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Book Review of Play Nice (Anna Smith and Nick Dade, Bk 1)

Play Nice (Anna Smith and Nick Dade, Bk 1)
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Anya Danielovich has been trained as an elite assassin for the Yugoslavian Kontraobavestajna Sluzba, a counterintelligence agency known as KOS. She knows that the only way to get out of the business is to die, but she doesn't want anyone or anything to take that choice from her so she takes her life into her own hands. She kills a general, fakes her own death and runs for her life, knowing that his bodyguards are probably hot on her trail.

Anya manages to make it to San Francisco and changes her name to Anna Smith. She takes a job at a local animal shelter and leads a quiet life, but is always looking over her shoulder. She knows that she has to be very careful, she can almost feel the eyes of others on her...watching. When someone starts shooting at her, Anna knows she's been found. Running, she is soon caught up with her would-be assassin, Nick Dade.

Nick's been hired to kill Anna, and he's very thorough at what he does. He's had surveillance on Anna for awhile now and just when he is about to pull the trigger, having her in his line of sight, someone beats him to it. He doesn't know who else would want Anna dead, but he is aiming to find out. He teams up with Anna, who doesn't trust him but could use his help in determining who else wants to kill her. Although they begin a romantic relationship, Anna is always looking for a means to escape, from Nick and the unknown third party. Will Nick be able to disregard his contract in order to keep Anna safe? Will she learn to trust him to have a future with him? With the unknown third party right behind them, they will have to run fast and be very clever to outwit them.
PLAY NICE is a fast-paced thriller with two very diverse and unlikely characters. With spies, assassins, romance, lots of action and flying bullets, there is something for everyone in this new mystery by best-selling author Gemma Halliday. I couldn't put it down, the pages just flew by as I was captivated as the story developed. I hope this is a first in a series. I'd love to see another assassin thriller by Ms. Halliday. Her writing and characters are entertaining. A very satisfying novel!