Review: Another great Hauberk installment!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 30, 2012
Deliberate Deceptions is the third book in the Hauberk Protection series. This is the story about Chad Miller who a silent partner in Hauberk and his ex-wife of 10 years, Lauren. Both Chad and Lauren are former FBI agents. Their world and their marriage were torn apart following both personal and professional tragedies. I am absolutely amazed at the amount of deception that broke these two apart and I will say that this book was aptly titled.Chad is a very likeable guy who has pretty much been married to his job following his divorce. His co-workers admire him for his abilities and he gets by day to day but he has never forgotten his wife. He keeps a picture in his desk drawer that he looks at daily. He is hurt and scarred from how his wife left him and has built up barriers to protect him self from being hurt again.Lauren is good at her job and well respected by those she works with. She is still haunted by things in her past that she hasn't quite gotten over. At the lowest point in her life she wrongly trusted others who fed her false information and changed her life.A co-worked of Lauren's goes rogue and both she and Chad are in danger. Lauren and her boss come up with an idea to get both her and Chad into protective custody using Hauberk and the story begins.I like Chad but he always seemed so closed off in the previous book. In this one we find out a little more why he is like this. We also find out why he's obsessive about folding and putting away his clothes and I will tell you that when the reason was reveled it made me teary eyed. He's such a sympathetic hero and I want to put my arms around him and hold him. He's also very much a man and has very little problem jumping back in to a sexual relationship with his ex-wife.Lauren left me a bit cold. In some ways I understand why she is this way but I also find it hard to believe that after she left she never questioned why Chad didn't try to reach her. I just feel that if she truly loved him the way she said she did that she wouldn't have give up without speaking to him in person.Because of their past relationship it doesn't take long for these two to wind up back in an intense sexual relationship. They know each other well and it shows! There are really few boundaries between these two and it makes for some intense scenes.Soon the original threat to Chad and Lauren is neutralized and then the question of whether they will continue any type of relationship begins. There were outside forces that kept them apart for ten years and once these are revealed they both realize how they were played and how much time together they lost through no fault of their own.Overall this was a respectable offering from Leah. It's not my favorite of the series but one I enjoyed none the less. During this book though we get more and more information about the "puppet masters" in this series, and I will tell you that I like these characters less and less. Their involvement has me worried about my favorite characters and for Hauberk in general. It also has me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book!