In Too Deep

The Cherry Adair T-FLAC novels are the kind of romantic suspense that does not care if you take them seriously, because they are too busy taking themselves seriously about the parts that matter, which are the romance and the explosions. In Too Deep sends operative Bowen Ramsey to a small Caribbean nation to extract a counterfeiting kingpin, and the operation goes sideways with the immediate involvement of Catherine Seymour, a teacher tangentially related to the bad guys.

Adair's formula is dependable. Heroine starts at one level of competence and ratchets up several notches under fire. Hero starts at high competence and learns that he cannot do this one alone. They argue. They have a sex scene that is well-written and not coy. They take down a small drug operation in the closing pages.

The pleasure is in the execution rather than the structure, and Adair executes. Four stars. Recommended to fans of the romantic-suspense subgenre. Not the entry point if you are new to her work (start with Kiss and Tell), but a strong mid-series read.