The Agent (The Consultants 3) by Nancy Herkness-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 5, 2021

Letting down her guard leaves a woman vulnerable to love—and to a menacing stalker.

After fleeing her abusive ex, New Jersey salon owner Natalie Hart is reclaiming her life and self-esteem. Her fragile recovery doesn’t need a player like former FBI agent Tully Gibson, no matter how tempting a fling sounds. Then Natalie starts receiving anonymous notes, each more frightening and threatening than the last. To help track her stalker, Natalie knows whom to call. Their explosive chemistry together is an emotional hazard she’s willing to risk.

A high-powered security expert at KRG Consulting, Tully has intimacy issues of his own. The stirring hum of attraction he feels with his new client comes with boundaries. Tully’s job: just keep Natalie safe. But keeping his distance is getting harder. Whoever is playing games with Natalie wants to take things one deadly step further. The deeper Tully and Natalie are drawn into danger, the closer they become.

It’s time for Natalie and Tully to face their fears—of falling in love and of falling prey to a vengeful killer.

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REVIEW:THE AGENT is the third instalment in Nancy Herkness’ contemporary, adult THE CONSULTANTS erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on three friends and business partners -Derek Killion, Leland Rockwell, and Tully Gibson who own KRG Consulting Group. This is former FBI agent, KRG co-founder and security specialist Tully Gibson, and hair stylist/salon owner Natalie Hart’s story line. THE AGENT can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual third person perspectives ( Tully and Natalie) THE AGENT follows in the wake of a possible stalker for our story line heroine. Having met and connected through mutual friends (Alice and Derek- The Money Man #1) Tully felt drawn to Natalie Hart but never expected a phone call from Natalie fearing for her life. A series of questionable and aggressive emails from an unknown sender had now escalated to hand delivered messages threatening physical violence, and Natalie knew she was ill-equipped to uncover the identity of the person involved. Enter Tully Gibson and the guys at KRG Consulting Group. As Tully works to ensure our heroine’s safety including twenty-four hour security and surveillance, he struggles with his attraction to the woman that is calling to his heart. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Tully and Natalie, and the potential fall-out as Natalie battles between head and heart knowing Tully will never commit to forever, and Natalie’s stalker calls in reinforcements in his effort to seek vengeance against our story line heroine.

Natalie Hart has lived through an abusive marriage, and works behind the scenes to help women find somewhere safe to escape but Natalie is now facing the possibility that one of her client’s has brought the danger to her front door, and Tully Gibson is determined to stop the suspect at all costs. Tully Gibson, in his attempt to protect our story line heroine finds himself falling for a woman who is about to pull away before he breaks her heart. Tully is determined to remain single, never committing himself to one woman, and in this Natalie knows their time together comes with an expiry date.

The relationship between Tully and Natalie is one of immediate attraction predicated on their mutual friends, and wedding participation. Tully admits to being attracted to our heroine since the first time they met, and Natalie started to swoon when he asked her to dance. As the threats to Natalie become more personal and dangerous, Tully moves Natalie into his life but Natalie knows there time together is only temporary until they find the person trying to destroy her life. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful secondary and supporting characters including the previous story line couples: Derek and Alice (The Money Man 1), Leland and Dawn (The Hacker 2): security guards Pam Santos, and Jenya; several of Natalie’s co-workers and clients; abused woman Regina Van Houten; and Natalie’s tenant Deion. I am hoping the author has plans for Deion’s story.

THE AGENT is a story of family and friendships; domestic abuse, power and control; romance, relationships and love. The character driven premise is intriguing and engrossing; the characters are dynamic, animated and inspiring; the romance is spicy and seductive but I did have a couple of issues, all pertaining to our heroine’s need to be ‘independent’ and placing herself in danger because she is upset with the direction of her relationship with the man that she loves…a little TSTL (too stupid to live) that results in our heroine positioning herself in the direct line of fire.

Reading Order andPrevious Reviews
The Money Man
The Hacker

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy