The Reluctant Gardener

Counterterrorism operative John Brown is forced to resign from his unit after his operation leaves two innocent people dead and a child without a father. With a future in counterterrorism now looking almost impossible, John retreats to his childhood home in the Cotswolds to figure out what to do next in his life. He vows, however, to return to his old job, his old life, and atone for his mistakes.

While stuck in limbo, he revives the gardening business he set up with his best friend nearly a decade ago. Through this, he meets Olivia and her five-year-old son, Charlie. Despite his attempts to keep them at arm's length, he can't help but fall for them. And he reevaluates his desire to return to counterterrorism. With them, he has found something he never had in his old life: happiness and fulfillment. Then, the unthinkable happens. Charlie is kidnapped in a terrorist attack.

John makes the hard choice to leave Olivia behind to get her son back, after bargaining his way back into his old unit. Leads, however, are scarce. As pressure mounts to stop future attacks and rescue Charlie, John's righteous sense of justice corrupts. He struggles to recognize himself in his lust for revenge and wonders what the point of his personal vendetta is, if it turns him into something he swore he would never become: a reflection of his abusive father. Will he be able to rescue Charlie and stop future attacks? Or will he be lost to his own wrath?

S. C. Rozée was a commissioned officer in the Royal Air Force serving for five years before deciding that the pen was mightier than the fighter jet. Published in 2023, The Reluctant Gardener, is his first novel. He currently resides in a small village in the Cotswolds with his family.