| Copyright
© 2008, Jennifer
McKenzie Reviews For MEN OF ALASKA: EDGE OF THE STORM by Jennifer McKenzie Edge of the Storm is a fast paced romantic
suspense novel that takes the reader through Alaska and the Bearing
Sea. From airplane, to ship, to speeding cars and even dog sledding
fifty miles on an Alaskan night to avoid a doggedly determined Homeland
Security Agent, Ms. McKenzie keeps the action fast and the sex hot.
The reader will find themselves smiling, praying, biting their nails
and cheering. This story was definitely a page-turner
that I enjoyed a great deal. I found myself anticipating what would
happen next as Matt and his friends worked to uncover the truth and
enjoyed the little unexpected events the author threw into the story.
They definitely kept this reader on her toes.....This is the second
in Ms. McKenzie's Men of Alaska series, but having not read the first
I did not feel lost at all reading this one. It stands alone quite well,
but I do admit that it did make me curious about the first book, Heart
of the Storm. And I am definitely curious to see what happens next as
there were a couple of loose ends left in this one. Sample Chapter For MEN OF ALASKA: EDGE OF THE STORM by Jennifer McKenzie The Alaskan air was icy and bitter as Phillip “Pogie” Crane stared out the window of The Athena at the Bering Sea. The wind swept the small crab boat into the docks as the waves lapped along the side of the piling. He took a drag of his cigarette and wondered why he was here. The tall blond man who dominated the wheelhouse hadn’t said a word since Pogie had jumped aboard, even though The Celtic Rose, The Athena’s sister boat, had raced into Dutch Harbor because of a radio call from the man. Kevin Henderson sat in the captain’s chair, tense, brooding with his hands clenched in fists. Pogie waited for him to break the silence that fell in the wheelhouse. The younger man was stressed out, and it wasn’t even a week into the season. Of course, he couldn’t imagine what it was like to work undercover for the Russian Mob and find out that your mother and uncle were smugglers and murderers. How exactly did you get over that one? Only four months earlier they’d believed that Kevin was Lost At Sea, another casualty of crab fishing. And the man who’d tried to kill him was still out there. In the silence, Pogie blew a cloud of smoke. He thought he’d convinced Kevin to put the whole thing aside and let the authorities handle it. But this was a man on the edge. “I can’t do it.” Kevin’s voice was hard and clear. His blond hair was askew and his violet blue eyes were wild and bloodshot. What the hell happened out there? Kevin was the captain of the small crab boat, The Athena, with two deckhands. “That’s what you said on the radio.” Pogie took another drag on his cigarette. “Ethan had us on the crab. Everything seemed fine until we got your frantic call to come in and have me run the boat for you. What happened?” The shattered, haunted expression on Kevin’s face sent a chill up Pogie’s spine. “I—” The younger man swallowed and his eyes dropped away. “Let’s just say I can’t take it anymore.” As he flicked ashes from his cigarette,
Pogie considered all the angles. Kevin showed confidence in him, which
meant a lot. But the real reason Kevin wanted to quit wasn’t because
he was soft. Or crazy. “Where will you go now?” Pogie lit a second cigarette off the cherry of his smoked stub and handed it to Kevin, who inhaled and closed his eyes. “You know.” Kevin blew out a long breath of smoke. Pogie nodded. “You heard about the smuggling in Anchorage.” “Conflict diamonds from Hong Kong smuggled with the help of the Russian Mafia.” He clenched his hands into fists. They’d thought it was over when Stabler, Kevin’s uncle, was killed and Mona, his mother, went to prison. But the smugglers that were caught in Anchorage four days earlier were traced to her. And they’d been paid after she was locked up. Pogie guessed it meant the man behind Mona Henderson, the one who’d paid her to keep her mouth shut, was back to smuggling again. And killing again. “What are you going to do?” “I don’t know.” Kevin’s eyes snapped open. “Look, the Russian FSB is all over me and it’s starting to wear a little thin. That last stop by Homeland Security before we left was a little heavy handed.” With a lift of his large shoulder, Pogie shrugged off Homeland Security. “So what? We survived.” The other man’s eyes were blazing. “Only because you stopped me.” Pogie studied him. Yes, he’d held Kevin back from braining the officer who’d boarded The Athena and pushed the crew around. And he had the bruises to prove it. The boy had teetered on the edge of losing his cool. But he’d calmed down and gone on the trip. What would make him call Ethan frantically on the radio and bring them both to the docks? “Are you going to make me go to the crew to find out what the hell happened?” He took a drag off his cigarette and waited for Kevin to tell him the truth. Kevin shifted in the captain’s chair. “I decked Perry.” “The kid? What for?” Fire burned in Kevin’s eyes. “He stepped out of line.” Pogie shook his head. “That’s not good enough. How did he step out of line?” “He called my mother a murderer.” Silence followed Kevin’s statement. “She is, Kevin.” He kept his voice soft. The smack of Kevin’s fist in his palm reverberated around the cabin. “Don’t you think I know that? But someone else was running the show and I can’t prove it fishing for crab.