Book Review: Backlash by Rachel Dylan

Backlash (Capital Intrigue #2). Rachel Dylan. Bethany House (2020). 320 pages. Genre:  Romantic Suspense, Christian Fiction.

First Line: "The incessant knocking on her condo door made Layla Karam grumble as she threw off the covers."

Summary:  Layla Karam loves her job as a CIA Analyst.  Her strength lies in being able to scour data and find connections.  However, her bosses at the CIA have been pushing hard to get her in the field.  She recently took part in a DEA operation in Honduras involving the brutal and dangerous Mejia cartel.  The operation was successful, but now members of the team, including Layla, are being targeted.  

Complicating matters further, an internal investigation against Layla is opened.  Her boss has no reason to suspect her of anything and is not being told what the inquiry is about.  To top it off, Layla is assigned a security detail involving her ex-boyfriend, private investigator Hunter McCoy.  As difficult as it is, Layla has to put her trust in this man.  Under constant threat from the brutal cartel, the two of them must work together to discover how the cartel knows who was involved in the operation.

My thoughts:  It has been several months since I read the first book in this series, so I had forgotten some of the information about the characters.  Once I got up to speed, this was a real page turner. 

Layla is truly in a situation where she doesn't know who to trust.  As a reader, I felt the same way.  She was putting her trust in people I didn't think she should.  Layla is a very capable woman.  She was hired as a CIA Middle East specialist.  Her father was Lebanese, she has a degree in Arab studies and is fluent in Arabic.  However, all of these things make her highly sought after to work in the field.  She has agreed to be involved in cases on a temporary basis, but would prefer to be back at a desk analyzing complex information. 

Hunter was in law enforcement, but is now working as a private investigator.  The history that he shares with Layla is complicated.  The story she tells is that Hunter cheated on her and that ended their relationship.  The truth is much more complicated.  While Hunter is very capable as a security detail, Layla has been well-trained by the CIA.  He finds it intimidating when Layla ends up being the one to save him from a bullet.  This felt realistic and I appreciated the way the two of them put aside their feelings to accomplish their goal.  

There are several mysteries going on in this story.  The first involves the cartel targeting the team that worked in Honduras.  This mystery is complex as the pool of suspects is large and most of them are trained agents.  There were several twists and turns that I didn't expect and left me feeling even more on edge.  Next is the investigation opened against Layla.  Are they related? The third involves a secondary character, Izzy.  She was previously in law enforcement and was attacked by her sergeant.  When he is found dead, Izzy becomes a suspect.  The combination of these mysteries really kept the pages turning. 

I enjoy reading books where the author has experience in a particular field and uses those experiences to write fiction.  This is one of those books.  Rachel Dylan is of Lebanese decent and has a degree in Middle Eastern studies.  She also works as a lawyer in the corporate world.  This brought authenticity to the story.  

I enjoyed Backlash and am looking forward to reading more from Rachel Dylan.