Secret Investigation by Elizabeth Heiter
Tactical Crime Division #2

The TCD is called in to find out why the body armor supplied to soldiers failed and so many were killed. Davis Rogers is to head up the team looking into Petrov and will end up going in undercover as Leila Petrov’s assistant. There are at least three viable suspects that are being considered. Melinda and Kane are helping out in a side investigation that overlaps the one Davis is working on and their situation is also complicated by...feelings.

What I liked:
* Davis: an army ranger who gives his all to the job and is focused on finding out why the armor failed and his friend died. He is also interested in the chemistry between him and Leila.
* The side story of Melinda and Kane – do want to know how that will turn out...maybe in another book in the series.
* The concept of the series and getting to know the various team members
* Knowing that there will be more books in the series
* That the bad guy was found
* That Leila & Davis have potential for the future

What I did not like:
* The bad guy
* The group that was buying from Petrov on the down-low
* The times I would think, “Would it really happen like that?

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in the series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Intrigue for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

Elizabeth Heiter brings us an old-fashioned whodunit with SECRET INVESTIGATION. Davis Rogers is an FBI agent in the Tactical Crime Division, and his team is investigating a contractor selling inferior body armor to the military. CEO Leila Petrov becomes his reluctant partner in the search for the culprit of the inside job. The romance takes a backseat in this suspense, but it’s a quick, light read from a new-to-me author. If you’re like my husband, who’s spending the hour or so between the end of the workday and dinner binging mystery and crime shows during the quarantine (especially if you like the NCIS franchise), check out this Tactical Crime Division four-book series. They’re quick reads, and much lighter than most of the romantic suspenses I typically read.

*Originally published at Frolic: https://frolic.media/april-romantic-suspense-must-reads/

Secret Investigation is book 2 in the Tactical Crime Division series. It can stand alone but I recommend the series. These are fast-paced, suspenseful reads that take me out of my day-to-day life. I tend not to watch television crime shows but I’ve grown to enjoy reading books of the genre, especially this series.

The TCD (a rapid-deployment joint team of FBI agents specializing in hostage negotiation, missing persons, IT, profiling, shootings and terrorism) is called to investigate the manufacturer of what turned out to be inferior body armor. One member, Davis Rogers, will go undercover as assistant to the company CEO while other team members work to solve the crime of what looks like purposeful negligence. Leila, daughter of the company founder, finds herself in a position of disbelief upon learning her company is responsible for the deaths of American military. She doesn’t know who could be responsible and then she doesn’t know who she can trust. People around her are acting suspiciously. Will she be able to trust Davis and allow him to solve the mystery? I thought this was a solid addition to the series. I had a list of suspects but wasn’t sure who did the crime (that’s my usual experience with this genre, ha). Overall I liked it and recommend to fans of romantic suspense and a quick read.

This is the second book in a planned four book series within the Tactical Crime Division (TCD). I totally read them out of order. I still need to order the first one, then I read the third one and now I read the second one. So, I guess they can be read as stand-alone and totally make sense...but I normally choose to read them in order. Somewhere along the way, I was not paying attention. I was particularly looking forward to this one because I enjoy Elizabeth Heiter’s Harlequin Intrigue books. Her books got me hooked on Romantic Suspense and now here we are…

This fast-paced book will hook you from the first page and you won’t be able to put it down until the end. Leila is the CEO of Petrov Armor and she is being investigated for selling faulty body armor to soldiers *gasp*. Leila is a young CEO of such a large company, so she feels like she constantly has to prove herself and this incident is not helping matters. Leila is willing to let Agent Davis Rogers go undercover and investigate whether or not the faulty armor is really from her company. Things are pretty personal for Davis because one of his close friends died from the faulty armor. The immediate attraction to Leila creates a lot of conflicting feelings on both sides.

Leila is sure it cannot be anyone at her company that is responsible for the faulty, but she lets Davis investigate. She is also doing her own investigation. Cracks start to appear within the company’s ranks and the intrigue is definitely climbing. The mystery and action is definitely exciting and the romance brewing between our two protagonists is believable and exciting. Readers will find themselves rooting for Leila and Davis. This is definitely a great addition to the series. You will probably want to end up reading all four of the books.

