Lieutenant Colonel Brenna Duggan is a dedicated career Air Force officer who takes it personally when an enlisted man dies under her command. Notifying the pregnant Janeen Lang that her husband, Staff Sergeant Andy Lang, has died in a sleazy Panama bar is one of the most difficult tasks of Brenna's career. The task is not made any easier by the fact that Brenna has determined that Lang's death was not in the line of duty -- thus depriving Janeen of certain military benefits.

Janeen's faith in her husband and her unwavering belief that the apparently lurid circumstances surrounding his death are not possible lead Brenna to investigate more closely. Brenna admires Janeen's courage and conviction and wants to help her uncover the truth.

Before long, Brenna's in-depth investigation begins to uncover irregularities. One of those irregularities is former military pilot, now U.S. Customs Officer, Dave Sanderson. Brenna becomes convinced that Sanderson is somehow related to Sgt. Lang's death. But her strong attraction to the cynical ex-pilot threatens to compromise her investigation.

Worse, Brenna's investigation threatens to put her career in jeopardy when she fails to follow a direct order to drop the case. And an attempt on Janeen's life only convinces Brenna that she cannot abandon her new friend.

This is definitely a book for readers interested in the military. After a while all the military jargon, acronyms and detailed descriptions of Brenna's duties became the focal point of the story.

To me, a romantic suspense novel in which the reader is able to figure out where the story-line is heading long before the supposedly intelligent colonel is lacking a key element -- suspense. Couple that with a complete lack of surprise in the unveiling of the villain, and the reader is left with only one element -- romance.

Unfortunately, the romance was rather disappointing as well. The relationship between Dave and Brenna appeared to be based on an animal attraction between two strong-willed, rather unsympathetic people who really didn't seem to like, or even respect, each other. Frankly, I'm not sure what Brenna found appealing about Dave apart from how he looked in jeans. And Brenna was portrayed as so independent and strong that a man really had no place in her life (except in her bed.)

I had another problem with the characterizations in Line of Duty: One of the secondary characters was more interesting, more likable, even more courageous than the heroine. Through most of the book I was just waiting until Janeen Lang appeared, and I found that I was much more concerned with her well-being than with any of the other characters.

If you are interested in the military and prefer adventurous sex to tender romance,Line of Duty probably has something to offer. But it should not be mistaken for a novel of romantic suspense.

--Dede Anderson