cover image Silent Threat

Silent Threat

Dana Marton. Montlake Romance, $12.95 trade paper (315p) ISBN 978-1-5420-4798-2

Marton’s contemporary romantic thriller won’t get pulses rising, but it does feature a sympathetic disabled hero who stands out among the thinly drawn supporting characters. Former Navy SEAL Cole Makani Hunter returned from combat without his hearing or the full use of his right arm. He questions the need for psychological and occupational therapy but reluctantly enters the Hope Hill veteran rehab center in Pennsylvania to seek treatment as well as to covertly determine who from the facility is sending coded messages to a military contact in Yemen. His mission falls to the wayside once he meets ecotherapist Annie Murray, who tries to draw him out through walks in the woods and interacting with rescue animals. Cole doesn’t really buy into her therapy approach, but he feels protective of her, especially when a mysterious stalker threatens her. Readers never meet Cole’s CO or understand why he’s getting orders if he’s retired—just one of several plot holes—but Cole manages to efficiently solve the mysteries of the messages and the stalker while winning Annie over despite her ethical concerns about entering into a relationship with a patient. Lazy writing bogs down what might otherwise have been a sweet romance. (Jan.)