Above Reproach by Lynn Ames

Publisher:                   Phoenix Rising Press

Above Reproach is book two in the Mission Classified series by Lynn Ames.  It’s another action/suspense story that reintroduces the reader to Vaughn Elliott, one of the major characters in the first book Beyond Instinct.

Sedona Ramos works for a government agency and sees satellite images from Iraq that she wasn’t meant to see.  A nuclear facility that she helped to deactivate years before is showing activity again.  Sedona immediately becomes the target of a group that goes high in the US government and that wants to stop her from revealing what she’s seen, but she’s able to reach the president first.  That leads to Sedona making contact with retired agent Vaughn Elliott and a hand-picked team of super agents.  They are tasked by the president to go to Iraq to find out what is going on and are hunted by killers the whole way.  Sedona has a secret power though that will guide and protect them along the way.

For people who have read many of Lynn Ames’ books, this one is difficult to evaluate.  It’s certainly far better than her first books, but it doesn’t show the promise or ability of her recent work, especially Beyond Instinct.  The dialogue isn’t very good between the characters and there’s never really a feeling of suspense in the story.  The “bad guys” are supposed to be super-secret plotters who have tremendous resources available to them, but they are extremely inept at stopping the agents from achieving their goal.  Vaughn and her group have little real trouble confusing and evading their opponents and getting into Iraq.  The way they deal with the facility is probably meant to show their level of training, but it doesn’t create the suspense that a reader would expect.  The rate that a relationship develops between Sedona and Vaughn doesn’t match with the feelings they each express about past relationships, so their situation doesn’t feel “real.”  The story might have been stronger if the relationship had been left out.  Finally, there is a supernatural aspect to the story that, for those who don’t believe in that type of thing, can be very trying and contributes to the disjointed feeling of the book.

Above Reproach is not a poorly written book.  For someone who is looking for a quick read that is fairly entertaining, it will do fine.  For anyone who has read Ames’ recent books, it doesn’t quite come up to the ability she has shown recently; therefore, the book may be somewhat disappointing.  For fans of suspense novels, this one is tepid and there are others that demonstrate the genre better.    Those who are Ames fans and follow her work will read and enjoy this.  Those who are genre fans may want to find something else.

My top 11 books for 2011.....so far

Lara Zielinsky asked me to make a list of the top 11 books I read in 2011 for the radio show we did and I never got through the entire list, so I thought I'd post it here.  There are two caveats:

• except for the top 4, the rest of the books probably could change positions easily.
• I haven't had a chance to read the latest books from Justine Saracen, Robbi McCoy, Ruth Perkinson or Amy Dawson Robertson.....YET.  I'd be willing to bet they would knock some books off of my list, but I'll have to see.

So, for what it's worth, here they are. 

1.  Shaken and Stirred by Joan Opyr tied with 
     Beyond Instinct by Lynn Ames and you couldn't
           find two books more different.
3.  The Indelible Heart by Marianne Martin
4.  After the Fall by Robin Summers
5.  The Wedding Party by Tracey Richardson
6.  Open Water by Pol Robinson
7.  Like Lovers Do by Lori Lake
8.  My Soldier Too by Bev Prescott
9.  The Girls Club by Sally Bellrose
10.  If the Wind Were a Woman by Kelly Sinclair
11.  Confined Spaces by Renee MacKenzie

Beyond Instinct by Lynn Ames

Publisher:          Phoenix Rising Press

Sometimes you see reviews that say, don't start this book unless you have time because you won't be able to put it down.  When I say that about Beyond Instinct, believe it.

Sage McNally saw something she shouldn't have.  She didn't know it, but what she saw causes her to be kidnapped off of the streets of Mali and taken into the desert by Tuareg warriors.  Vaughn Elliot, former CIA agent and now a security expert for the State Department, hasn't known the diplomat long, but she knows she has to rescue Sage and determine why someone would do this to her.  The women have fallen into a treacherous plot that stretches from Washington, DC, to Africa and on to Afghanistan.  Vaughn, who has watched a former lover be murdered in the line of duty, is determined that it won't happen again.  A congressional visit appears to be at the center of the mystery and Vaughn has to determine how all of the pieces fit together.  Sage holds the key if she can only remember what it is.  The women are joined by a cast that includes highly skilled field agents, corrupt politicians, deadly assassins and heroes who are willing to die for what is right.  Though Sage and Vaughn are attracted to each other, nothing can come before the mission.  Too much depends on its outcome.

