Also by this author: Don't Keep Silent, Present Danger, Deadly Target, Cold Light of Day, Shadows at Dusk, Hidden in the Night
Published by Revell on July 1, 2022
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Romance, Suspense
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Mackenzie Hanson's special set of skills opened the door to a successful career as a professor of cybersecurity at a Michigan university, allowing her to put her criminal past behind her. But when a long-ago partner in crime delivers a cryptic message about her father's tech company being under cyberattack, she heads for Montana to secure exposed assets, close security breaches, and hopefully save lives.
Diplomatic Security Services special agent Alex Knight is back home in Montana to decompress from a mission gone wrong. But even as he's trying to relax, he's drawn into another mystery, complete with suspicious deaths, lethal threats, and whispers of espionage that all have one thing in common--a beautiful cybersecurity expert with a dark past.
When the situation turns deadly, Alex and Mackenzie will have to work together to find the answers they need--before someone silences Mackenzie for good.
USA Today bestselling author Elizabeth Goddard weaves a tangled web of nail-biting suspense and heart-stopping romance in this fast-paced conclusion to her Rocky Mountain Courage series.
Welcome back, Elizabeth Goddard! I have missed you and your work. From the first Goddard book I read, she set my expectations high…and she surpassed them tenfold with Critical Alliance. Thank you for bringing me back into your world. I love traveling through your imagination, and I would remain there for an extended stay if I could. Is that creepy? Regardless, my trips through your stories are never long enough. That, however, is my own fault. When I pick up a Goddard novel, I do not put it down if I do not have to. Critical Alliance was no exception; it served as a vacation from reality.
Different people like different types of vacations. Some like to relax on the beach. Others like kicking back on cruises. Me? I enjoy traveling to the bustle of New York City or hiking at a national park (though I like the latter slightly more). “Relaxing” vacations are not my style. A national park typically has limited cell service, so I can disconnect from everything—social media, my job, and society as a whole. Hiking 10+ miles a day exhausts my body and my mind, thus I sleep as if I am dead.
This is Critical Alliance by Elizabeth Goddard. It is not a tubing trip down a slow-flowing river; rather, it is a mêlée through white water rapids in a kayak. At times, you fall out of the kayak, and you have to catch quick breaths when you can while you fight the water. Critical Alliance never stops; it catapults its characters forward in high stakes—and illegal—situations that would make anyone want to back off. Mackenzie and Alex do the opposite; they charge into the fray with few inhibitions. There is too much on the line, and too many close to Mackenzie have already died. She could be next, and Alex won’t let that happen.
What I loved most about Critical Alliance: cyber’s significant role. The cyber world is increasingly vulnerable, each and every day. Much like a terrorist, a cybercriminal only has to be successful once to infiltrate a system; meanwhile, the cybersecurity team must succeed 100% of the time. All it takes is one unpatched critical vulnerability. Something occurring in the cyber realm can have significant—even deadly—impacts on life. Elizabeth Goddard portrays cyber’s significance perfectly, and she explains it perfectly. Goddard imparts new terminologies on her readers without being patronizing.
Because my dislikes of Critical Alliance by Elizabeth Goddard are so minimal and few, I’m not going to mention them in my review. This is a good one; it is a remarkable example of the Christian romantic suspense genre.
