Product Description

Efficient, professional, and without apology, Lily Mansfield is a hired assassin, working as a contract agent for the CIA. Her targets are the powerful and corrupt, those who can't be touched by the law. Now, after 18 years of service, Lily has been drawn into a dangerous game that hasn't been sanctioned, seeking vengeance for her own reasons. Each move bolder than the next, she is compromising her superiors, endangering her very life. Though stress and shock have made her feel somewhat invincible and a little cocky, Lily knows that she too can be taken out in an instant. And if it's her time, so be it. She intends to go down fighting. A CIA agent himself, Lucas Swain recognizes the signs of trauma in the line of fire. His orders are to either bring her in or bring her down. Yet he too is drawn into the game with Lily Mansfield, dancing on a tightrope as he tries to avoid a major international incident while still battling a tenacious foe who is dogging their every step. Keeping laser focus on her task at hand while vigilantly watching her back, Mansfield never sees the lethal peril that lies directly in her path ...and how loyalty has a price.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #147755 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Linda Howard is an award winning New York Times bestselling author. She lives in Alabama with her husband and two golden retrievers.

Customer Reviews

kiss me while sleep
This is Linda Howard at her very best.Lily is on a very fragile edge and has carried out an unofficial assassination. The CIA send in one of their own to bring her in or down. Lucas is so sexy and fun that Lily starts to let down her guard and lets him in to her heart. Lucas starts to care for Lily and realises she will never forgive him If he betrays her. They both have to carry forward the unofficial assignment and as it all comes together Linda Howard makes your heart drop when you realise what Lucas does. I couldn't put it down and as I got closer to the end I really feared for Lily. Read it, It's a keeper.

Readable but not her best book
After the excellent, tear jerking Cry No More, I was a bit disappointed in this book. Part of me could not accept a female lead who was an assassin. The plot was adequate but where the book failed was in not igniting any chemistry between the 2 leads. The 'hero' was too bland for my taste. I find Linda Howards book veer from the excellent (Kill and Tell, Son of the Morning) to the adequate but no more category (Dying to Please). If you like her books, try Suzanne Brockman, Sandra Brown and Karen Robards.

Suspense Thriller With a Twist:
When this book first came out, the Avian Flu was not "big news" as it is today, but this book actually utilized a possible outbreak in the hands of terrorist groups as a central theme. I thought the premise was intriguing, as well as the emotional trauma that motivated the main character / heroine. The romantic relationship does not accelerate until the second half of the book, but the twist at the end definitely surprised me. I would have liked to see more of the couple's relationship issues. Ms. Howard is excellent in writing emotional drama and steamy scenes, but the suspense/terrorist plot took center stage here. Still a great read if you want something different besides serial killers or political intrigue. This story combined a developing romance with a too-realistic Health threat, that is even more relevant today.