Title: Hell Dogs Squadron 2: Angle of Attack
Author: A.R. Moler
Publisher: Torquere Books
Genre: M/M Contemporary Military Romance
Length: 41 pages
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
A guest review by Jenre
THE BLURB
Lt. Cameron Bradshaw is languishing on the compound of Division P recovering from his motorcycle accident. Dr. Mason Flynn is going through the motions of work while he secretly frets over thoughts of the injured pilot. When Mason suspects someone has broken into his house, the people responsible for a stolen missile and Cam’s accident escalate the affair, and soon Mason is running for his life. Can Cam save Mason from an assassination attempt?
THE REVIEW
On the whole I liked this second part of the Hell Dogs Squadron trilogy, but did feel like it was a middle part of a novella rather than a story in its own right. You can’t read it without having read the first story and it ends on a cliff hanger which in no way could be called a resolution.
The story begins with Mason, the orthopaedic surgeon from book one, mooching about and wondering what to make of the time he spent with navy pilot and fellow psi, Cam. He then notices that some of the things in his house have been moved and put back in a different way to normal. When Cam phones him, and Mason tells him that he fears someone has been in his house, Cam tells him that he’s going to come and get him to keep him safe. It seems that Cam’s attack and the death of his room mate from the first story have been linked with a piece of missing weaponry and that Mason may also be in danger. These fears prove to be right when Mason is shot at and has to run for his life.
This story is mostly about Mason and his recovery from being shot and how being a psi affects his recovery. We are also introduced to Peter, another psi healer, who is interested in Mason’s ability. The story keeps up a swift pace most of the way through as we are treated to almost an immediate action sequence followed by Mason’s mental breakdown at the navy base where he is taken to be ‘safe’. These action pieces are interspersed with periods where Mason and Cam continue to get to know each other and where the reader is fed more information about what being a psi involves. In some ways I preferred these quiet times to the all out action sequences because it gave me an opportunity to get to know Cam and Mason better and the more I see of these men the better I like them. Mason is still a bit too good to be true, but this time that was tempered with his confusion about being a healer and all that entails. Cam is increasingly hot-headed as he learns more about the dangers he has put Mason in and, in one memorable scene towards the end, I did wonder whether he would truly have been able to speak to a superior in the way he did and get away with it. Cam is also uncomfortable that he may lose his job if his feelings for Mason are discovered. At the moment they are friends in the eyes of the navy, but that doesn’t stop him worrying and I felt these were realistic concerns given the situation he is in.
Angle of Attack is building up to a climax in the third part of the trilogy and it did bother me a bit that this story could never be read on its own. In fact this series is starting to read more like a novella which has been broken down into three, rather than a set of shorts with an overarching storyline. Having said that I’m pretty hooked on the story now and shall be reading the third part to find out what is going to happen. I’d recommend this book to those who have read the first in the series and the trilogy in general for its mix of high octane action and gentle romance.
