Perilous Trust (Off the Grid: FBI Trilogy) by Barbara Freethy  
 
Getting tangled up with Perilous Trust is a rush. Barbara Freethy set the adrenaline level so high that it takes a while to come back down to solid ground. A tortured love affair sets off a chain of events that are explosive and deadly. It will take some fancy footwork, complete trust and admitting some hard truths to save them from the danger on their trail and in their hearts. The suspense is killer, the danger is intense and the electricity generated between Sophie and Damon is off the charts. All come together to create a lethally seductive thriller. ( )

Sophie Parker gets a phone call from the FBI that her father has been killed. They need to talk to her immediately & something seems off to Sophie. She ends up on the run because she got several messages from her father telling her not to trust anyone even the FBI. Damon Wolfe, a FBI agent that her father trusted finds her & together they go on the run trying to piece together why someone is now after Sophie & why they killed her father but who can they trust.
This book is fast paced with lots of people to be suspicious of. ( )

This book has a great premise and a solid start--it had me hooked from the very first page, and I was on the edge of my seat to see what would happen next for Damon and Sophie and to a lesser degree, Bree and Wyatt. Damon and Sophie had a (brief) history as well, which also piqued my interest, and kept me turning pages, wanting to see what they would do with it. The suspense part of the story was solid, I honestly didn't know who did what and exactly why until the end, when all was revealed. (Quick question--do real-life antagonists really tell all in the end to the heroes, even if they think they've already won? It really seems more like convenient fictional exposition than realism...still, at least we get to know the truth.)

Somewhere in the second half of the story, though, the suspense became more real than the romance. It felt like Sophie and Damon went from "let's try and forget about that awkwardly-ending night four years ago" to love a little too fast, skipping some crucial steps in between along the way. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to believe in their relationship, but it didn't feel like there was enough foundation laid down for what it was supposed to be becoming. Still, I did like them together and their epilogue was darn cute.

The next two books will be Bree and Wyatt's, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for them. Even though this story wasn't perfect, Ms. Freethy definitely grabbed my interest with her characters and I'm looking forward to more gotta-find-out-the-truth suspense.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. ( )

Sophie Parker is teaching a class on archaeology at NYU when two FBI agents came into her room. When she recognized Peter Hunt, one of her father's best friends, she knew something was wrong. Once she was alone, she started to call her aunt to give her the news & realized she had four voicemails from her father. She was so confused. Then, right before she reached her apartment she saw two men entering her apartment building & realized her dad had been right, she was in danger.

Damon Wolfe has just moved to New York to work with his mentor in the local FBI office. Before he could be briefed on his first case, his mentor was killed & Sophie had gone missing. He had to see if he could find her & help. He still felt guilty about keeping their one night stand a secret. Once he found her, before they could really talk, someone was shooting at them. What's going on? How can he protect Sophie? Who do they trust?

I really enjoyed this book! Ms. Freethy writes a good book whether it's a romantic suspense. The plot moved quickly but nothing is left out. It just serves to ramp up the tension. The characters are realistic & lifelike. The interactions between Damon & Sophie and also between Damon & two friends from the academy add emotion & depth to the story. If you like suspense stories that keep you on the edge of your seat with a little romance added in, you won't want to miss this one! ( )