Leila is the CEO of Petrov Armor and it seems that there is some amiss in her company. Davis Rogers is the one undercover trying to get to the bottom of the armor sold to those he was close to that ended up faulty leading to thier deaths. Leila is more then willing to let him investigate whats going on because this is a family owned company and is sure no one she knows is at fault.

I love a good mystery novel. I loved watching as the investigation went on. At first Davis isn't sure if Leila's sweet demeanor is a truth one that maybe she is behind what happens and if she isn't who is? I loved watching as they uncover the mystery and find something much bigger at work. I loved seeing that bit of romance with the mystery it did keep things interesting besides the whole mystery. I loved that there was so much going on that it kept me on my toes and interested. Overall great book I really enjoyed it. Can't wait to see whats in store for the next book in this series.

I'm loving this series and I loved this instalment.
It's gripping and entertaining, the characters are well thought and the plot kept me hooked till the end.
A more complete review will follow.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

In this thrilling book Secret Investigation, Davis Rogers is sent undercover to Petrov Armor to try and discover why body armor was defective, resulting in the deaths of American soldiers, including one of his friends. He is not sure he is the man for the job because when the FBI, who oversee the specialized Tactical Crime Division (TCI), investigated Petrov Armor, he felt an immediate attraction to the company's CEO.

As CEO of Petrov Armor, Leila Petrov is happy that her company was not found at fault for the armor, although she is saddened by the loss of lives. Imagine her shock when she discovers that an FBI agent she previously met is sent in undercover to further investigate her company. She doesn't want Davis there. It doesn't help that she is attracted to him, but more so, and most certainly far more important, she cannot believe that any equipment that left her company could be found at fault.

There are only a few people Leila's company who could be responsible for any faulty armor, her uncle, her ex, who is the company's salesman, or the head of R & D. It doesn't take very long for Davis to begin to see through the cracks that one of these people is responsible, not only for the equipment failure, but for the death of Leila's father, which was very recent.

This fast-paced story kept me on my toes. On the one hand, just as each story in this series offers, there is the romance that develops between the primary protagonists. That is not the focus, however. Instead, quite a bit of emotion is at play in these sweet romantic suspense books and this builds up slowly. What is primary in this story is the intrigue and the danger. Every time I was certain who was the guilty party, I was thrown off guard. As the book reached a shocking conclusion I all but held my breath. What an excellent job Elizabeth Heiter did with this book! It is the perfect companion to what is certain to be a very successful series.

Many thanks to Harlequin Intrigue and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

This book begins with the unthinkable, an act of greed that will make you angry, but why and who is responsible?
One of the FBI agents called into investigate this horrible crime is Davis Rogers, and for him this is personal, he knew one of the victims, and he wants justice!
We also meet the young CEO of the company that is responsible for making the armor,Leila Petrov, and she is soon involved in the investigation, but, you wonder if she is involved?
My mind ran the gamut of who would have done horrible deed, and why, and the deeper we go, the more your ideas change and why?
This one will keep you riveted page turning for the answers!

I received this book through the Publisher Harlequin, and was not required to give a positive review.

This series follows the people who form part of the TCD – a specialized unit of the FBI. With a mix of tactical and technical expertise, the characters are the best of the best. Although part of a mini-series, I like the each of the four books can be read as a stand alone novel.

Secret Investigation is the second book of the series and follows Davis Rogers – an ex-ranger is the US army - as he looks to seek out who is behind the failure of miliary armoured vests which took the life of his friend. Going undercover inside Petrov Armor is risky and he wasn’t expecting CEO Leila Petrov to be quite as sassy and attractive as she is.

The story was a little bit of a stretch and I’m a little annoyed that we didn’t learn anyting about Davis at all as a character, but this as good solid quick read, great for anyone who enjoys this genre. It has all the chemistry of a Harlequin novel, but with added action and drama. Secret Investigation will appeal to anyone who likes their romance to have plenty of action in the story as well as in relationships.

Also, I can’t wait to see what Melinda and Kane’s story will bring so I hope that one is coming down the line in this series. For me they added much more of an interesting pairing and I’m interested to see what Heiter has in store for them.