Title: The Dark Side
Author: Laura Baumbach
Series: Reese Holt #1
Genre: MM Contemporary
Publisher: MLR Press













Kidnap victim Alex Throne literally drops into the arms of security specialist Reese Holt, pulling Holt into a battle against a ruthless drug cartel, personal betrayal, and a specter from Holt's CIA past.

Holt agrees to put his team of specialists on the trail of Alex's assailants while he takes on the personal job of protecting the life he inadvertently saved, motivated, in part, by a romantic attraction.

Keeping his mind on protecting Alex could prove difficult, especially when he can't keep his mind off Alex's body.


My Review - 5 Stars

As a child Alex Throne was taught to stay calm and think of an escape plan. Those lessons served adult Alex well when he was kidnapped. Unfortunately, Alex’s only escape was a fall into the ocean; fortunately Alex fell within reach of Reese Holt. 

The Dark Side is the first book in the Reese Holt series. The plot is like a deadly complex puzzle, each piece is a clue adding to the big picture of the perpetrator’s identity. The plot exhibits a touching good vs. evil description, making it easy to feel emotionally involved in the down-to-earth, sometimes amusing characters.

Alex is a modest man that becomes the pawn in this thriller, he has no interest in taking over his billionaire father’s companies. Instead Alex chose to do part of the accounting work as a concession to his father’s concern for safety plea. Although Alex was not involved in the company’s main operations, he was targeted because of his highly intelligent accounting skills as well as a threat to any corruption within the company. 

Security specialist Reese Holt is the owner of Overlap Security Service, a company that deals with high risk assignments. Reese, along with his staff, are all compassionate, highly skilled, the best of the best former military. Though Reese and his team are classified as civilians, they perform their missions in a precision military manner. 

Rather than the billionaire’s request to hire him after returning Alex to his home, it is the hint of a mutual attraction between them that influenced Reese to become Alex’s bodyguard. Each new concentrated attack on Alex’s life garners more multifaceted clues until the list of suspects emerged and the quarry is finally captured. 

The Dark Side is an excellent enjoyable saga. The engaging main characters are well-matched with similar backgrounds and personality traits. The combat style fighting is intense with a few surprises included. The criminals are a cold blooded nasty piece of work that inspires a cheer when they were eliminated.