Heatseeker

Monroe follows Close Quarters with an unexceptional romantic suspense novel. Captured, interrogated, and on the verge of suicide, U.S. secret agent Rachel Gannon is surprised to be rescued by none other than her high school sweetheart, Kadin Marks, who abandoned her to become a trained Marine Corps assassin. Despite her ostensibly brutalized condition, Rachel can’t help her physical response to Kadin: “Desire... the cockroach of feelings, and right now all she wanted was a guaranteed exterminator.” Kadin is stunned to find an obstinate black ops agent in place of the “sweet and gentle lover” he thought he was self-sacrificingly trying to protect, but a decade without Rachel has only fueled his ardor. Liberal-leaning readers may appreciate anti–Tea Party sentiments and a gay romantic subplot, but a weak suspense plot, uninspired prose, and flat characters make this one an easy pass. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Agency. (Feb.)