Defensive Tactics by Steve Westover

Defensive Tactics by Steve Westover

In this riveting debut novel, we find both Paul Stephens and Emily Mathews, rookie FBI Agents, working together on an assignment that will bring a corrupt judge down.

When Jimmy Younger, a friend of Paul's high school days comes into his life, he knows he needs to help him, as Jimmy has been in the depth of despair for years, after a tragic accident takes the lives of his sisters. Then, when his father comes close to taking his own life as well, it causes Jimmy to lose all hope he'll ever have a forever family. Both Paul and Emily help Jimmy regain his faith while Jimmy unknowingly helps Emily thwart some mobsters from harming her. Emily is set up as a pawn to bring down the corrupt Judge Craven, but when she is required to compromise her moral standards, she has doubts about whether she should do what is required because it is her job.

When Paul is sent to the Oklahoma City Office to work on an assignment, he finds that by flushing out the corruptness, he could be jeopardising his career.

When Jimmy's new bishop has a long talk with him, he is asked to read his scriptures, pray and ponder, he comes to realize he needs to find a job and he has an interview with the bishop's friend, who hires him. When he spends the entire night helping the team apprehend the mobsters and free Emily, he panics, as he's supposed to be on the job at 6am and it's now 8:30am. He rushes to make amends as to why he's late, not realizing that Paul had saved his butt.
Emily is abducted and it is up to Paul, Jimmy and the rest of the team to free her, find the men responsible for several murders and flush out the mole on the team. The mobsters find that Emily is not the naive patsy of an agent when she is able to cleverly outwit these low-life's and save her friends and team. She also has feelings for both Paul and Jimmy and she has to search deepwithin her soul to decide which is the one she truly loves, as from what one friend says, "You can't kiss a friend."

At the end, when Emily sets up Judge Craven and gets even, really made the story in my eyes. From the beginning, when they first met, Judge Craven was all sure of himself, thinking Emily was this little naive FBI agent who would do anything he asked. What an ending!!! And, Emily shows just how ingenious she can be for a young rookie agent with morals.

I see a sequel in the making, as one of the characters is still out there, needing to be found.

I received my review copy from Steve Westover.

Published by: Cedar Fort, Inc.
Published Date: August 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59955-445-7
246pp