I have read all of Cindy Gerard's books. I like them all, some more than others. This one is near the top. 5 stars not because it was perfect but because I really liked it and it made me happy to read it. It pushed all the right buttons for me. Clean well thought out plot. Not overly wordy, overly descriptive etc. Some angst, which I personally like, but it doesn't overwhelm the story. While they do think about their feelings, the characters are not wallowing in their thoughts.

The characters are well drawn. You totally understand and believe that Wyatt has loved Sophie for 12 years. He is an honorable man who let her go to marry his best friend without saying anything when she made that choice. Sophie is also well drawn and believable. You can totally see her as a young woman choosing the wild exciting guy over the more quiet guy even though she knows they both love her. You can see that she has wondered over the years whether she made the right choice. There were a couple of spots where I would have liked more discussion/revelation. For example when she tells him she loves him, she doesn't tell him that she had those thoughts. I would have liked to see his reaction to that. Also she doesn't explain even though he basically asks why she didn't call him in the 2 years since her divorce. She doesn't even answer that in her head. So we don't know if she thought he'd forgotten her or what.

The kidnapping portion was well done. Ms. Gerard takes the less obvious choice to have the kidnapped child be not her daughter but her daughter's friend. This choice allows their relationship to develop more naturally as I never do buy that a mother of a kidnapped child would have a hot and heavy affair with a spec ops guy while her child is missing. I did guess the bad guy even though there were a few red herrings. But that was okay since this wasn't about if you could figure out the bad guy but the focus was on the romance where I like it as long as the rest makes sense.

There is plenty of male interaction with the BOI guys which is nice. It is mostly told through Wyatt's POV which I prefer over the female POV. There was a nice bit of gun toting, door knocking down spec ops stuff. It was well writte. It is important in these sorts of books that I can believe the guys could actually do what I'm being told they are doing. There are only 2 guys left to get their own books. I am looking forward to them. I hope Ms. Gerard either introduces more BOI guys or starts another spin off series as she did with this one.

The book, like many of her others, takes place in South America which is an under utilized setting for these sorts of books so I like to see that as well.

Ms. Gerard, in my opinion, is one of the top three writers in this genre along with Suzanne Brockmann and Marliss Melton. If you like those ladies, you will love Cindy Gerard as well.

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Twelve years ago two young agents, best friends and brothers in arms, waltzed into Sophie's Spanish class. They each fell for the girl, and she for them. However, Sophie ended up marrying one of them, leaving the other to pine for her for twelve years. Fast forward to the present, Sophie is divorced and she's a school teacher in El Salvador. One day, Sophie's daughter, Hope, is nearly a target of a kidnapping. Instead of Hope, her best friend Lola is taken. Sophie can't reach her ex-husband so instead she calls Wyatt "Papa Bear" Savage for help.

Wyatt fell in love with Sophie all those years ago, but stepped aside when his best friend ended up getting the girl and marrying her. When Sophie calls him out of the blue requesting his help, he doesn't hesitate to go to her. The search for the missing girl thrusts the two of them together and forces them to face the truth about their feelings while racing against the clock to save Lola from the clutches of the notorious gang, MS-13.

Wyatt lived up to his Papa Bear nickname. He was so sweet and conflicted about being in love with his best friend's wife. I didn't warm up to Sophie until near the end. She wasn't the kick-ass heroine like all the others before her, nor did she seem to know her real feelings until the very end, which made me feel sad for Wyatt. I got the feeling that she did her fair share of jerking him around because she has always been aware of his feelings for her. Things get awkward when Hugh finally shows up. I just didn't see what made her so special that she had three men panting after her in this story. Anyway, the ending had a surprising twist that I never saw coming, and I do love a good shock. I also loved the glimpses into all the other couples' lives (Gabe and Sam *swoon*) and there's finally a conclusion to the Nate and Juliana saga, lol.

Another solid read. Five for five. ( )

Blurb:
A deadly international mission reunites a sexy Black Ops, Inc. hero and his sizzling former love in Cindy Gerard’s seductive new romantic thriller. A RED-HOT ATTRACTION . . .Twelve years of chasing bad guys didn’t erase beautiful Sophie Baylor from Wyatt Savage’s memory. If he had another chance, he’d never let her leave. So when she tracks him down from El Salvador and begs for help, he doesn’t ask questions—he just goes.STARTS WITH A TERRIFYING THREAT . . .Sophie is grateful her daughter survived a kidnapping attempt, but she won’t forgive herself until the girl who was mistakenly abducted is safe. Wyatt is the only man brave enough to take on the mysterious terrorists behind the crime—and the one irresistible man she wishes she had never let go. . . . AND UNLEASHES AN UNFORGETTABLE ADVENTURE.Sophie knows Central America’s steamy jungles and sticky politics better than anyone. Yet she refuses to hide in fear. Then she becomes the enemy’s number one target. Wyatt lost her once, and he won’t lose her again—even if he has to fight, kill, or die to save her.

Review:
I bought this book straight after reading my first Cindy Gerard book, Feel The Heat, as it was in the Black Op series and I wanted to read about another one of those sexy guys.
Risk No Secrets was just as good as Feel The Heat! The author portrays the male point of view very well. This book is another action-packed suspense, with hot love scenes and good character emotions.
Very enjoyable! ( )

This is the story of Wyatt Savage, the 5th book in the Black Ops series. Very good book and worth waiting for. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the story.