Barbara Nickless certainly knows how to write compelling thrillers with strong main characters. Former Marine and railway cop Sydney Rose Parnell suffers from PTSD. In Iraq, she served in Mortuary Affairs, the detail that prepared soldiers killed in action to be returned to their families in the U.S. In her own words, "We were the Marines the other Marines avoided. The pariahs, the bad-luck charms. The ones no one wanted to risk being near." Combine that with her other combat experiences and it's no wonder that she has PTSD. At least, now in her job as a railway cop, she has her former war dog, Clyde, at her side to help her out.

Ambush centers on the promise Sydney made to a young Iraqi boy and the lengths to which she will go to fulfill that promise. The narrow escapes she has from the killer known as Alpha show how determined he is to keep his secrets, but they also show that Sydney refuses to quit. Her guilt and the promise she made to the Iraqi boy, Malik, prove that nothing will stop her in her quest to ensure a good life for the boy-- even if it means getting to the bottom of why Alpha will go to any lengths to cover his tracks.

Sydney Parnell is a strong, nuanced character that readers can really sink their teeth into, and her investigations can really keep hearts racing. I know I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

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