If you're up for the usual Christine Feehan shenanigans---then you'll probably will love this. All the tropes she loves and uses are here in full force: the uber-possessive ultra-controlling man, the woman he loves, the team full of folks with enhanced capabilities, the terrible bad guy, etc. These are bleak books with a bleak world view, and sometimes that's how I feel about the world. But sometimes it's just a little too much.

Number 14 in the Ghostwalker series, clearly Ms. Feehan knows her craft well. It is not necessary to have read the previous books as explanations are given for who and what the characters are in this world of physically and psychically enhanced elite super soldiers, scientists, and spies. COVERT GAME is an action thriller series with paranormal elements.

Zara Hightower was raised in a compound by the creator of all these super enhanced people and still works for him though not willingly. Dr. Whitney seems to be a decidedly evil Dr. Frankenstein type of fellow who only cares for his own work and glory. Zara’s skill is industrial espionage and developing artificial intelligence. She is a genius at what she does on both fronts being able to communicate telepathically with computers. Zara’s assignment to infiltrate the data network of a Chinese crime lord turns into a mélange of torture and suffering before she is rescued by members of the Ghostwalker team who have left Whitney’s control. One of the members, Gino Mazza, a doctor, but also antithetically an assassin, sets out to save Grace from the psychopathic businessman holding her hostage in Shanghai. Once rescued, she needs much physical and emotional healing while staying in the Fontenot compound deep in the swamps of Louisiana. Zara is too valuable of an asset to be left alone by the sadistic Zhu or Whitney, so several attempts are made to recover her with deadly consequences. Gino sees Zara as the woman who will rescue him as well from his own personal darkness. She is his to love and protect which he will do with his own life if necessary.

This story is a very intense ride with some very gritty elements of torture and abuse juxtaposed with a group of people, the renegade Ghostwalkers, who have overcome their own difficult situations becoming a family that cares for and protects one another. Clearly, Ms. Feehan really does her research well. In this case not only artificial intelligence, but the seamy underworld of human trafficking in countries where the monsters are not paranormals; but, humans who use and abuse others with seeming impunity.

I'm not going to lie, I almost quit this book. Four chapters in and I was still overwhelmed with all the characters being introduced and the situations summed up from previous books. I should know better than to pick book #14 in a series but I like Christine Feehan so I picked Covert Games. Readers who've read previous books will certainly not have this problem.

Freehan writes imaginative stories with intriguing characters though and I'm glad I stuck with this book. I like that the Ghostwalkers are humans as we know it but they're not exactly paranormals either. They're just superhumans which was an interesting touch.

The story is gritty. Lots of unpleasant situations (cringe-worthy and stomach-churning !) and horrible characters (by design is not badly written) of the sort you never want to meet in real life and make for tense, suspenseful action.

Gino is sexy and demanding and someone comes off as caring instead of controlling which was good. I found Zara surprisingly identifiable, very surprisingly. At some level, even the strongest of women can find themselves hoping for a guy to make her life easier by taking charge. Archaic and anti-feminist as that may seem.

Read the other books first and add to your enjoyment of this well-developed story.

Reviewed by Jem

Title: Covert Game
Series: Ghostwalkers Book #14
Stand Alone Title: yes, but recommended in order
Author: Christine Feehan
Genre: Romance, Paranormal
Blurb: Treason, torture and temptation haunt the GhostWalkers in their most dangerous adventure yet, as Christine Feehan's #1 New York Times bestselling series hits an explosive new high.

Rescuing an industrial spy from the hands of a criminal mastermind is a suicide mission for the GhostWalkers. And there's no one more up to the task than Gino Mazza. He's the perfect killing machine--a man driven by demons so dark and destructive that his blighted soul has given up trying to find solace. But his laser-sharp focus on his target has transformed into something nearing desire.

A treasonous senator dangled top secret GhostWalker data in front of a Chinese crime lord, and he bit. Zara Hightower, one of the world's leading experts on artificial intelligence, was sent in to psychically wipe the crime lord's computer network. She succeeded, but at a huge cost. Now she's the captive of a man who has descended into paranoid madness. Torture and death await her...