Lynn Ames has written a suspenseful adventure novel that can be compared with the best in the field.  Beyond Instinct can stand against any Robert Ludlum or James Patterson novel on the shelf.  The action is fast paced and the characters are defined just enough to see each one of them clearly and why that person had to be in the story.  The weaponry and technology that are employed in the book have obviously been well researched and their usage gives the book a very real and modernistic feeling.  The emotions that come from the characters tap into the reader and create a feeling that the reader is sharing the fear, horror and relief that everyone is experiencing.  As the reader nears the end of the book the need to read slower speaks to the reluctance to see the story end.

Ames does two things in this book that make it refreshing.  The people of Africa are treated with great respect.  Unfortunately, the stereotype in Western literature is to show them as poor, corrupt and backward.  Ames' Africa most certainly contains poverty and illegal activities, but there are also characters who act with great dignity and honor.  There is a very delicate balance struck in the Tuareg leader.  Though he is going to perform a despicable act, he does it out of a sense of honor and has the decency to understand that what he is doing is wrong.  The other interesting point is the relationship between Sage and Vaughn.  The fact that they are lesbians and feel drawn to each other is a strong thread in the story, but it doesn't dominate what is going on.  There is never any doubt that the point of this story is to figure out who is behind what is happening, what their ultimate objective is, and how to stop them.  This is never a story that is simply holding together scenes so that the women can hop into bed together.

One of the best things to observe in literature over time is the growth of an author.  Anyone who is a Lynn Ames fan from her first books is going to find a very different writer in Beyond Instinct.  From someone who wrote rather formulaic novels, she has progressed to something much more.  Her use of vocabulary, characters and scenery has grown tremendously from her first books and gives this one a more mature feeling and allows the reader to flow seamlessly from scene to scene.  Ames' development of her abilities is striking.

For anyone who enjoys a book that is based around adventure, intrigue and suspense, there can't be a better example than Beyond Instinct.  Just one warning.  Don't start it late at night because you won't be going to sleep for a while.

The Flip Side of Desire by Lynn Ames

Publisher:    1st ed - The Flip Side of Desire - Intaglio 
                      Publications; 2nd ed retitled One Love - Phoenix 
                      Rising Press



C.J. Winslow is an aging tennis champion. In the world of tennis, that means she's thirty-four years old. C.J. was once the number one ranked female player in the world and has been the sport's favorite poster child for many years, but younger players with faster games have begun to pass her by. She believes she can be on top again, but it means changing her game and the people who surround her. This won't be easy, but she knows she can do it because she is the consummate professional, forsaking everything else in her life to achieve what she wants. C.J. realizes she is lonely, but a happier personal life can wait for after she retires from the game and she's not ready for that yet.

Trystan Lightfoot is a professional also. She has built her reputation as a physical therapist by being a nomad and moving around between professional sports teams. Now the Women's Tennis Federation has hired her to be the full time therapist for the members of the tour and she has achieved the pinnacle of her career, if not personal happiness. Trystan has built another reputation along the way as a woman who enjoys one night stands and who forms no permanent attachments to anyone. Many years before her heart was broken so badly that she has no interest in opening herself up to anyone again. She doesn't know that she's about to meet someone who will challenge all of her beliefs about what she wants out of life.

C.J. and Trystan are drawn to each other by a mutual love, a love of sport. C.J. has a goal and Trystan wants to help her achieve it. As they work together, they experience confusing feelings. Confusing for C.J. because she's never had any type of relationship, plus she knows that she's been promoted through the years as the proof that not all women in sports are lesbians. Confusing for Trystan because she finds C.J. becoming more important in her life when she has vowed that she would never let anyone do that again. A relationship threatens both of their careers, but threatens more their self-images of who they are. Whether or not they can bring together all of these aspects in a satisfying manner becomes the crux of the story.

