Books & Spoons Review KENTUCKY CONFIDENTIAL by Paula Graves

The return of the wife he thought was lost and a baby he never knew existed will make this a Christmas to remember… 

Captain Connor McGinnis has seen a ghost. Staring at a surveillance photo of a Kaziri immigrant, there can be no mistaking that the starkly beautiful—and visibly pregnant—woman in a head scarf is his wife, Risa. The woman he presumed was dead after her plane crashed into the ocean. 

Risa McGinnis, relocated by the CIA when they learned of a price on her head, has settled into the guise of a widowed immigrant. Confronting Connor again resurrects sweet memories and a burning passion. But until this unknown enemy is captured, Risa must focus more on Connor's protection than on their attraction. After all, the strength of her marriage—and the safety of her baby—depends on it…

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A breathtaking thrill ride, with conspiracy theories, espionage, cover-up blowing on your face, and a baby on its way all happening to a lady who was supposedly dead. 
There was so much happening in this story it could have been overwhelming yet it all fit into the tale smoothly, the clues opening up like a ball of wool unraveling. The tension was high through the story, if not from the suspense and ever-present danger and the fear for their lives, then from the fact of Risa's resurrection from death, and the baby to be born any day now. 
I expected that the cover up for Risa's death would have had more center role in the story, that it would have been dealt with more details, more process, more in-depth. But both, or all characters seemed to accept the fact that Risa was alive rather easily, without too much angst and arguments. Of course, they didn't have much time to panic about anything since there were cruel culprits on their heels, ready to devastating annihilation to get what they wanted - Risa's death.
There were times when the action was so fierce, I was holding my breath, waiting to see what happens. The spy world and government security agencies were a tangled web, trust was a rare commodity, anything goes to hide your own identity, and death was the ultimate sacrifice. It seems there's a lot of background information from the previous series that all comes together here and now. I felt like I was missing some information, even thought a lot was revealed when it came to the inter-agency relationships and operations. No, that's wrong, all we needed to know was there, just at times I started to wonder the story behind the secondary characters and their loved ones. And since everyone in this story was on 'need-to-know' basis...
The romance was heartachingly bitter-sweet, yet filled with hope and a wishful prospect of better tomorrows. I believe this will be an exhilarating  and dramatic series, where anything can be expected when it comes to  operations and force of action. Can't wait for more! 
~ Four Spoons

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