But GhostWalkers never leave one of their own in enemy territory. And it's up to Gino to save Zara, or kill her if it turns out she's led them into a trap. Either way, heaven or hell won't stop him...
Thoughts: This is one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read from Feehan in a good long while. I love the Ghostwalker series and have since the very first book, Shadow Game. Of course, all readers have their favorites in each series, and I’ve loved some more than others….however, Covert Game seemed to have more of the old Christine Feehan magic to it that I have come to miss in some of her newer releases. Feehan is an amazing writer, and I am so excited that I am able to get back into her books again. As one of my favorite authors of paranormal romances, I am extremely happy to add her to my one-click buy list again!
Excellent addition by Feehan!
Rating: A

Zara is on a mission to protect the other Ghostwalkers. But when she is only partially successful will it lead to her death?
Covert Game is the latest installment in Christine Feehan’s Ghostwalker series. Zara doesn’t believe she is much of a ghostwalker but she will do whatever is necessary to protect them. Gino embraced the darkness and loved the enhancements. But is he too dark for a happily ever after? Gino finds himself longing for a partner and something about Zara calls to him but can she be trusted? I loved finding out. I also enjoyed seeing Gino and Zara find their way. Both Gino and Zara were a bit of a throwback, but their needs meshed perfectly. Having the space and time to see how well would be their issue. I loved that Ms. Feehan allowed Gino to see Zara and her needs. They were different but fit what he wanted to have in a relationship. I loved that Ms. Feehan showed us Zara’s strength even as her needs dictated leaning on her man. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Zara come into her own as a woman as one half of a couple. This story was well written and enjoyable. The characters are vibrant, funny and real. This story by Ms. Feehan is a great addition to this series and I can’t wait to see where she will take us next.

Christine Feehan returns to her GhostWalkers world with Covert Game.

As usual, I was fascinated by this world. This is actually my favorite Christine Feehan series and it has been since I read the first book. Gino turned out to be one of the most compelling characters which was a complete surprise to me. He was just so intense. I loved the way he was with Zara. I loved Zara because she was one of those female characters who didn't know her own strength. She was a surprise too and I loved how much she grew iinto her own kind of bad ass warrior. Of course, this plot was suspenseful and loaded with action and steamy sex. Christine Feehan threw a couple of twists in here and there to keep the plotline strong. Everything just unfolded perfectly, like always.

I was very pleased with this book. Christine Feehan is a magical storyteller and the GhostWalker world remains rich with possibilities and fascinating characters ripe for future books. I really hope the series continues for many more books to come .... I simply must read Joe's book so that's what I'm hoping for the next GhostWalker book.

The Ghostwalker series is my absolute favorite of Christine Feehan's novels. I really like the over-arching concept of a megalomanical, uber-rich guy that is abusing his power to 'better the world.' It also combine this with the smart, scientist crazy theory of 'the end justifies the means' when it comes to going overboard in what should and shouldn't' be done in the scientific world. These two things in one crazy person who has an overblown ego and hates women, makes for a pretty awesome villain. Throw in patriotism and corporate spying to the mix and you get some crazy hops to jump.

Covert Game is the newest book in this series, and it was great to finally see a female character that has a history with a previous couple. Most of the time the new females introduced (the men we've met already), come from unique backgrounds or they end up with men from the different military units working so while they get to visit others they may know, they don't interact to this level. Zara is unique in that she grew up with Bella (from Power Game), but she is one of the first females that has almost no military expertise. She has been trained for it all, but has real problems following through. But since her smarts are Whitney-level smart or better and her natural talent is with computers, she's the perfect corporate spy for Whitney.

I loved the dynamic between Zara and Gino. It was very unique from the previous novels. Zara's learning about the world was also very different, because Whitney had sent her to school to become a world famous scientist. She had to learn more about family and relationships and had to deal with her jealousy of her relationship with Bella being different now. It was different from previous novels and really enjoyable.

This book had way too much torture and way too much sex. For an writer whom I usually read in one sitting, I found myself skipping large sections

The latest in this series is terrific! I can't recommend this highly enough. I wait impatiently for the next one.

I really found Gino an easy man to like, "he gave her another small, reassuring smile. “I’m hell on wheels as a surgeon, baby, and that’s me bragging, pounding my chest and acting like an egomaniac just to impress you.” Gino was so alpha, “I love the way you look laid out like this on my bed, sexy as eff, woman. I’m warning you right now, as of today, things are changing between us.” He smoothed his hand over her buttocks..." The man is just so bossy, “you’re my effing woman, Zara. What the heck do you think it means? And we’re getting married as soon as I can arrange it.” I liked this book, I fell in love with Gino.

It was so great to read this book! In the back of Judgement Road, which I also got from NetGalley (I'm so lucky and thankful!) there was the first chapter of this book, and I read it, was was just so hooked, and I wanted to know what was going to happen next, because Zara was in a really bad situation! And that I was approved right away, so that was fantastic, so of course I had to read it!

