Abby is the police chief in the small town of Belclare, Maryland. After making a major drug bust, she becomes the target of a sleeper terrorist cell operating in her small town. Riley is an undercover agent sent to Belclare to protect the pretty police chief unbeknownst to her. He's working undercover as a carpenter helping the town decorate and set up for their annual Christmas Village. He rents the house next door to Abby and as the two get to know one another Abby suspects there is much more to the handsome handyman than meets the eye.

This was an enjoyable story. Riley and Abby made a great pair who worked well together and they had terrific chemistry. Abby was a very strong heroine who didn't back down from the threats coming her way but faced them head-on. She wasn't going to let anything happen to her town or its citizens. Riley was a fantastic hero, trying to keep to the sidelines as not to give away his true purpose there, but still always there right when Abby needed him. Well-paced story that had some very intense moments of suspense. Very entertaining. ( )

In Webb and Regan’s romantic suspense novel, CIA covert Specialist Riley O’Brien is on a mission to protect police Chief Abigail Jensen from a terrorist. Assuming the identity of a handyman and occupying the house next to hers, Riley easily slips into his new role and finds himself not just fighting terrorists, but passion as well.

A fast-paced thrilling first installment to the spinoff series The Specialists: Heroes Next Door. ( )

Contemporary, Romantic Suspense

Belclare, Maryland

While the town is celebrating the season of hope it seems someone isn’t enjoying the season and is out for blood. Abigail Jensen is the police chief and she is determined to keep her town safe from harm. She is also trying to avoid falling too hard for the new guy next door, Riley. Abigail has to decide who she can trust because trusting the wrong person, especially someone with deep secrets, can be deadly.

Riley O’Brien is an agent with the CIA’s covert Specialist task force and he is on a mission. He needs to protect a small-town cop from a terrorist. No matter what. He has traded his identity for an undercover guise. Riley is a handyman which is all part of the plan. What isn’t part of the plan is getting too close to Abigail on both a personal and passionate level.

This is a great romantic suspense story that starts out fast and doesn’t stop until the very end. The characters are complex and interesting and make for a story that is hard to put down. As the clues and story unfold it makes for a story that pulls readers in and they try to figure out just what everyone’s angle is and who can be trusted. The reader never knows what will happen next and how everything will turn out. This is the start of a spin off series that will have readers that haven’t read the original series wanting to read that and also want to read the other books in this series. This is a different romantic suspense series that makes for a read that is hard to forget even when the reader is done with the book. ( )

Very good book with action and suspense from the very beginning. Abby is a police chief who spearheaded the capture of a drug shipment that was being used to finance a cell of terrorists. After making a public statement that she wouldn't put up with that kind of trouble in her town it comes to the attention of people high up that she's stirred up a hornet's nest. One of those people is the head of the CIA's Specialists group, who assigns Riley to go undercover to protect Abby and the town.

Riley is the first of the operatives to be assigned to a new type of mission. These are long term assignments with no known end date. He goes into this assignment knowing that he will be in Belclare for a very long time. He has a hard time getting close to Abby at the beginning because of all the work she's doing. Once he moves into the house next door it gets a bit easier. He doesn't expect the attraction that he feels for her.

Abby is fighting for the safety of her town. She has to worry about the threats she has been receiving from an unknown source, and also about what may happen during the town's Christmas festival. There are members of the town who are fighting against the safety measures she's trying to implement and others who blame her for all the trouble. One of the construction people who is working on the festival preparations seems to be constantly underfoot and she isn't sure whether she can trust him. She's also attracted to him, and she worries that it is distracting her from what she should be doing.

The suspense is constant from the very beginning. We know who the bad guy is from the start, as some of the story is told from his viewpoint. Even if it hadn't been revealed I would have suspected him, as I just found him kind of creepy and smarmy. The intensity of the attacks on the town and on Abby's peace of mind keeps escalating. I loved seeing how Riley worked to be there when Abby needed him. As the days went on Riley had to figure out how to protect Abby without giving away who he really was. In spite of the secrets, Riley and Abby made a great team. There are two confrontations at the end that are quite intense, and though I knew they would turn out the right way the suspense of how it was going to happen kept me riveted to the pages.

I loved Abby's strength of will when it came to doing her job. She wasn't going to just roll over and let the bad guys win. She has a good brain and the ability to figure things out. She starts out suspicious of Riley, but quickly comes to trust him, even though she doesn't understand why she does. She wavers a bit toward the end, but the trust does win out. I also loved Riley. He had grown up as an orphan but made a place for himself in the Specialist family. When he takes this mission, he finds that he likes the small town life and the sense of family that is there. He's surprised by the intensity of his growing feelings for Abby and feels badly about not being able to tell her the truth. I really liked seeing Abby realize that it was okay to lean on Riley for help and support, that she didn't have to do it all by herself. And I loved seeing Riley get a chance at the love and family he'd never had before. ( )