Goldilox and the Three Weres: Release Day Review: Locked and Loaded by Mandy Baxter

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Release Day Review: Locked and Loaded by Mandy Baxter

Locked and Loaded
(U.S. Marsheals #5)
Mandy Baxter
Release: September 27, 2016
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ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

With a rock-hard body and steel blue eyes, Mason Decker is about to become the U.S. Marshals’ newest recruit. But one last undercover job with a straitlaced attorney will test him to his limits . . .

Charlotte Cahill intends to take down an infamous diamond smuggler on the FBI’s Most Wanted list—and she intends to do it by the book. That won’t be easy with the cocky new temporary deputy on her task force. Mason Decker feels like trouble, especially when his cool gaze wanders across her hot body . . .

After his time as a Customs officer, Decker has enough experience hanging out with criminals to know that working undercover means following your instincts, not the rules. It doesn’t take long for him to lock horns with Cahill. But when the sexy assistant U.S. attorney is accidentally dragged out of her orderly world and into the turn-on-a-dime tension of Decker’s deceptive games, she’ll find that nothing is as seductive as playing a new role . . .

Really Short Review:
Locked and Loaded might be my favorite book in the U.S. Marshals series so far. And I'm a big fan, so that's saying something! It's like the Law and Order version of a workplace romance with a little undercover jewel thief intrigue thrown in. And both of those things are so much fun.

I loved the fast pace and the fast talking, the tension and the banter between Charlie and Decker, and the supporting characters. Like the other books in the series, all of the action (at least of the shooting and car chase variety) is at the end, but I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been looking for it. And I loved the twisty ending - I was really surprised by who was pulling the strings.

Locked and Loaded was a quick, in-one-sitting read but it was just the break from the paranormal that I needed. I can't wait for the next U.S. Marshals book.

Recommended for fans of: Justified