All the Queen's Men - Hardcover

Howard, Linda

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0671034413 ISBN 13: 9780671034412

Publisher: Gallery Books, 1999

Synopsis

In six New York Times bestsellers, including her smashing hardcover debut Now You See Her, Linda Howard has seamlessly melded thrilling sensuality and heart-pounding dramatic tension. Now she brings back the elusive hero who first appeared in her acclaimed page-turner Kill and Tell -- in a new blockbuster that is part suspense, part passion, and pure Linda Howard.
No one can get close to John Medina, the CIA's legendary Black Ops specialist who works in the shadows of the government's deadliest missions. He is a virtual invisible man, with no friends, many enemies, and a cloud of suspicion surrounding the death of his wife. And no one knows the dangers better than Niema Burdock. A sharp, steely nerved communications expert, Niema and her husband, Dallas, worked side by side with Medina on an explosive mission that went tragically wrong.
She could hear it all play out, horribly, on the radio: Dallas set off the detonators at John Medina's command -- and found himself trapped in the crossfire. In a shattering blast, Niema's hope and her love were destroyed...
Now Niema has withdrawn to a quiet Intelligence position, and a safe -- if predictable -- existence that has helped her heal her scars from five years ago. And she never planned to see Medina again.
But now John Medina needs her...
A French arms dealer is supplying international terrorist units, and John Medina must infiltrate his compound and crack the deadly ring. But only Niema can plant the undetectable bugs needed to nail the wary and well-connected dealer -- a feat that begins by going undercover and winning his trust. Working her way into his glamorous world of embassy galas and exclusive parties, Niema steps carefully across a minefield of intimate secrets, luring the Frenchman while inviting disaster with every subtle and seductive play. But when their careful strategy begins to crack, Niema and John take flight in a strange land -- and find their partnership sparking with an erotically charged, unquenchable electricity. In a world of deception, one thing is clear: John Medina has once again set Niema on a freefall into danger and desire -- and one can't exist without the other.

About this title

Review:

Setting: contemporary Virginia, France, Iran
Sensuality: 7

CIA agent John Medina and electronics expert Niemi Burdock share a violent past: the two were part of a covert operation that went tragically wrong, resulting in the death of several people. Now, five years later, their paths cross again and John, whose love for Niemi has only grown over time, is determined to keep her in his life for good. Having spent the intervening five years living a solitary, staid existence--due to feelings of guilt over the ill-fated operation--Niemi is somewhat reluctant to reenter the shadowy world she once inhabited. Still, she can't resist the lure and excitement of danger when John asks her to join him on his latest mission to discover the origins of a deadly new explosive already in use by terrorists.

Concocting a plan to reveal the source of the explosive, the two enter into a dangerous masquerade, walking a tightrope between safety and death, while passion boils beneath the surface. Unaware of John's feelings, Niemi fights her physical response to the legendary agent as her emotions, in frozen limbo for the last five years, thaw with astonishing speed.

First introduced in Kill and Tell, agent John Medina is as intriguing as the perilous world he operates in. Watching him in action, à la James Bond, is exhilarating--as is the single-minded intensity of his feelings for Niemi, whose ability to hold her own with John--on both a personal and professional level--and with the host of terrorists, spies, and double-dealers the pair encounter is impressive to say the least. Throw in a couple of chilling chase scenes, some romantic interludes hot enough to peel paint from the walls, and one or two bigger-than-life internationally connected characters, and you've got the latest from Linda Howard--a romantic thriller that's sure to be coming soon to a bestseller list near you. --Lois Faye Dyer

About the Author:

Linda S. Howington is a bestselling romance author writing under the pseudonym Linda Howard. She has written many New York Times bestsellers, including Up Close and Dangerous, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Cover of Night, Killing Time, To Die For, Kiss Me While I Sleep, Cry No More, and Dying to Please. She is a charter member of Romance Writers of America and in 2005 Howard was awarded their Career Achievement Award. Linda lives in Gadsden, Alabama, with her husband, Gary F. Howington, and two golden retrievers. She has three grown stepchildren and three grandchildren.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0671034413
• ISBN 13: 9780671034412
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336