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Author delivers a fun, diverse storyby: Zebeen
Force of Nature has nothing whatsoever to do with Mother Nature. No, this book has a lot to do with human nature and the natural laws that govern each of us; I am not talking about the spiritual laws, but rather laws of attraction between two people and all the “stuff” that comes with that, including perceptions, misunderstandings, miscommunications and on and on. Each of Suzanne Brockmann’s novels centers on characters that I have been introduced to for a few years and each play major or minor role within the story. These characters are ones I have come to like, love, enjoy. They are also diverse in gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and I applaud the author for this. I was not impressed with her use of the “N” word though considering we are in the 21st century and I was grateful that it occurred only once. With the ban-the-N-word movement happening in the United States--and hopefully the world-- the usage of this vile word has no place in literature or in our vocabulary. Ric is a retired cop-become-private-eye and Annie is a Girl Friday (what happens the other days of the week?) who would rather be out in the field than behind her desk. She is voluptuous--not some skinny bone rack--and is an object of desire for Ric, who wants to jump her bones and does not worry about her cracking under his weight. The relationship at first is strained because Ric does not want Annie out in the field; she lacks training. But throughout the book, we see that she not only has the brawn, but also the brains. She rescues Ric and does so with class. When Ric is approached by a client, they need to go undercover and as a result, bump into Jules Cassidy. Jules is a self-outed Navy Seal and is trying to catch the “bad” guy who is the same perp that Ric and Annie go undercover to uncover. While the three of them team up, in comes Robin Chadwick, an actor who is working with his brother-in-law, who too is a Navy Seal, and shoots a blockbuster playing a hero; there is a buzz that his performance is worthy of the gold guy-Mr. Oscar. Robin is in denial as to his sexuality though he has flitted in the past with guess who? But even a Navy Seal can’t yank this hottie out of the closet. Instead of facing his nature, he drinks himself to oblivion and this behavior is what keeps him wrapped up in himself instead of in the arms of the man he truly loves. Things get hot when Jules meets up with Robin and well, I will leave you to your imaginings. The story has its own rhythm. The characters move with some grace and many times will step on each other’s toes and egos and find themselves under, over, on all fours; there is heat between them pages. Suzanne Brockmann handles the intimacy between Jules and Robin with the utmost respect to the reader knowing full well--I assume--that the reading public is in its own closet when it comes to acceptance. This book is full of action, love, humour, passion. So pick up her book, take the blinders off, and embrace the story. |
