Review
"Written in the tradition of A Few Good Men, this highly suspenseful story of a solitary woman's fight against an evil military conspiracy is one readers won't want to put down."- Library Journal
"Hinze's suspense-filled novel is one that will keep the reader turning pages and trying to guess the next moves in a complex and intriguing plot."-Raleigh News and Observer
"An exciting read. Guaranteed to keep you entertained." -- Rocky Mountain News
"[A] page-turner that fuses thriller and romance. Hinze has a knack for combining compelling realistic characterizations with suspense and a romantic plot line."- Publisher's Weekly
"Keeps the suspense going until the last page. Hinze's books demand justice."-The Bay Beacon
"Vintage Hinze. If you like well-plotted suspense with your romance, if you like clues and curves at a roller coaster pace, Duplicity is for you. It's a page-turner, and don't skip a page."- The Courier Herald
"Hinze exploded on the scene with Shades of Gray and continues her meteoric rise with Duplicity. Finding a new niche in the romance genre takes rare courage and fortitude, but like Ms. Hinze's heroines, she displays these admirable traits with the discovery of a category one can only call military romance. Clear an entire shelf for this author's work, she doesn't disappoint, making her a sure candidate for the bestseller's list. Very Highly Recommended." -- BookBrowser
"A fast-paced novel with plenty of twists and turns and a lot of great insight into the world of the military...you will not be disappointed in this action-packed thriller." - Interludes
"The theme is so strong that as each piece of the puzzle is uncovered, another gap or connection is revealed, and the characters quite frequently find themselves uncertain as to which is the right path. Duplicity weaves throughout. The result is a story of suspense, cleverly drawn."-- Booksquare.com
"Military romantic suspense fiction has gained a blazing new star! Vicki Hinze continues to work her special magic, with the elements of romance, danger, and intrigue." - Romantic Times
"When it comes to the military romance sub-genre, there are no Shades of Gray that Vicki Hinze is one of the top guns. Duplicity has cross-genre appeal to the legal thriller crowd. Crisp, action-packed, and filled with insight into the world of military justice and honor. If justice prevails, Ms. Hinze will quickly reach the top of multiple best selling lists."- Harriet Klauser
"Wow! A spellbinding book. A true page turner. The way [Hinze] pulls you into the action with the characters is so incredible. There are so many hurdles to overcome, so many emotions, feelings, and situations that leave you reeling, you won't want to put it down until you see the story through to the very end. Bravo!"- Old Book Barn Gazette
"A fast-paced thriller sure to please readers with its intensity." 5 BELLS. - Bell, Book & Candle
"Hinze has skyrocketed to the top of the military romantic suspense sub-genre. Duplicity is not only a keeper, but a prime contender for the best romantic suspense of the year!" - RFF, American Online
"Grips the reader from page one, and like a tenacious bullfrog holds them enthralled until the last line."-- Reader to Reader
"Powerful."-- Subversion
"[A] tautly crafted thriller... A roller coaster ride of sizzling suspense, deadly betrayal, and courage."-- Merline Lovelace, Colonel USAF (Ret)
From the Publisher
"[A] tautly crafted thriller...A roller coaster ride of sizzling suspense, deadly betrayal, and courage." --Merline Lovelace, Colonel, USAF (Ret), author of Call of Duty "Vicki Hinze guarantees her readers an edge-of-their-seat thrill ride. You want intrigue, danger, and romance? Ms. Hinze proves she can supply them!" --Romantic Times
From the Author
This is the Clean Read edition of Duplicity. (No foul language, no excessive violence, no open bedroom doors.)
From the Inside Flap
This couldn't be happening to her. Not now. Again, Colonel Jackson's edict reverberated in her ears. Keener, I've assigned you to defend Captain Adam Burke.
Captain Tracy Keener, a Staff Judge Advocate relatively new to Laurel Air Force Base, Mississippi, swallowed a knot of dread from her throat. "Is that a direct order, sir?"
"If necessary, yes, it is, Captain."
She tensed her muscles to keep her boss from seeing how appalling she found the notion. Only a sadist would be elated at hearing they'd been assigned to defend Adam Burke. What attorney in her right mind could be anything but appalled at being ordered to defend him? If the rumors proved true, he'd deserted his men. Abandoned them to die.
Refusal burned in her throat, turned her tongue bitter. This had to be a bad dream--a nightmare. It couldn't be real.
