Good romantic suspense is hard to find. You need a strong central pair, a dramatic story that keeps interest but doesn't detract from our heroes, good villains and a belief that when the drama is done and dusted, love will persevere. Because, to quote Annie from Speed, there is always the danger that "relationships that start under intense circumstances, they never last".

And so we come to Whisper No Lies, book 3 in the Black Ops Inc. series. This series offers good romantic suspense and this book was my favourite so far, I loved the story (human TRAFFICKING! So awful, so tense) and Crystal and Johnny were great characters. Yet this book made me realise that whilst I like Black Ops Inc., I just don't think I'm ever going to LOVE Black Ops Inc., which is a real shame, because I felt like Johnny's book should have been the equivalent of a Sam or a Hawke book - one from a great series that I eagerly anticipate and eventually end up exulting above all others. But I just don't think I'm going to remember Whisper No Lies a month from now.

It feels like I bring her up in virtually every genre review these days, but one thing I adore about Kristen Ashley is that characters always come first, and huge amounts of time are dedicated to couples just talking to each other, pushing each other's buttons and getting to common ground. And I really felt like I could have done with more time spent with Crystal and Johnny, being sparky and winding each other up and really getting under the other's skin. Maybe Ms Ashley has ruined me for all other romantic suspense, but I'm going to keep on believing something's out there, waiting to be discovered.