Down and Dirty-Sandra Hill

Down and Dirty
Sandra Hill
Berkley, Oct 2007
ISBN: 9780425217931

Zachary “Pretty Boy” Floyd does not care what the brass does to him for breaking laws when he went to Afghanistan to bring his young son Sammy, who prefers Samir, back to the States with him; his only remorse was that he did not know about his offspring sooner. However, he expects a harsh punishment, but feels his sentence is cruel and inhuman; he is assigned to train the newly formed WEALS, women SEALS.

One of his students Zach previously met (see ROUGH AND READY) is muscular Norsewoman Britta, who actually traveled from the eleventh century to join the modern day US Navy. He prefers her to be his son’s babysitter although their attraction is hot enough to evaporate the Pacific Ocean, Britta fears she is returning back in time while Samir’s grandfather, a Taliban butcher with a false religious face Mullah Ahmed Arsalah plans to return Samir to his “hidey-hole” in Afghanistan and kill the boy’s American father (and anyone else who gets in the way) while doing so.

The latest Viking time travel romance is an entertaining tale that is at its best when either Samir or Britta rips off the skin of Zach with their acerbic lip. The suspense subplot with the Mullah and his men is well written, but does not compare to the vicious tongues that the hero faces. Fans of the series will enjoy the return of previous lead couples, but DOWN AND DIRTY belongs to the changing triangular relationships between the lead trio, as seen first hand from changing perspectives.

Harriet Klausner