Minutes to Die

GIVEAWAY
RANDOM RETRO READ DAY!

SLEEMAN, SUSAN

MINUTES TO DIE

Only minutes remain until disaster strikes

It's intel every agent fears -- terrorists have been smuggled into the country, intent on unleashing the most deadly attack since 9/11. With the threat imminent, FBI agent Kiley Dawson and ICE Agent Evan Bowers are charged with taking down the terrorist cell. The only problem is Kiley blames Evan for the death of her former partner, and she can barely be in the same room with him. But with millions of lives on the line, she has no choice.

If it weren't for a bad call Evan made, Kiley's former partner would still be alive, and Evan has to live with that guilt for the rest of his life. When he starts falling for her, the agent's death seems an impossible obstacle. As the terrorist plot targets Kiley's family, the two are pushed to the breaking point to save countless lives.

Homeland Heroes / Book Two

My Review:

published in 2020

There are two reasons I've waited so long to read this book: 1) I'm not a huge fan of terrorist plot tropes and 2) I'm also not a fan of the heroine blaming the hero for her former partner's death. But, this is Susan Sleeman and I finally gave into temptation and am I ever glad I did because the author delivers a compelling read on both counts.

The suspense plot is tense and intricate and convoluted and takes every bit of energy Kiley and her team have and then some. I'll admit to sometimes being left in the dust over technical intricacies or multiple foreign names but that could have been because I listened to the audible edition and that kind of thing is harder for me to keep up with when I'm not seeing the words on the page.

I love Kiley's elite RED team -- their shenanigans bring welcome relief to all the intensity. Each member has a unique talent to bring to the table and they need to pool all their resources to get the job done. I like how Evan was able to fit in with the team, how they had his back even when Kiley was determined to give him the cold shoulder. Lots of interesting dynamics to work through there.

Sigh. And that brings me to Kiley. I wasn't a fan until very close to the end. She was so intent on proving herself in her male-dominated field that she was in danger of making her own costly mistakes (which is ironic since she's so unforgiving towards Evan.) Luckily she has the tough love backing of her team to defuse some intense situations. Mack in particular, got my attention in his adopted brother role and the way he wasn't afraid to call her out when she needed a wake-up call. He brought compassion and levity to some pretty high-pressure moments.

Then there's Evan. The kind of flawed hero I love to root for. He's constantly evolving and improving, anchoring his past, present and future with his faith. I guess I fell for him so hard that Kiley's attitude towards him really irked me. :-) She's on a journey though -- the spiritual kind that brings the cleansing comfort of forgiveness and the freedom to stop judging! Sleeman does a great job of threading all the pieces of Kiley's past together to give insight into why she is the way she is. Lots of character growth but I'm still disgruntled over her behaviour...Wait, does that make me judgemental and unforgiving? Oops!!!!

There's a blockbuster, action-movie-worthy grand finale that stole my breath away. I don't think my heart has settled down to it's normally sedate rhythm yet! And, hooray, the third book in the Homeland Heroes series stars Mack and I'm already in a fan-girling dither as I nudge him to the tippy-top of my TBR pile.

  

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Minutes to Die, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT AND DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday December 11 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck