Susan F. (scoutmomskf) - , reviewed on 5/25/2020 + 2617 more book reviews

This was a good second chance romance combined with an intense suspense story. Annalise is a teacher at a school for gifted, underprivileged children. As the story opens, she and three students are doing some afterschool computer work. Their activities are interrupted when the school is invaded by a cult leader and several of his followers. It develops into a hostage situation when the rapid police response traps them in the school.

Evan is a hostage negotiator with the Tactical Crime Division. He is very good at what he does, and is ready to go when he hears about the lockdown. When he learns that children are involved, he knows that the stakes are high. But when he learns that Annalise is one of the hostages, the situation becomes personal.

Evan and Annalise have a history together. They were a couple for two years, then three years ago Annalise left Evan, breaking his heart. He thought their love was strong, and had no idea why she left. Though Evan thinks he is over her, it is obvious from the start that he still cares. When Annalise hears his voice, it gives her hope that the situation will be resolved successfully. As the story progresses through the lockdown and the kidnapping that follows it, the time that Evan and Annalise spend together stirs up the old emotions. A little bit older and wiser, both of them take the time to talk about what went wrong before. When Annalise learns about Evan's tragic past, it gives her insight into the issues that caused their breakup. She also has the confidence to push back against Evan when she needs to. Evan is warier. He's not sure that he wants to give his heart to her again and risk having it broken again. I loved his "aha" moment as he realized where he had gone wrong and how it opened his heart to trying again.

The suspense of the story was intense from beginning to end. The cult leader, Jacob, was one scary man. His actions during the lockdown kept the tension high from the moment it started. His refusal to talk to Evan made Evan's job even harder. I was very impressed with Annalise's ability to stay calm and her cleverness in finding a way to use her cellphone to contact Evan. The longer the lockdown went on, the harder it was to see a successful resolution. I loved the courage of the little girl, Sadie, especially when she interacted with Jacob. The rescue operation was a nail-biter and didn't go as well as they planned, when Jacob and his wife escaped and took Sadie with them. I loved the teamwork of the TCD, and how Annalise was a big part of that team. It was fascinating to follow the thoughts and procedures that went into Sadie's rescue. There were several twists, including the realization that there was someone on the inside working against the good guys. The final confrontation with Jacob was intense and led to the unmasking of the insider.

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