But from the look on Jackson's face, it was real, and there was no escaping it.
"This won't be an easy case to defend." He passed a file across the desk to her. "On paper, Burke's assigned to Personnel, but he actually works for Colonel Hackett."
"Burke is in Intel?" Could the news get any worse?
Jackson nodded. "And because he is, the prosecutor is going all the way on this one. So far, the charges are conduct unbecoming, disobeying direct orders, cowardice, and treason."
Choking back a groan, she fixed her gaze on an eagle paperweight atop a neat stack of files at the corner of his desk. Sunlight slanted in through the blinds at his coveted office window. Washed in its stripes of light and shadows, the bird looked arrogant. Sinister.
"It gets worse." Jackson grimaced. "Four counts of murder are coming down the pike."
"Murder?" She really should have seen this assignment coming. Burke's was the last case any Staff JAG officer would want to take on. It was a guaranteed career-breaker--which is why, as low man on Laurel's Judge Advocate General's office totem pole, she'd gotten stuck with the unholy honor. "Wasn't this an accident during a local war-readiness exercise?"
"The incident occurred during a local readiness exercise, but it was no accident--at least, not in the way you mean." Jackson rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "The troops were split into two teams, Alpha and Omega. Omega played the enemy. Burke headed Alpha team with orders to infiltrate Area Thirteen--Omega's enemy territory--to jam communications and gather Intel."
"Sounds typical, so far."
"It was," Jackson said. "But the woods are dense in Area Thirteen. Burke got lost and led his men onto an active firing range."
"He got lost?"An Intel officer who can't tell directions? That didn't fit.
"According to Hackett, it happens all the time out there. The terrain disorients." Jackson leaned forward. "The worst is that Burke realized he'd messed up and bugged out."
A shiver crept up Tracy's back." He admitted that he deliberately abandoned his men?"
"He's admitted nothing. In fact, he's not talking. But he was the only Alpha team survivor. Four skilled operatives died."
"So why murder charges?"
"Burke threatened two members of his team less than a week before the exercise. Investigators are about to conclude that he carried through on the threat and the other two men were sacrificed."
Could anyone be that cold? "Why did Burke threaten the men?"
"That's classified."
How could she defend him against murder charges when the basis for the murders was classified? Killing and sacrificing men--during an exercise, for pity's sake--and she had to defend him? Now?
She had to get out of this assignment. That, or kiss off her career.
Desperately seeking a chink in Colonel Jackson's armor, she studied him. Decidedly uneasy, the colonel fidgeted with his gold watch. It winked at her from under his shirtsleeve's cuff. "I understand the personal risks and the potential sacrifices you may have to make, but there's a lot more at stake here than your career. The Air Force Corrections System is on trial, Captain, and all eyes are watching to see if it's up to the test."
About the Author
Destined to Thrill. Fated to Heal. A note from Vicki: Welcome to my world! Sign up for my email update (mostly monthly) and receive a free copy of INVIDIA, a story of a woman who discovers her husband has a mistress and they're plotting her murder. It's short, but packs a powerful punch! Jump over to vickihinze.com for it.
I've been writing for as long as I can remember. I so want to make a difference, to help people overcome the obstacles in their lives and heal. We're all walking wounded and we need to know there's a way to get past the problems and into the healing so we experience the joy in life.
That's what I hope my books do for people. I've written for Random House, Multnomah, Bantam, St. Martin's Press, Kensington, Harlequin, Silhouette, Bell Bridge and others, and like many other authors, the rug was pulled. I thought my writing career was over. Instead, it's liberated me to write exactly what I want to write, the way I want to write it. Talk about a blessing in disguise. I love that! And I hope you do, too. If so, please follow me, and let's see where this new adventure takes us.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: Raised in New Orleans, Vicki Hinze began writing before Kindergarten but her journey to writing books included a lot of corporate pitstops. Eventually, she settled in and her first novel landed an array of awards and on the bestseller list. With nearly 40 books published, she's been back many times with awards in multiple genres and appearances on multiple bestseller lists, including USA TODAY. Vicki is recognized by Who's Who in the World as an author and an educator and is best known for chilling suspense, trailblazing, and creating series that genre-blend. Her works include suspense, mystery, thriller and romance. Since 1994, this former VP of International Thriller Writers has written heavily about military and military families and in nearly all genres.