The Flip Side of Desire is a romance and has an atmosphere that draws the reader in and makes you want to keep turning the pages. Ames uses language so masterfully that you develop a true feeling of understanding for both of these characters. Unlike many romances that can just be read through, this is one of those rare books where you begin to feel the emotions of the characters and you get immersed in the story. The attraction happens perhaps too quickly, a common occurrence in many books, and Trystan's character would be easier to relate to if there was more about the relationship that tormented her so badly, but these are minor points in the story. This is a very satisfying book to read on a number of levels, including that it presents an interesting view of women's professional sports and creates the impression that this could be a true to life story.

Heart Song by Lynn Ames

Publisher:       1st ed - Intaglio Publications; 2nd ed - Phoenix 
                         Rising Press


How much should one person have to endure to find love? Why are some people asked to shoulder what seems to be more than their fair share of heartache?

Most people see Danica Warren as a hero. After all, the former crusading Senator and now motivational speaker managed to dig herself and three other people out of an avalanche that should have killed them. Her book about her experience is a best seller and a hit movie has been made from it. However, Danica doesn't agree with them because the only person she couldn’t save that day was her long-time partner. That was three years ago and Dani hasn't gotten over what happened yet. 

Chase Crosley is the CEO of a credit union organization and all she needs is to see Dani one time at a convention to know that her life is about to change. Once the women begin spending time together, they realize they have a special relationship, but there are obstacles. Dani has to overcome her feelings of guilt about the accident and accept that she isn't betraying an old love. Just as Dani seems comfortable with what is happening, Chase becomes seriously ill. Can Dani pursue love knowing that she might lose it again? Does Chase have the right to ask her to?

It would have been easy to make Heartsong the story of Danica trying to get over her survivor guilt and deciding that it was "OK" to love again. That story has been told before and is familiar. Ames instead gives the book a real-life twist. Danica does have the guilt, but just as she's convincing herself that she has a right to move on with her life, she faces the possibility of losing the new love.
How many people know someone who seems to move from crisis to crisis, enduring unbelievable heartache, while everyone else goes on living somewhat normal lives? There is that universal question about why some people seem doomed to suffer while others live easier lives. However, what starts out seeming to be the story of Danica turns out to be more the story of Chase. She's not used to opening up to another person and has finally seemed to win that struggle when she confronts a health crisis that could change everything.  

Heartsong then takes on the task of dealing with a relationship that may be on a short timeline. The resolution is not exactly what a reader might expect, but it's very appropriate.

Lynn Ames seems to be a writer who is willing to stretch to improve her writing. Instead of producing the same book time after time, her plots have gotten progressively more complex. She still writes a pretty standard romance, but there are little twists that are refreshing and show a greater depth of story development. While her stories feel familiar, there are nuances that hold the reader's attention. Heartsong is worth reading.

Eyes on the Stars by Lynn Ames

Publisher:                Phoenix Rising Press

Eyes on the Stars takes the reader to a part of history that has been ignored for too long.  The WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) were created during World War II to free more men for combat duty.  The women would ferry the aircraft to war zones and sometimes act as test pilots for new fighter planes.  Their service was ignored for many years and they have only recently received the recognition they deserved.  That's where this story opens.

Jessie Keaton is attending the ceremony where the WASPs are being recognized by the government and meets the daughter and granddaughter of the woman she has loved for more than sixty years, Claudia Sherwood.  Jessie and Claudia met during training and fell totally in love.  They hoped to make a life for themselves by being stationed at the same post and at first things went fine, but a tragic event separated them.  Now Claudia's daughter gives Jessie a collection of letters that her mother had written, but never mailed, over the years.  As Jessie reads them, she reminisces about their experiences and realizes what they lost.  Although both are in their eighties and neither is in good health, Jessie decides to make one more attempt to see if they can have a chance at happiness. 

This is a good lesbian romance, but it has the added bonus of also teaching the reader some history.  Ames captures the period perfectly.  It's easy to feel the trials the WASPs went through, especially the opposition of male pilots and maintenance crews.  The situations are portrayed so well that the reader can feel as if she's actually in the events.  It's interesting to read about a time that is still close enough for some to remember, yet where expectations for women and beliefs about their abilities were so different.  These women were trailblazers in more ways than one and Ames' appreciation for them comes through clearly.

The book also evokes the question "What if?"  What if the times had been different?  What if the women had not each let her version of pride get in the way?  What if Jessie and Claudia had not lived long enough to finally be given the honor they were due and had the opportunity to find each other again?