Tsunami by L. T. Ryan and Brian Shea is Book 9 in A Rachel Hatch Novel Series.
How do you begin a review when you loved the story until the ending? I would've given this novel 4 and 1/2 stars until I read the ending. I hated the ending. It was cruel and indicative of heading a different direction from what the reader had been set up to believe in previous books to finally gain some satisfaction. But, no, it was a complete turnaround from all that had been implied by those previous stories. And I hated it.
It felt like a ploy for a future book to begin a new series which I'd planned to read regarding the underlying hero in the previous novels. Now? I doubt I'll start that series.
Immersed in the character Rachel Hatch (aka "Hatch"), second only to my favorite heroine Raleigh Harmon, both of these leading ladies have suffered the tragic losses of their fathers, have had difficult relationships with their mothers, and are as tough as they come until the depth of their emotional chaos surfaces. Hatch is military grade, a tough operator even after enduring her physical scars that stretch the length of her right arm. She's suppressed her emotions for years to be ready to carry out heroic acts after considering herself a failure at the one where a good friend died.
Hatch is reunited with her previous romantic interest Cruise and together they work for a private protection company called Talon. The romance has become one-sided for Cruise, and he's noticed Hatch's distance from that part of their lives. Their assignment is to be extra protection for a Japanese billionaire (and his young daughter) who plans to revamp an idle nuclear plant on the Oregon coast. It's noted that a group of protestors will be there and might possibly try to interfere. That interference comes quickly and successfully. And when it comes down to Hatch being the primary one to stop the event, she hesitates.
In one respect this story is about Hatch's hesitations. It's about making those split-second decisions that amount to life and death outcomes. When called upon to do that, she's equipped and ready to execute except for when there's a real reason not to make certain decisions which seem obvious. Those hesitations are caused by emotional chaos at point of contact, and they've cost her personal peace every time. Her guilt is enormous, her torturous afterthoughts immense.
Perhaps the longest hesitation of her life costs her the most when, after tragedy and trauma, she makes the decision she knows she wants.
A Rachel Hatch Novel Series will continue, but, for me, this climactic story took a wrong – and perhaps convenient – turn, pointing to a lack of creativity for continuing in the direction it seemed to be aiming.
Father, thank you for all those you've gifted with the skills to tell stories. Please continue to bless these two authors in their partnership and individual books. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
