"ACCEPTABLE RISK" BY LYNETTE EASON

"Acceptable Risk" by Lynette Eason

Synopsis:

Sarah Denning is a military journalist with the Army in the Middle East when her convoy is attacked and she's taken hostage. When former Army Ranger Gavin Black is asked by his old unit commander--Sarah's imposing father--to plan an extremely risky rescue, he reluctantly agrees and successfully executes it.

Back in the US, Sarah is livid when she's discharged on a false psychiatric evaluation and vows to return to the Army. Until she learns of her brother's suicide. Unable to believe her brother would do such a thing, she puts her plans on hold and enlists Gavin to help her discover the truth. What they uncover may be the biggest story of Sarah's career--if she can survive long enough to write it.

My Review:

"Acceptable Risk" is a military/romance/suspense fiction book that is well written with intense scenery, giving great detail on subjects I find difficult to read at the moment, including gruesome war/terrorist attacks, as well as serious depression, anxiety, and suicide.

In its opening chapter, a woman named Helen Craft is suffering from severe PTSD after experiencing unspeakable war crimes resulting in the death and dismemberment of many children at an orphanage. As a doctor on the scene, Helen did all she could to save the surviving children, but many of them died of their injuries anyway, resulting in 60+ child deaths. This causes Helen to lose her will to live, and she commits suicide, right in front of her sister.

This scene was gut-wrenching to read.

The second chapter opens with Sarah Denning sitting in an Afghani prison cell, "fighting the fear that had been her constant companion" since the previous day—when the Taliban attacked the school where she was a guest teacher, and captured her with plans to "use her and kill her."

The terrorist attacks, at least in the beginning of this book, seem to be primarily targeting children, which is quite disturbing.

With all that has been going on in the world recently, and the steady bombardment of negative news, I can't bring myself to read a book like this right now. That being said, from what I did read of this book, it appears to be very well written and Lynette Eason seems to be quite a good storyteller, so I will keep this book on my shelf to revisit some time in the future.

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell and NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts, for which I am very grateful.

Other Credits: The synopsis and cover image seen in this post are courtesy of Amazon.com.