Deadly Alliance by Kathleen Rowland

Released: February 2016
ISBN: 9781310588310
ASIN: B019EE5OP8
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DEADLY ALLIANCE
Author: Kathleen Rowland
Series: Donahue Cousins, #1
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Price: $3.99

WHAT THE REVIEWERS ARE SAYING

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Finbar Donahue, former Army Ranger, walked on the wild side in Iraq, but now he lives in the shadows. After his evasive partner, Les, was shot in a random drive-by, Finn discovers cash is siphoned monthly. He fights to keep his investment company afloat. When the late partner’s girlfriend, Amy Kintyre, applies for his bookkeeping job, Finn suspects she knows about his company drain and hires her.

Amy needs a nine-to-five with free evenings and weekends to get her fashion design business back on track. She unearths Les’ s secret bank account and alerts Finn. Freezing of the money laundering account sets off havoc within an Irish gang. Amy witnesses a gang fight between a brutal ISIS fundraising organization and the Irish. Desperate to escape a stalker’s crosshairs, she seeks refuge with Finn. As danger heats up, sparks fly hotter.

Les is alive. After cheating the Irish mob, he became their target. Mistaken identity took the life of his disabled twin brother. Now Les makes another deal—trading Amy and stolen drugs for their forgiveness. Stakes are high as Finn tracks assassins across the San Bernardino Mountains. If he gets her back, can he trust her?

Excerpt

The front door opened. “Sorry, we’re closed.” Holding a broom, Burlie swept behind the bar.

Finn stepped closer. Drunken merrymakers, they were not. His heart hammered like it was stuck in overdrive.

“We offer protection.” Speaking with a Spanish accent, the shortest of the trio dressed like the others, donned the ISIS-style full face black mask.

“I have protection.” Burlie’s big mouth nailed his coffin.

A second thug grabbed the bartender’s hand and pulled out clippers. “You’ll change your mind, one finger at a time.”

“I just paid the Irish.” Panic burrowed into Burlie’s high-pitched cry. He thrashed his arms as he tried to pull his hand back.

“Us you pay”. His utterance with the object in the first position identified him as an Arab speaker. Light glinted off shiny metal. The thug pulled a combat knife, grabbed Burlie’s arms, spun him, put the blade to his neck. Finn dialed 911 and then shouted, “Finn Donahue here. Gang trouble. Burlie’s Jazz Club,” To grab their attention even more, he heaved in a breath and released a long whistle. His distraction worked.

Burlie broke from the hold, and Finn thanked God for the curious.

“Where are you?” Heavy boots pounded toward him.

Finn’s phone vibrated, but he killed the call and darted into the first door he saw, the one with the frosted pink window. He spotted Amy at the sink and pointed his index finger up.

He took off his coat and wrapped it around his fist. After rapping on the glass, he wound up and threw a hard punch through the window. Glass splintered as he connected with the thug’s nose. Prepared to jump aside, he opened the door.

Amy followed and jumped over the guy spread on the floor, holding a hand over his bleeding nose.

He struggled to stand. Finn patted him down, took his gun, and pointed it at him. After the guy stood, Finn walked him to a chair. “Don’t move.”

“I’ll phone the police.” A high-pitched squeal came from the back of her throat. “Never mind. Police are here.”

From the street, the blue light of a cop car radiated across the club’s interior like a strobe. Uniforms burst through the door.

The first officer made radio contact with homicide, and the second, much younger, rushed to the nearest thug and pulled out flex-cuffs.

“Stand over there, Amy.” Finn motioned toward a corner.

She rolled her eyes and dashed toward Burlie who wrestled with the Arab and tried to keep him from moving toward the young rookie. Amy pulled an item from her purse. A Swiss army knife? Out came a miniature cork screw.

The rookie cop turned the Arab around to be handcuffed and leaned him against a wall. The thug used the hard surface as leverage to throw himself against him.

Finn saw it coming. A switchblade . . .

