A Novel with Thoughts and Ponderings

BREAKING THE RULES

Author: Suzanne Brockmann ISBN: 9780345521224 4/2011 SUSPENSE Publisher: BALLANTINE

Breaking the Rules by Suzanne Brockmann
Izzy Zanella wasn’t looking for another reason to butt heads with his Navy SEAL teammate, and nemesis, Danny Gillman. But then he met Danny’s beautiful younger sister, Eden. When she needed it most, he offered her a place to stay, a shoulder to cry on—and more. And when she got pregnant with another man’s child, he offered her marriage. But Eden’s devastating miscarriage shattered their life together—and made the intense bad blood between Izzy and Danny even worse.

Now Eden’s back, and she’s on a mission to rescue her teen brother, Ben, from their abusive stepfather. Even if she and Izzy can prove that their broken marriage is still in one piece, winning legal custody of Ben is a long shot. But they’re not alone: Danny and his girlfriend, Jenn, offer to help, and he and Izzy agree to bury the past and fight for Ben’s future.

As they plan their strategy, Izzy and Eden grapple with the raw passion that still crackles between them—while Danny and Jenn confront new depths in their own rocky relationship. But events take a terrifying turn after Ben befriends a girl fleeing a child prostitution ring. When the young runaway seeks refuge with Eden and Izzy, her pursuers kidnap Ben—and a deadly standoff begins. Now they must all pull together like never before and strike back, swift and hard, to protect their unconventional little family and everything they hold most precious.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS: 4 Rose Read

It’s finally here!  A long-time fan of Suzanne Brockmann’s work, I eagerly anticipate each new release.  In BREAKING THE RULES, Brockmann delivers a standard thrilling Team 16/Troubleshooters novel in every good way that statement can be interpreted.  With her usual skill, Brockmann takes several storylines, ties them together, and lets the reader follow each path to the explosive conclusion. And fans of her books know that I mean explosive literally.

Izzy and Eden are sympathetic characters that I’ve loved since they were introduced.  In their story, you can’t help but hope they can move past the things that have gone wrong in their relationship.  Izzy remains dedicated to Eden, despite their estrangement, and we finally get to see things from Eden’s side concerning how their relationship got to its current point.  While well written, it’s sad to see them hurting each other because each believes the other wants to end their marriage.  In addition to Izzy and Eden attempting to find their way back to each other, the story features Danny Gillman and Jennilyn LeMay in the secondary spot, with little brother Ben Gillman and runaway Neesha (non-romantic) pulling in third.  Each storyline has its unique characteristics and issues, but fit in easily with the overall picture.

Christina Baker

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