Standing In The Shadows – Shannon McKenna

I had this book in the TBR pile for a very long time. I was hoping to find the first in the series and read from there but since I vowed to make the TBR pile smaller last week I decided to start this one and if good look for the other one. Well, I don’t think I will be looking…


Ex-FBI agent Connor McCloud can never forget the day he was set up to die at the hands of trusted friend and fellow agent Ed Riggs. Hard justice and loyalty to his badge have cost Connor what he wants most--Ed's shy, studious daughter, Erin. He can never have her now, but her beauty still haunts and torments his every waking hour and his most fevered erotic dreams. But now that his old enemy, Kurt Novak has returned, Connor is prepared to do anything to protect the vulnerable young woman from a killer who has vowed a brutal payback . . . a killer with a predator's lethal patience.

Erin has been harboring secret fantasies about Connor McCloud since she first laid eyes on him--but that was before his testimony sent her father to jail. Her world is falling apart and it's all she can do to hold her family together. But now Connor is knocking on her door, telling her she needs his protection, whether she wants it or not. He won't give up and he won't stay away. He's sworn to guard her life with his own and his fierce protectiveness awakens long-buried feelings--and a fiery sexuality deep within her soul . . .

I think it could have been a nice story but I really disliked Connor and his macho man attitude towards Erin. The way he talked, acted… it was all so over the top! It’s difficult for me to understand how I loved alpha heroes and now I can’t seem to like even one of them.

The book seems closely related with the previous one and so some things are not really clear for us who haven’t read it. But my main problem was that Connor makes every decision for Erin and always feels he is justified because he is saving her from the bad guy and he has loved her for so long. She seemed like a decent young woman with a level headed attitude why couldn’t he try to convince her instead? Ok, there were scenes were she could have been brighter and especially more concerned about her security but even so… And what was that all about when he practically raped her because he was jealous?

Regarding the suspense subplot the fact that the villain is looking for revenge is also related with the first book. He is a very sophisticated and ingenious bad man who seems to control a lot of people to do his bidding. I was particularly interested in his mistress who seemed like an interesting character to explore.

Well I guess the worst part of writing this review is realising how my reading tastes have changed over the years and how I probably have a lot more of these in the TBR pile. I used to love intense books filled with passion, if the heroes were tough and tortured and sometimes were a bit hard on the heroine I just took it in stride and thought that made it even better. What I’m starting to realise is that nowadays I’m incapable of immersing myself in those stories and enjoying them. I immediately start to shake my head in disbelief with the attitudes… especially if we are talking about contemporaries, they don’t sound real to me.

Grade: C (although it might be different for you if you like domineering macho men)