Top Reviews

Deadly Alliance held me spellbound. Highly recommended to all romantic suspense readers!
The writing is excellent. Rowland is an experienced novelist. The suspense in the book (ISIS recruits taking over gangs) is realistic. This happened in Paris. I was thoroughly immersed in the story, but also loved the romantic progress between Finn and Amy. They are so right for each other.
Loved this book and look forward to another one from this talented author, Kathleen Rowland. ~ Brooke Nelson, Amazon

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Action-Packed Suspenseful Romance
Deadly Alliance, by Kathleen Rowland, is a fast-paced, high-stakes suspense and a sizzling love story . . . As the danger increases so does the sexual tension between the couple and the sparks start flying and quickly ignite. An intriguing story with lots of action, intimacy and adventure. ~ Wendy Catalano, Amazon

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Keep an icy drink handy! Deadly Alliance is a white hot romantic suspense!
Deadly Alliance is action-packed with fighting (the bad guys), kidnapping, and a moving love story. ~ Amazon reader

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Haven't read such an exciting, action-packed romantic suspense in forever. Great!
Deadly Alliance is a serious action-packed suspense combined with an emotional romance . . . Not to give anything away, but this plot held my attention without interruption. I read this straight through dinner. The romance is wonderful as well. ~ Anthony Mateo, Amazon

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Deadly Alliance is a testament to fine writing-- couldn't put it down
Deadly Alliance is masterfully written with a serious suspense blended with romance. I really liked the heroine, somewhat flawed because of her caregiving nature, and the hero is right-- she trusts the wrong people . . . I look forward to more from this author. ~ Marc A Fisher, Amazon

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One of the finest romantic suspense novels I've ever read
Fantastic romantic suspense. Kathleen Rowland did an excellent job weaving a realistic romance into the intriguing plot. Finn and Amy are well developed . . . I don't want to spoil the book for another reader, but the layers upon layers of mystery held me spellbound. I recommend Deadly Alliance to anyone who enjoys romantic suspense, and this one is hot. ~ Reader, Amazon

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Fantastic romantic suspense from a talented author
Brilliant descriptions-- I was right there with Amy when she witnessed horror between gangs, the scenes in Burlie's Jazz Club, hiking around Lake Arrowhead. Characters are well developed. Any reader could fall in love with tough but kind Finn Donahue. ~ Trisha O'Farrell, Amazon

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Lots of Romance and Action
I really liked this book and it was a page turner. I would recommend this book to anyone liking romance and adventure. ~ Colleen, Amazon

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Excellent fast paced suspense with romance
Mesmerized! Continuous action and conflict kept me flipping pages. The crimes Finn Donahue and Amy Kintyre face overlap and force them together. Well written. ~ Reader, Amazon

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Good read
Deadly Alliance never slows down. There’s murder but no ritualistic killing or gore. There’s threat of gore from terrorists, and hero Finbar Donahue goes slowly lest the terrorist gores him. The romance is great also-- genuine, hot, making you blush. I also enjoyed the settings of Lake Arrowhead, California and Malahide Village, Ireland as Finn and Amy chase after a money laundering trail. Deadly Alliance is both a thriller and romance. There’s also humor thrown in. ~ Reader, Amazon

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Good Reading
This is a well-paced, action packed story that I greatly enjoyed. I found the plot complex and well layered – and while I guessed a few aspects there were still a number of surprises that delighted me and I didn’t see coming. I enjoyed sifting through everyone’s actions and motivations to try and find the “bad guys”. With so many strong secondary characters and the author’s suspenseful plotting I found this a highly interesting, convoluted story that I truly enjoyed . . . The romance between Amy and Finn is also thick with chemistry and sizzling tension. While there is sexual intimacy in the book and more than a few steamy kisses – everything of an erotic nature happens “off camera”. I feel the author has done an amazing job of making the relationship between Amy and Finn passionate enough that spicy readers will enjoy it, but also subtle enough that more traditional readers won’t feel as if too much has been exposed. Overall I found this a deeply complex, thoroughly interesting and entertaining read. ~ LAS Reviewer, Amazon

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