HER UNDERCOVER DEFENDER
Debra Webb/Regan Black
The Specialist: Heroes Next Door Series
Harlequin Intrigue #1602
ISBN: 978-0-373-69869-1
November 2015

Having been a follower of author Debra Webb's Colby Agency series for years, I was recently stunned to read she had developed a new series with fellow author Regan Black called The Specialist: Heroes Next Door. Imagine my surprise when I started my search for this series and found out three books were already in print and the fourth was imminent. Let's just say this reviewer is enjoying the discovery of new stories and characters and is getting immersed in the Specialist via the back door, that is, starting with the last book and working my way back to the first.

In HER UNDERCOVER DEFENDER, we meet covert agent David Martin, a former member of the US Coast Guard, assigned to an elite CIA team. David has just been transferred to a medical facility in Charleston, South Carolina where research is being conducted on a device that tracks terrorist. His assignment is to provide the agency with information on the progression of the research and to get to know a nurse working in the hospital. The nurse has a close relationship with the doctor in charge of  biotech research.

Nurse Terri Barnhart works at the Medical University of South Carolina. She has a younger brother that is causing her to worry because he's dropped out of college and completely disappeared  without contacting her.  When her brother finally surfaces he does so with issues that involve terrorist activities. By now, Terri and David have met and taken a strong liking to each other,  developing a relationship that could seriously backfire if Terri ever discovers what David's background really is and why he's in South Carolina.

With criminal/terrorist activity as a backdrop, HER UNDERCOVER DEFENDER  mixes romance and suspense into a slightly homespun, small town tale. If you can get past wanting to strangle the bratty brother, you'll enjoy the story. You will definitely want to gather the other books in the series to start at the beginning, or, if you're lucky and have been reading it all along, you'll enjoy the addition.

Reviewed By Livia Holton
Rating: 4