A ★★★ Book Review of End Game, Book One in the Capital Intrigue Series by Rachel Dylan | A Romantic Suspense Novel

* I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts below are my own. Also, this blog post includes affiliate links which means I will receive a commission based on sales generated via these links.

Each New Clue . . .
Every Crime Scene . . .
Brings Them Closer to Discovering the End Game

When elite members of the military are murdered on the streets of Washington, DC, FBI Special Agent Bailey Ryan and NCIS Special Agent Marco Agostini must work together to bring the perpetrator to justice. Unfortunately, all evidence points to a Navy SEAL sniper who Bailey refuses to believe is guilty.

When Bailey and Marco start to connect the dots between the victims, they wonder if there's a deeper cover-up at play. After Bailey is targeted, it becomes clear that someone is willing to kill to keep their dark secrets.

With the stakes getting higher by the moment, Bailey and Marco rush against the clock to determine whom they can really trust in this twisted conspiracy. As allies turn to enemies, the biggest secret yet to be uncovered could be the end of them all.

"Readers who love CBS's NCIS will be thrilled to discover the first book in Dylan's Capital Intrigue series . . . Dylan introduces a fascinating cast of characters in this taut, romantic suspense novel that will keep readers on the edges of their seats. Fans of Lynette Eason, Irene Hannon, and Susan May Warren will be happy to add Dylan to their lists of must-read authors."--Booklist

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★★★ | If you’re looking for a great crime mystery, then you’ll love End Game, the newest novel from author Rachel Dylan. When elite members of the military are found murdered, a team of investigators join forces to uncover a sinister and twisted plot. As an avid reader of romantic suspense, the premise to the story was not only creative, but genius! I loved how the clues uncovered lead to the ultimate exposure of a deadly plan.

I enjoyed the aspect that this novel read like a favorite crime based television show with a cast of unique professionals from various areas of expertise including the NCIS, FBI, CIA, CID and even a defense attorney. I was excited to see how the case would be solved as Dylan kept me guessing with each turn of events, right up to the very end. The suspense of the story continues to build as clues are uncovered with a couple of very brief points of action and drama.

Dylan’s writing style is very forthcoming and simple, making this an easy-to-read novel. She’s clearly quite knowledgeable and that shows well in her stories.

As a romantic suspense novel, I personally expected a little bit more from this story. The characters, their emotions and the romance, unfortunately, felt only surface deep to me. Being a reader who craves depth and dimensions of well rounded characters, their struggles and faith, I wasn’t able to connect on a personal level with the main characters, Bailey and Marco, or their budding romance. I was hoping for some tension, deep discussions and connecting dialogue between them to make their personas and romance more believable. In addition, I struggled with some portions of the story that felt repetitive, especially when it came to Bailey and her connection with her friends, Viv and Layla. However, I did enjoy Izzy and her story. I do hope she will be a main character of another book in this series! What was revealed about her character was heartbreaking, and deep. Her friendship with Jay as he steps in as a father figure/mentor is a strong bond and one that is important. I also think Lexi was a strong, powerful character and I enjoyed her immensely. Lastly, since there were a lot of people being introduced in the story, it was necessary for me to slow down and process each person’s position as the dialogue moved quickly and was sometimes brief, especially towards the end.

Overall, I recommend this book! I liked it for it’s plot, it’s intrigue and the mystery itself. Also, the faith elements in the book are solid and while not overly discussed, they’re noted and provide a source of inner peace for the characters. I believe End Game is a novel that other readers should take a chance on to judge for themselves as it has many 5 star reviews on Goodreads. I recommend it to mature teens and those who enjoy romantic suspense, mysteries and Christian fiction.

*I do believe it is worth noting that there are two triggers in the book for some readers - one is suicide (while the character does not commit suicide, it appears he does at first) and the second being an assault between a female and male officer. These are not discussed in detail, and are simply touched on, but I felt it was worth noting as some readers may have their own experiences that these mentions could be triggers for.