The Way of the Brave – Susan May Warren – Global Search and Rescue #1 – Revell – Published 7 January 2020

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Synopsis

Former pararescue jumper Orion Starr is haunted by the memory of a rescue gone wrong. He may be living alone in Alaska now, but the pain of his failure–and his injuries–has followed him there from Afghanistan. He has no desire to join Hamilton Jones’s elite rescue team, but he also can’t shirk his duty when the call comes in to rescue three lost climbers on Denali.

Former CIA profiler and psychiatrist Jenny Calhoun’s yearly extreme challenge with her best friends is her only escape from the guilt that has sunk its claws into her. As a consultant during a top-secret mission to root out the Taliban, she green-lighted an operation that ended in ambush and lives lost. When her cathartic climb on Denali turns deadly, she’ll be forced to trust her life and the lives of her friends to the most dangerous of heroes–the man she nearly killed.

Her skills and his experience are exactly what’s needed to prevent another tragedy–but in order to truly set Orion free from his painful past, Jenny will have to reveal hers. They’ll have to put their wounds behind them to survive, but at what cost?

My thoughts

The Way of the Brave launches a new series by pro writer Susan May Warren. With her trademark breathtaking romance, fearless heroes and endless suspense and action, The Way of the Brave is a thrilling and slightly daunting read.

Jacie is haunted by mistakes she made while working as an undercover CIA profiler – mistakes that led to good service men being injured and killed. Now, with her two best friends, she is attempting to scale Denali, a ruthless mountain, in a bid to remind herself she is strong and not being held back by her mistakes. Orion lost the only remaining family in the attack on his Parajumping team that left him injured and his teammates dead or taken captive. Coming across Jacie, now going by Jenny, Orion thinks might have a chance of rekindling what they once started, but he has no idea she is the one who holds the answers he seeks or the one to whom his anger is unknowingly directed. When Jacie and her friends are blown off the mountain it will take the strength of both her team and Orion’s to get back to safety.

Mountain climbing is definitely not on my to-do list. In fact, it’s something I just cannot see the appeal of. So it was a little hard to connect with the characters and their drive to scale Mount McKinley. It does, however, make for stunning backdrop scenery and a perfect setup for a suspense novel where everything that could go wrong, does go wrong. Whiteouts, avalanches, falls, injuries, altitude sickness – why do people go mountain climbing again? But it tests the characters, pushes them to their limits and force them to reevaluate their lives, faith and pasts. It also gives them the excuse to snuggle close to keep warm.

Alongside the spills and thrills of the mountain climbing and ensuing rescues (yes, that’s plural), is the heartbreaking backstory of all the characters. Jacie and the decisions that haunt her, as well as family trauma from her childhood, Orion and his anger, grief and trauma from losing both his military family and his blood family. Ham, Orion’s friend and fellow climber, is on a mission to save them all, if he can just forget the one person he couldn’t save. Jake, the third member of Orion’s team, is also running from his demons, and Jacie’s two friends have secrets, regrets and burdens they are trying to out climb.

As she does in her stories, as Jacie and Orion rekindle their affections, face their demons and save themselves, Susan May Warren shadows the story to come, offering readers insight into Jacie’s friend Aria and Orion’s friend Jake and their pasts and blooming attraction, setting the scene for book two in the series.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

More information

Category: Adult fiction

Genre: Christian – suspense.

Themes: Mountain climbing, injuries, PTSD, psychologists, military, SEALs, search and rescue, avalanches, romance, faith.

Published: 7 January 2020 by Revell

Format: Hardcover, paperback, ebook. 352 pages.

ISBN: 9780800737832

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