Fatal Secrets: A Novel of Suspense (FBI Trilogy, #2)

by Allison Brennan

DEADLY QUEST

When a top lieutenant in a notorious ring of human traffickers agrees to turn state’s evidence, Immigration and Customs Enforcement senior agent Sonia Knight believes she’ll finally take down the illegal operation’s devilish mastermind, Xavier Jones. But when an FBI sting on Jones’s criminal enterprise collides with an ICE stakeout, Sonia is enraged: Her informant’s life and her evidence are in grave jeopardy.

FBI agent Dean Hooper has been chasing Jones for years on money-laundering and tax-evasion charges and doesn’t need or want a hot-headed ICE agent second-guessing his every move. When the Bureau is ordered to join forces with ICE, Sonia is just as livid: Her job is to save lives, not money. But their team effort pays off as fierce mutual resentment fades and passion flares–along with risk.

For Jones is just one piece of a depraved puzzle, answering to an even more dangerous predator. Denied his expected prey, this pitiless fiend intends to make Sonia and Dean pay with their own blood.

• ISBN10: 141041907X
• ISBN13: 9781410419071
• Publish Date: 1 October 2009 (first published 1 January 2009)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 4 August 2016
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Thorndike Press
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 579
• Language: English

Reviews

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



Sonia's life has been hell. Her own father sold her into the human trafficking world. He even got a higher price for her because she was a virgin. Sonia is a fighter and she never let her attackers overpower her. She fought, and she lived. Sonia was rescued by a Texas ranger who adopted her. She lost her adopted father suddenly and settled in with his brother and sister-in-law. Sonia couldn't have asked for a better adoptive family. Her parents loved her as if she were her own and she had a brother who was like her twin and very much her best friend. Sonia went on to become a damned good Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Her training partner put her life in danger and again Sonia had to fight for her life. Now Sonia must place her trust in a complete stranger, an FBI agent who investigates financial crimes. They must work together to take down on of the biggest players in the human trafficking ring.

Dean Hooper's father was a beat cop and expected his sons to fall in behind him. Dean wanted more than to be just a cop on the streets. He joined the Marines and used his college tuition monies to get his degree in Accounting. To compromise with his father, Dean joins the FBI and works in their Forensic Accounting Department. He quickly works his way up to the top while he closes several high profile cases. Dean is methodical in everything he does, including his romantic relationships. Sonia lights a passion in him that scares him and at the same time electrifies him. Can he work past all of the barriers that she's put up and make his way to her heart?

My Thoughts:
Fatal Secrets was an awesome read that had me sitting on the edge of my seat for most of the time. I had figured out the uber villain about midway through but that didn't make him any less terrifying. Sonia was a wonderful heroine who I rooted for the whole story. She'd been through so much but didn't let that change her priorities. She worried more about others than she did herself. Dean was the perfect opposite for her. He worried about Sonia and no one else. The pair made a great couple.

While human trafficking is terrifying and should never be taken lightly, Brennan does a wonderful job of bringing the horrors to the story but she isn't overly graphic. There is one scene in the beginning that may disturb people who aren't ready for it. Other than that, everything is handled in a pretty subtle manner. If you are a fan of romantic suspense or have read and enjoyed a Brennan novel before, you need to pick this book up.