La Crimson Femme

Men with issues who bury them deep must be a requirement for former military bad ass men. It appears Extreme Escapes only hires these kind of intense messed up men. This company is able to work outside of USA law enforcement and military rules. They take the jobs which are off the books. One of the most tenure employees of Extreme Escapes is former Navy Seal, Prophet. He is a man who is in deep denial. His impending medical condition is something he completely ignores. He treats his body without care as he completes each mission. Due to his past, Prophet refuses to work with a partner. Tom Boudreaux is new to Extreme Escapes and paired up with Prophet. Tom's mental trauma is of a paranormal bent. Is he a male Cassandra?

Ms. Jakes creates characters who are so conflicted. She builds their history layer by layer and each one is bitter and pain filled. I personally love the hero who has been beaten down to where they are broken. Even better, these guys put themselves back together and continue to fight their way back. Ms. Jakes creates two survivors with Prophet and Tom. They are no one's victim. Tom and Prophet remind me a bit of Ty and Zane from my favourite m/m romantic suspense series, Cut & Run. Tom and Prophet have a similar relationship dynamic. The difference is both of these guys come from a dark background. There is no lightness in this story. It's unrelenting dark gritty scenes at a fast brutal pace.

The plot of this story is a good building block for the next book in the series. The reader learns about Prophet's driving purpose. He wants to find a best friend who shows up periodically as a figment of his imagination. Prophet's unwillingness to keep emotional connections is ironic since he is caring and protective of those he lets into his private life. There are several men Prophet can end up with, but who will it be and why? Each option seems like a good choice. It's hard to choose when every man is mysterious and sexy.

The sex in this story is smoking. Between the rough aggressive sex and the online flirtations, the sexual tension in this book is just right. It keeps the reader on the edge, building the arousal, scene by scene. While this book can be categorized as erotic, the suspense is the main thrust and it's well written. Ms. Jakes does a good job doling out clues to tie everything together. Is it a bit far-fetched? Yes. This is because I don't believe in real life, the criminals are quite this efficient and brilliant. Still, it gives this book a chilling effect at the cruelty of human hands. This m/m suspense is recommended for erotic readers who love the mysterious bad boy.


*provided by NetGalley