Undercover Christmas Escape by Terri Reed

Undercover Christmas Escape
by Terri Reed

ISBN-13: 9781335597755
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Released: November 28, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The assignment was infiltrate an office Christmas party and gather information to take down a drug cartel. However, DEA agent Duncan O’Brien and deputy US marshal Sera Morales encounter more than they were expecting when masked thieves crash their undercover operation and abduct Sera, who narrowly escapes. Can Duncan and Sera work together, despite their competitiveness and hidden attraction, to capture a merciless drug lord?


My Review:
Undercover Christmas Escape is a romantic suspense. While Sera and Duncan managed to survive, I saw no evidence that they or their team was actually competent. Their main goal was to capture a drug lord, so Sera had a tracking device to slip onto this man when he visited a party. Another criminal crashed the party instead, and they want him, too. Sera put the tracker on her sister, who was a member of this crime gang who stole something the drug lord wanted. You'd think this tracker would be followed by multiple sources as it's so important, but, no, only by a handheld tracker, which Sera stole when setting off on her own. On multiple occasions, this elite team knew where one or both of the bad guys were going, but instead of calling in others and capturing the bad guys, somehow they always ended up outnumbered and on the run. Each top bad guy apparently handled his own crimes personally and showed up repeatedly with their 2-3 favorite bodyguards. They knew the odds and had many opportunities, but, no.

So many smaller details were odd, too. Sera used a sharp knife to remove a long sleeve sweater to expose a wound (hard not to cut someone that way!) when she was in a fully furnished house with a first aid kit at her side. Why not use scissors? At one point, she put the tracker on herself and accidently left the device showing her location behind in plain sight of the bad guys, but she never once wondered if that might be why the bad guys always knew exactly where she was. The bad guys initially wore masks but then used their actual names when talking to each other during the crime. And so on.

Sera was very impulsive with a high risk tolerance. Duncan was normally a careful planner but felt it was up to him to keep her from getting killed. She didn't want help, yet Duncan kept forcing her to accept his leadership. Sera's irritated that he's always right. Neither had time for relationships. Yet suddenly both decided they're madly in love with each other. Hmm. I just don't see Sera putting up with Mr. Knight to the Rescue for very long as she didn't like the role of damsel in distress.

Both Sera and Duncan were Christians and prayed for help. There was no sex or bad language. It may have been exciting, but this whole story just didn't work for me.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.