Zara thought herself a coward, because she didn't like pain, she wasn't a warrior woman, and Whitney really put her down, because he has a poor view of women, and didn't like others being anywhere near as smart as he was. But she wasn't, she didn't break, even when there was so much pain. And she was protective. She was just fantastic!

In case you've forgotten, like I did, Gino is a member of team 4, and he's a lot like Trap, or at least, in the romantic relationship he wanted. Zara wanted safety, and they were a great partnership together. And something that came up in this book because Bellisia was protective of Zara, is that every partnership is different. Different people want different things, and that's OK!

I have three complaints. The first is, multiple times, the ladies were referred as wives of GhostWalkers, instead of being GhostWalkers themselves. So yeah, that kinda sucked. The other, is that Gino just thought that they'd just have kids, no problem. But there's such a thing as infertility, and given that they've both been experimented on, could cause the odds of being infertile up or down, depending. There's been one or two couples who won't have kids, but the way that he thought/said it, with such confidence, when he doesn't know whether it'll be that easy, and when other couples in the world struggle...yeah. I didn't like it! The final one, is that if it happened, we didn't see the bad guy being told that Zara didn't break. The knowledge that she took the information and didn't break, telling the guy that hurt her that, would've been so perfect, and it didn't happen! Bah!

Yeah, this book was just fantastic, and I can't wait for the next one, maybe it'll be Shylah's book, friend of Zara and Bellisia, who it was hinted could be paired with a guy from a different team, which would be great, given that this is the 4th book, and in a row, of the 4th team!

As a huge fan of author Christine Feehan's incredible GhostWalker series, I knew this book would be outstanding. Can I say I was right? This incredible tale tells the story of Gino and Zara, two very strong, emotionally scarred characters that I fell head over heels for. Zara Hightower is an incredible woman. Having been trained as a GhostWalker herself, she has learned the world of Artificial Intelligence inside and out. She speaks to companies around the world on her advancements in the field. A meeting request from a shady Chinese business leader has her traveling to Beijing. She excepts to give a speech to his employees. What she gets is captured and tortured for days as he suspects her of sabotaging his entire company files. Gino knows that, to rescue her, it's going to take a lot. Men, muscle, and brains will be needed, as well as the GhostWalker special skillsets. It's a nonstop roller coaster ride of adventure and intrigue, as well as love and pain. I will say it is not a book for squeamish readers. Now I'm off, to go find the rest of the series!

Feehan does not disappoint!! Parts were a bit graphic but so interesting! I always enjoy a Christine Feehan title!

I am really enjoying the books in this Ghostwalkers series. Ghostwalkers are special enhanced soldiers which enables them to do amazing things. Gino and his team are sent in to rescue Zara. She's been captured by the enemy and tortured. Gino doesn't want to kill her but he may have to if she's a double agent. Zara wants nothing to do with the enemy and when Gino saves her she finds someone who she can finally feel safe with. Great series!

Covert Game is the latest book in Christine Feehan's "Ghostwalker Series" and I love it! You could probably read this as a stand alone novel but if your new to Christine Feehan's "Ghostwalker Series" I would recommend reading the previous titles, they are just as amazing as this one, but as I was saying Covert Game is an amazing book, it is the story of Gino and Zara. Both Gino and Zara were part of the experimental program that created the Ghostwalkers, but they have both had a very hard road. Gino lost his entire family to greed and it left him very bitter and it also made him very controlling and protective of does he loves and Zara has know noting her entire life but pain and suffering, but everything changes when Gino rescues her from a mad man and both Gino and Zara realize that they are meant for each other. The road is not an easy one as Gino tries to deal with the demon's from his past and Zara has to deal with some very evil man who will do whatever it takes to take her from Gino and do with her as they please. This is an amazing story of love as Gino fights to protect Zara and give her the love and family that they both so need!

Dark, edgy, and at times violent, Gino and Zara's story is engrossing and will grab you by the edge of your throat. I enjoyed the relationship between the two of them and it was interesting to have a heroine who wanted house and home, and not being a warrior. Her discussions with her friend and The different views of feminism are very now. At times Gino scraped a little close to the edge of being a jerk for my liking, but Zara balanced that out.
Strong story with unique characters.

Loved this book! It brings us back to ghostwalker team four and Bellisia's closest friend Zara. Zara is captured by Cheng and tortured until Gino and team four rescue her. Gino Mazzo has spent his whole life in shadows protecting Joe Spagnola and trying not to give in to the darkness inside him. With Zara he finds light in the world and a reason to keep fighting...his matched mate. They make a wonderful pair that find what a partner means to them and don't let the world dictate their love. So good!