The Darkest Corner
(Gravediggers #1)
by Liliana Hart
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication Date: May 23, 2017
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Rating:
The Gravediggers aren’t exactly what they seem. They’re the most elite of the world’s fighting forces—and all they have in common is that they’ve been betrayed by the countries they’ve died for. Because they are dead. To their country, their military, and their families.
Sometimes the dead do rise…
Deacon Tucker is a dead man walking. A former black ops agent, he was disavowed and stripped of all honor before being recruited as a Gravedigger. But his honor and good name no longer matter, because no one knows he’s alive, and he’ll never get the recognition he deserves. His mission is simple: save the world or die trying. And for God’s sake, don’t ever fall in love. That’s a rule punishable by death. The kind of death a man can’t be brought back from.
Tess Sherman is the only mortician in Last Stop, Texas. She has no idea how Deacon Tucker ended up in her funeral home, but she’ll eat her hat if he’s only a funeral home assistant. Deacon is dangerous, deadly, and gorgeous. And she knows her attraction to him can only end in heartache.
Deacon is on a mission to stop the most fatal terror attack the world has ever known—what’s known as The Day of Destiny—a terrorist’s dream. But when he discovers Tess has skills he can use to stop them, he has to decide if he can trust her with secrets worth dying for. And, most important, he has to decide if he can trust her with his heart.
My thoughts…
The Darkest Corner focuses on a group of guys who are part of an elite special forces. They are so secret that their family members, friends, and government all think they are dead. They come from various country, various special forces, but they have all come together to try to stop the most evil terrorists in the world. Their cover story is that they are all funeral home assistants for a small town funeral home where Tess works and lives. However, Tess isn’t completely fooled and knows something is up with her “assistants.” However, she has absolutely no idea how far in over her head she is when she becomes involved with one of them.
I have to say that this is one of the most insane love tropes ever. I mean, you have a guy who is considered dead by everyone except this small super secret agency and a woman who runs a funeral home. Let me just say, that I read way more about embalming and how to apply make-up to the dead than I ever could have possibly wanted to. I have no desire to fact check any of it so I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the author took some time to research it and possibly even talk to professionals and get their experiences… which is horrifying but I applaud her for putting forth the effort to get those details. Again, I could have totally done without it but I’m a stickler for getting to see characters in their natural/job setting instead of just when they are with the love interest. So, I suppose I got what I asked for on this one.
When we meet the guys they are digging up a coffin in a cemetery. You see, their latest team member was “killed”, transported to the United States, and is in need of retrieval. This agency that they work for looks for people who are in high-skilled agencies from around the world who have become a threat to their country for one reason or another. They then go in and give them an option, “die” and live another life as a secret agent taking down the really bad guys, or die for real when their government finally catches up to them and ends the threat. Obviously, the decision isn’t hard for these guys but they have no idea what they are really signing up for. Their deaths are staged, they are injected with this awful serum that makes them appear to be dead… and feels like it too. Then they are put in a coffin, brought to the US, buried, and then the other team members have a certain amount of time to get them out out of the ground before the serum wears off and they wake up. The craziness behind it all blew my mind.
I really enjoyed this story. There’s action, slow-burn romance, suspense, and so many lovable characters that I can’t wait to read the next book. The author took your typical special ops romance and totally made it her own. I don’t know if I’ve ever read a book before that had a mortician as the heroine, let alone a group of guys that kind of died, were buried alive, and then brought back to life in order to be some super secret special forces team. Granted, I could do without the mortician thing since that gave me some really weird dreams while reading this, but everything else I really liked. 😉
Favorite quote…
“She was who she was, and what she wasn’t was the kind of woman to make heads turn when she walked into a room. Except the time she’d gone to a wedding reception with the back of her skirt tucked into her underwear.
Did you just said Romantic Suspense?! My, I need to get this!
This book sounds all kinds of awesome!
For What It’s Worth
Oh I was really curious about this one and trying it out. It does sound like it has a lot of unique elements which is fun. I’ve seen mixed reviews on it so still debating but glad to see you enjoyed it 🙂
That sounds crazy and great at the same time. They sound like they really go all out to make it seem like they are dead.
This sounds interesting and good! I’m not sure I’d want to fact check those bits either hahaha
I do not read enough rom sup, sigh, one day!
This sounds like a quirky fun read! Going on the TBR list for sure. 🙂
I see that you enjoyed this more than I did.
Really like the premise of this series, so thanks for the heads up!