy's life isn't in much better shape. For years the FBI has been trying to prove Gordon Burns's ties to terrorist activity. Now, thanks to Ric and Annie, Jules has found a way into the lion's den. But in the course of his investigation he comes face-to-face with Robin Chadwick, the charismatic but self-destructive and closeted movie star for whom Jules feels a powerful attraction. Robin's in town promoting his latest film-and Gordon Burns is a star-struck movie buff. With Robin and Jules's help, Ric and Annie are soon entrenched in Burns' s organization, surrounded by killers who may already have executed an FBI infiltrator. Before long the couple realizes that many more lives besides their own will be at stake if they make a false move. As the heat between them reaches dangerous levels, so do the risks they're willing to take-in the line of duty, for the sake of loyalty, and in the name of something that runs even deeper.