The Unsung Hero    by Suzanne Brockmann Order:  USA  Can Ivy, 2003 (2000) Paperback      Reviewed by Martina Bexte After a near fatal mission, US Navy SEAL Lieutenant Tom Paoletti is lucky to be alive. With a month left on his extended medical leave, Tom heads east to his New England hometown to visit his uncle and try to seriously relax. During a stopover at Logan Airport he catches a momentary glimpse of a man who closely resembles an international terrorist who was assumed dead. Tom immediately reports his sighting to his superiors but they write it off as a hallucination precipitated by the helicopter explosion that left Tom in a coma for weeks. Symptoms still plague him and he reluctantly agrees that maybe he over-reacted. He decides to take his CO's advice -- to concentrate on much needed R&R. Tom is surprised to discover that his next door neighbour and first love, Kelly Ashton, is divorced and has moved back home to take care of her dying father. Tom is happy to see Kelly again and not averse to rekindling their former relationship, as short-lived as it was. Kelly, on the other hand, would rather just be friends, concentrate on her pediatric practice and keep any intimate relationship out of the picture. Tom broke her heart twenty years before when he left to pursue his Navy career without even a good-bye. As much as she still loves him, Kelly knows she can't handle a second heartbreak. It is more than obvious that Tom's first love is his job as CO of SEAL Team Sixteen. But staying away from the man is easier said than done. When Tom's 'injury-induced imaginings' turn out to be the real thing and his superiors still refuse to believe him, Tom takes matters into his own hands and calls in members of his loyal SEAL Team. Together with two teens, two war veterans, and of course Kelly, Tom ultiimately saves his hometown of Baldwin's Bridge from a dark and deadly terrorist threat. The Unsung Hero is the first in Suzanne Brockmann's wildly successful Troubleshooter Series and introduces many of the military heroes she showcases in subsequent stories. With the recent release of Brockmann's first hardcover, Gone Too Far, the much anticipated story featuring series favorites Sam Starrett and Alyssa Locke, her publisher has reissued the entire series. If you haven't checked out her marvelous stories yet then here's your chance. Brockmann's talent at blending non-stop adventure, heart-stopping suspense, multiple story-lines, complicated and emotionally packed characterizations (and of course intense romance) is unsurpassed and absolutely not to be missed. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews