Started very slowly. Thought I'd got a Mills and Boon to begin with but once it started to have other aspects to the story it became highly implausible and far fetched.

Never downloaded. Been having trouble with books downloading. Would still like a copy to read and review.

Counterterrorism operative messes up then goes back to his old gardening business and conveniently falls in love with his client. Then things go completely pear shaped when the son of his client is abducted.
The story takes off at a pace and I thoroughly enjoyed the tense plot and also the emotional struggles of our hero leading man.
A great read and glad I was lucky enough to receive an ARC from NetGalley

Is CTU operative, John Brown, is forced to resign after one of his operations leaves two innocent people dead and a child without a father. His career looking impossible, he goes back to the Cotswolds to figure out what to do next. He literally goes back, reluctantly, to gardening with his best friend and reevaluates his return to counterterrorism. Finally happy, he reevaluates going back to his old life
That peace and fulfilment is shattered when his new girlfriends son is kidnapped by terrorists.

This is the setup to the book and it’s a decent one. I felt that a lot of it was contrived and played to stereotypes, but there was enough action and suspense to keep me engaged throughout. Especially the last 1/3 or so. Overall, worth a read.

The Reluctant Gardener starts off slow as we see the struggles and consequences of mistakes in high pressure jobs.

However, it has moments of real action that keep you reading with a great twist thrown in for good measure. It’s not a page turner throughout but certainly worth a read.

Well written book. The writing style was gripping and engaging. The plot twists kept me engaged until the very end. The main character's motivations and actions are not always what they seem.