Going Under by Maryn Scott is an intriguing mystery and suspense novel with a good dose of angst-ridden romance mixed in. I’m glad I was able to read this novel for several reasons.
This is a chilling and suspenseful story.
The two main characters meet when they are both requited by a new and shadowy intelligence agency called LASA (Latin American Security Agency)
Dr. Patricia Reynolds and Dr. Maeve Quinn both agree to join the group and are tasked with finding students from their universities LASA can use as agents to infiltrate drug cartels in Latin America. Reynolds and Quinn are attracted to each other, but there are major hurdles getting in their way. A few of the secondary characters seemed very familiar, and it didn’t take me long to realize that this novel is a companion story to Ms. Scott’s last book, Talented Amateur. The student Patricia recruits to work as an agent is Anna Flores, the main character in Talented Amateur, which shows Anna’s time with the cartel and how she meets Peel Primm, her true love. Peel is also an important secondary character in this novel. I really enjoyed how these two stories melded together. It actually makes both tales seem more realistic.
The second half of Going Under has most of the nail-biting action scenes in the narrative. The first half had a few places that seemed to lag just a bit. But to be fair, there was a lot of information that had to be introduced in the first half for the second half of the book to make sense. It is necessary though, so keep reading. You will be glad you did.
Both of these novels are great standalone stories. You don’t have to read one first to enjoy the other. I recommend both as wonderful mystery and intrigue novels with romance in both tales.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bella Books for an honest review.
Rainbow Reflections 