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I know she’s guilty, but the game isn’t over. I owe it to Jason and Vlad to end it.” Jason and Vlad. Pogie understood. Jason Iverson, Kevin’s childhood friend and victim of Mona’s smuggling. And Vlad Svenost, Kevin’s undercover partner, murdered by Stabler. Both needed, in Kevin’s eyes, to be avenged. He studied Kevin’s face. “How exactly do think you’ll be able to do what Homeland Security hasn’t been able to do?” “I’m going to find out who paid the Coast Guard off.” Pogie went still. “You’re talking about Stabler’s escape.” Kevin nodded. “Yes. Somebody paid those bastards to let him go. If he hadn’t escaped, I’d know who the guy is that’s running the show. He was ready to talk.” He stabbed his half-smoked cigarette out in the ashtray. “And there’s the investigation into Stabler’s death.” “You mean someone killed him to stop him from talking?” “That’s the word on the street. There’s some discrepancy about whether he was firing at the boat or surrendering. I think someone shut him up.” “And because the Coast Guard was there…” “I think someone was paid to kill Stabler.” Pogie shrugged. “So, he did the world a favor.” “It also means that someone else is being paid off. I want to know who is paying them.” As he nodded, Pogie could see what this meant. The boy, and he would always be that to Pogie, was going on a mission. And he was going to be stuck with The Athena. He sighed. “Well, tell me who these deckhands are. If we’re going to be stuck together, I should know more about them than one of them has a big mouth.” He was well aware he was being surly, but he enjoyed being a deckhand. There was more responsibility and pressure for the guy in the wheelhouse. And Kevin had put Pogie’s ass in the captain’s chair. “Thanks, Pogie.” Kevin’s demeanor relaxed slightly and he leaned back in the captain’s chair. “Perry is a wild card. He’s odd, but he works hard. You know who he is, don’t you?” At the shake of Pogie’s head, Kevin continued. “No? He’s Dutch’s grandson.” Pogie frowned. Dutch was his oldest friend and one of the few who remembered the old days of crab fishing. Why didn’t Pogie know about this kid? “He’s a greenhorn?” “No. He was working on The Southern Flyer for three years but the owner got out this season.” He nodded. A lot of the boats were getting out of crab fishing with all the new regulations. Times were changing. He’d heard The Southern Flyer was gone. One of many. A lot of his fishing buddies had quit the ocean because of the new state of things. “What did Conway have to say about him?” “Good kid. Works hard. Big mouth.” A smirk lifted Kevin’s lips. “And he’s the one that shot his mouth off about Mona.” Kevin nodded. “That’s right.” “And the other one?” “Carl Straub. Used to work on The Desire.” Kevin flicked open his silver lighter to light another cigarette. “Nice guy and good with Perry. He kept me from killing the kid.” And Pogie didn’t have any doubt
that was exactly what happened. For years Kevin had worked undercover
in the Russian mob, doing whatever it took to find the man who’d
ordered his best friend shot in front of him. The Russian FSB had worked
him over, and then the Russian mob had twisted him. Once a wide open,
honest fisherman, Kevin appeared to be a bitter man with a slew of secrets
that kept him up at night. A sad twist of Kevin’s lips distorted his face into a mask of pain. “Tell her the truth, Pogie. Tell her I’ve become unfit for the real world, even on a crab boat. Tell her—” He stopped. His violet blue eyes were dulled by hopelessness. Pogie shook his head. “Let’s get something straight.” He stabbed his cigarette into an ashtray with a determined hand. “I won’t pretend this isn’t a great opportunity for me. But you can’t go off thinking there’s no hope for you. You’re a Henderson. Bull Henderson’s son. Sure, Mona Henderson is a murdering bitch, but Bull was the best there was. Stick it out, Kevin. Finish the season.” But Kevin was already up out of the chair. “No, Pogie.” He laid a hand on the older man’s shoulder. “Those deckhands deserve a better captain and I’ve got a job to do. You take her out.” The first genuine smile Pogie had seen on the man’s face transformed it. “I made arrangements since I know Charlie has spoiled you on The Celtic Rose.” Pogie’s eyes narrowed. “What arrangements?” “I asked Kelly Shannon to hitch
on for the season and cook. Perry and Carl were pretty thrilled to hear
it.” Kevin grinned now. “He will. She’s a handful, you know. You’re going to have fun keeping Perry and Carl focused on the job.” As he scowled, Pogie wished he could
keep that expression on the boy’s face. “When will she be
here?” |