Hidden

4.5 stars-HIDDEN is the first instalment in Rebecca Zanetti’s contemporary, adult DEEP OPS romantic suspense series focusing on a new Homeland Defense Department (HDD) unit known as the Requisition Force headed by FBI profiler and Special Agent Angus Force. This is former police detective and undercover operative Malcolm West, and twenty-five year old Pippa Smith’s story line. Told from several third person perspectives including Malcolm and Pippa HIDDEN focuses on the hunt for man claiming to be the Prophet, Isaac Leon, a former actor turned charismatic cult leader whose is desperate to find the woman who would one day be his wife. Police Detective Malcolm West is on permanent leave since his last assignment went all to hell but it isn’t long before Malcolm’s special abilities as an undercover operative place him on the HDD’s radar for a new Deep Ops Team. Finally able to settle down without fear of being stabbed in the back Malcolm must take a chance when his new neighbour turns out to be his latest mark. Enter former cult member Pippa Smith, and the woman with whom Malcolm will fall in love. What ensues is the building relationship between Malcolm and Pippa, and the potential fall-out when Pippa discovers the truth about Malcolm’s assignment, and her intentions to diffuse a dangerous situation by sacrificing herself against all better judgement. On the run, along with her best friend Trixie, Pippa Smith, a former member of Isaac’s cult has been hiding in a small cabin in the woods. Having suffered PTSD and anxiety disorders as a result of years under the control of the self-proclaimed Prophet Isaac Leon, Pippa struggles to trust the man who has stolen her heart. Malcolm knows that falling for Pippa is all kinds of wrong but the potential for everything to backfire continues to grow. The relationship between Pippa and Malcolm is one of immediate attraction between two people who suffer PTSD brought on by events from their pasts. Falling for Malcolm places our heroine in the direct line of fire but Malcolm isn’t willing to let Pippa go in alone. The 4ex scenes are intimate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and sex. There is a large colorful and eclectic secondary and supporting cast including Pippa’s best friend Trixie. We are introduced to the Requisition Force team leader Angus Force, and members: former Lieutenant Commander Clarence Wolfe who carries a kitten in his pocket, and Angus Force’s quirky whiskey guzzling, lipstick eating German shepherd Roscoe; IT specialist Bridgid Banaghan : FBI psychiatrist Dr. Nari Zhang; Special Agents Tom Rutherford, Raider Tanaka, and Kurt Fields. The requisite evil has many faces including the Prophet Isaac Leon. HIDDEN is a story of suspense, betrayal, secrets and lies, romance and falling in love. There is a building story line involving Angus Force, and a former serial killer who is no longer in custody but taunting the Requisition Force leader from afar. The premise is intriguing and engaging; the characters are dynamic and strong; the romance is spicy and seductive. HIDDEN is an entertaining inviting and gripping story; a cleverly written introduction to Rebecca Zanetti’s DEEP OPS series. If you are a fan of Cynthia Eden or Elisabeth Naughton’s style of romantic suspense you can’t go wrong.

5 Sizzling Stars Review by Amy Late Night Reviewer Up All Night w/ Books Blog Hidden (Deep Ops #1) was my first Rebecca Zanetti read and I am so pleased! I thoroughly enjoyed this steamy page turner. This is the first book in the series, and this is one you will want to dig into so you don’t miss a thing. Pippa is hiding from her past, fearful to go into public and be discovered. She spends her time in her secluded home, and then her new neighbor moves in. He is tall, muscular and smoking hot, and she finds herself drawn to him despite her past and her fears. Malcolm West is ready to retire from his undercover cop life. After a difficult case, its time for him to move on. Unfortunately other people have a different plan for him. Will he find himself thrown back into the life he was trying so hard to escape? When Pippa and West find themselves thrust together, trying to survive and move forward from difficult pasts, they realize they have a chemistry that cannot be denied. What results is a high action, suspenseful, super-hot romance that will take your breath away and leave you desiring more. I am a huge fan of thrillers and suspense and this book definitely delivered. There were many intensely passionate scenes as well. Zanetti did an amazing job of meshing it all together to create a thoroughly enjoyable and gripping suspenseful romance. I am so looking forward to getting my hands on book two!

Hidden by Rebecca Zanetti Deep Ops #1 Hooray! A new series by an author I know will always provide a story I won’t be able to put down – her books are always just that good! And, this is a brilliant introduction to a team I know I am going to enjoy getting to know a whole lot better! The Requisition Force is a group that has been set up by an FBI profiler – a rather clandestine group that works with/for HDD. They have handlers that are sketchy and it would seem a rather different group of people on the team. With a hacker to help them taken from jail, a profiler on the hunt for a beastly serial killer that killed his sister, an investigator that we don’t learn much about this time and an ex lieutenant commander and perhaps more to come this group is a hodgepodge that could very well mesh into a group to be reckoned with. In this book Pippa Smith is doing her best to survive quietly under the radar when Malcolm West – ex undercover cop – moves in next door. Both suffer from past experiences that have left them with PTSD and panic attacks. How they meet, get to know one another, grow close, work together to bring down a cult leader bad guy and eventually are incorporated into the team that will star in this series is something I thoroughly enjoyed! Did I like this book? Definitely! Do I want to read more in this series? Can’t wait! Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington-Zebra for the ARC – This is my honest review. 5 Stars