Collateral Damage by Lynette Eason {A Book Review}

** I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own. 

Honorably discharged from the Army after an explosion nearly killed her, former military psychiatrist Brooke Adams has set up shop to help others--but her days of helping military personnel are over. She's got her own battles to fight from her time overseas, and she's not equipped to take on more. Former Army Special Ops Sergeant First Class Asher James could handle anything that war sent his way--terrorists, bombs, bullets. The only thing that scares him now is sleep. As the shadows close in, the nightmares begin.

Finally convinced that he needs help, Asher makes an appointment with a counselor, and Brooke is pressed by her boss to take him on. When he arrives at her office she isn't there--but a dead body is. Brooke is devastated when she walks in, and Asher is a conveniently strong shoulder to cry on. But she can't take him on as a client after sharing such an intimate and unprofessional moment, can she? And he's not sure he can handle sharing his deepest fears with such a beautiful woman.

When it becomes clear that Brooke was the real target of the attack--and that her secrets go even deeper than his own--Asher vows to protect her no matter what.

Bestselling author Lynette Eason is back with a new series that spans the globe and will have your heart working overtime.

Lynette Eason is the bestselling author of Protecting Tanner Hollow, as well as the Blue Justice, Women of Justice, Deadly Reunions, Hidden Identity, and Elite Guardians series. She is the winner of three ACFW Carol Awards, the Selah Award, and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award, among others. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and has a master's degree in education from Converse College. Eason lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children. Learn more at www.lynetteeason.com.

When I pick up a book by Lynette Eason, I know I am in for something great... and Collateral Damage was absolutely no exception. In fact, if she wasn't already in my top 5 must read authors, this one most certainly would have cemented her place! I absolutely could not put it down!

Collateral Damage quite literally starts with a bang, and the action and suspense doesn't let up from there. We are taken from the action packed war zone in Afghanistan to the continuing and perhaps unexpected danger here in the states. In this globe-spanning suspense, the author takes on some pretty intense and difficult topics. Among them, PTSD which as a military spouse is a topic I am quite familiar with and one that I feel was handled very well within this story--- affecting both of our romantic leads Brooke and Asher in very realistic ways. I won't share one of the other hard topics brought up in this story so as not to give any spoilers, but I will say I was astounded at the depth of this book.

There was a wide cast of characters introduced within this story, and I must admit it took me a bit in the beginning to keep it straight and to determine how all of these stories were connected to one another. As the story began to unravel and the connections were made clear, it was much easier to keep up... so don't give up on it too soon! It all works together quite beautifully... revealing just enough to keep us guessing. And boy was I guessing! While I did eventually figure out the primary bad guy before the big reveal, it wasn't much before that... though once I did, I recalled the quite subtle clues that we were given throughout... a reminder of just how fantastic Lynette Eason is at crafting these romantic suspense stories!

In addition to the suspense and romance, I also loved the beautiful message of faith throughout. The reminder that we were ALL created with a purpose is such a great reminder and a perfect fit within this story.

Overall, this was a fantastic read and may just be my favorite by Lynette Eason so far! I cannot wait to read more from this series!