Code Name: Outlaw (Linear Tactical /Zodiac Tactical Crossover) by Janie Crouch-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 15, 2022

Months trapped in the clutches of a madman made Jenna Franklin a shell of the woman she once was. All she can do now is use her computer genius from inside the safety of closed doors.

Even two years later, going outside = blood-freezing panic.

She’s made herself a haven in the only place she’s felt safe since her captivity: Oak Creek, Wyoming—home of her Linear Tactical friends. They don’t realize the extent of her emotional trauma, but at least she knows she can trust them.

Only one person knows the truth about the fragile mental state she’s hiding: Zodiac agent, Mark Outlawson—code name: Outlaw.

He’s witnessed her panic firsthand. Knows what it does to her.

When info on a human trafficking group—one connected to her own captivity—comes to light, it’s clear only Jenna’s expertise can stop them. Mark will have to prove Jenna can trust him—to keep her secrets, to protect her, to help fight her demons.

He’ll prove this outlaw is a hero.

•••••

REVIEW:CODE NAME: OUTLAW is the fifteenth and final instalment in Janie Crouch’s contemporary, adult LINEAR TACTICAL erotic, romantic suspense series. CODE NAME; OUTLAW is a Linear/Zodiac Tactical crossover focusing on former Special Ops soldier and Linear Tactical security specialist Mark ‘Outlaw’ Outlawson, and bioengineer/computer engineer Jenna Franklin. CODE NAME: OUTLAW can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise including graphic violence, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Mark and Jenna) CODE NAME: OUTLAW follows the building romance and relationship between former Special Ops solder and Linear Tactical security specialist Mark ‘Outlaw’ Outlawson, and bioengineer/computer engineer Jenna Franklin. Approximately four years earlier computer genius and bioengineer Jenna Franklin was abducted and forced to reveal the secrets behind a powerful drug that could one day be used for illegal purposes. Two years ago, Jenna was rescued by the team at Linear Tactical but in the ensuing time Jenna has withdrawn from the world, having developed agoraphobia from the onslaught of abuse at the hands of her abductors. Fast forward to present day wherein someone is using Jenna’s biological weapon, and the Linear Tactical team has been called in to help take down the people responsible. Enter former Special Ops soldier and Linear Tactical security specialist Mark ‘Outlaw’ Outlawson, the man who understands our heroine more than anyone could have imagined. As Jenna and Mark begin to unravel the possible connection to Jenna’s drug, and a string of break and enters, and eventual deaths of the people involved. What ensues is the building relationship between Jenna and Mark, and the potential fall out when the Jenna is forced to make modifications, possibly losing the man with whom she has fallen in love, in the process.

Mark Outlawson knows his time is limited with Linear Tactical but working alongside Jenna means up close and personal with the woman he loves.Both Jenna and Mark have suffered at the hands of their captors and abductors but none more so than our story line heroine. Jenna’s daily struggles mean limited friendships, and never going out while Mark must concede that life as he knew it is coming to a close.

The relationship between Mark and Jenna is one of immediate attraction but Jenna battles between head and heart knowing any relationship is a struggle going forward. Mark is one of the few people who is aware of Jenna’s disability, a disability brought on at the hands of her abductors for disobeying orders. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters many of whom we have met in both interconnected series including artist/ waitress Wavy Bollinger, and former US Navy SEAL and CEO of Zodiac Tactical Ian ‘Aries’ DeRose, Baby Bollinger, Callum Webb, Finn and Charlie (Charlotte) Bollinger, Zack Mackay, Dorian Lindstrom aka Ghost, Riley Harrison aka Phoenix, Gavin and Lexi. The requisite evil has many faces.

CODE NAME: OUTLAW is the final and thrilling instalment in Janie Crouch’s LINEAR TACTICAL series. The premise is engaging and exciting; the romance is seductive; the characters are broken but struggling to move on. The epilogue fast forwards the series approximately ten years where we get a glimpse at the next generation.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews in the Linear Tactical Series
Cyclone
Eagle
Shamrock
Angel
Ghost
Shadow
Echo
Phoenix
Baby
Storm
Redwood
Blaze

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Code Name: Aries
Code Name:Virgo
Code Name: Libra
Code Name: Pisces

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

USA TODAY bestselling author Janie Crouch writes what she loves to read: passionate romantic suspense. She is a winner and/or finalist of multiple romance literary awards including the Golden Quill Award for Best Romantic Suspense, the National Reader’s Choice Award, and the coveted RITA© Award by the Romance Writers of America.

Janie recently relocated with her husband and their four teenagers to Germany (due to her husband’s job as support for the U.S. Military), after living in Virginia for nearly 20 years. When she’s not listening to the voices in her head (and even when she is), she enjoys engaging in all sorts of crazy adventures (200-mile relay races; Ironman Triathlons, treks to Mt. Everest Base Camp) traveling, and movies of all kinds.

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