A review by reanne
The End Game by J.T. Ellison, Catherine Coulter

3.0

Better than the second but not as good as the first. The plot in this one was the most realistic so far, with villains straight out of real life. A little too real to be comfortable, IMO. The plot had a few things that were predictable, but not as many as the second book. Considering the overall conservative vibe I've been getting from this series so far, I was really disappointed when they did the cliche thing where the two leads "get together" by having mad sex rather than proceeding at a more old-fashioned rate. Plus, it makes me a little worried about what the dynamic will be with them in future books. If they'd gone the slow burn, courtship, old-fashioned, everything in the right order route, the romantic/sexual tension could have continued even as their relationship progressed. By blowing up all that tension in a big "they're having sex now and everyone's totally cool with it!" plot development, that's one part of the plot that they can no longer build and tease. All that momentum has been spent. That, I think, is one reason that so many shows/series are known for getting bad once the main couple "gets together". I think that was a misstep on the authors' part. But, I am interested to see this new covert unit that they get. Seeing how that goes (as well as the return of a character from a previous book) is enough to make me interested in continuing the series, even if I am really disappointed at the sexual turn the relationship between Nick and Mike has taken.