Blog Tour ★ Tactical Crime Division Miniseries ★ Review of Secret Investigation by Elizabeth Heiter

Secret Investigation by Elizabeth Heiter
Tactical Crime Division #2
Published 21 April 2020 by Harlequin Intrigue

In the wake of a tragedy, the Tactical Crime Division is the first call. When ironclad body armor inexplicably fails and soldiers perish, the Tactical Crime Division jumps into action. Agent and former ranger Davis Rogers asks to go undercover to find the traitor responsible for the death of one of his friends, and Petrov Armor CEO Leila Petrov is happy to provide access to her company…especially once she discovers she’s being framed. But will their joint efforts be enough to uncover the truth?

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I'm gonna start this off by saying that I have whiplash from this book, y'all! I just finished Secret Investigation and I'm chowing down on some chocolate because ya girl needs some sugar to get over that mindscrew. I thought I had everything figured out right off the bat. Then, I didn't. Then. Then, I did. Then I didn't? And I was ready to throw the book away. But then, I totally had it all figured out and I was ready to do the "I solved it first" dance. But y'all. I don't know what I know about anything anymore. I have spent the past 24ish hours cussing about this book and the ride it's taken me on.

I spent the first half of this book wanting to just delete it from my kindle. Honest. I hate (yes, present-tense) Davis. SO much. I was all set for some enemies-to-lovers angst-ridden romance, I was prepared to scream at my kindle for the next however many hours it took to get through to the good stuff. Because I love the spice, hate the drama, and thrive on the petty. But did I get ETL? Nooo. I got an ex-ranger with a proclivity for vacillation. "I'm attracted to her, but I can never forgive her for something she had no actual part in that resulted in the death of my friend, so I'm going to use our mutual attraction to further my investigation and bring her world crashing down and abandon her when she'll need me but I totally care about her and I'm doing it for her and the Greater Good". The whole story is Davis repeating this thought process over and over again. The whole book, I'm thinking to myself, "Davis is a grade A dick" and I'm sorry, but that's my truth of the day. Then there's Leila Petrov. Leila is a loyal friend, daughter, ex, niece, yada yada. I like her. Right off the bat, she's holding her own but also owning her company's screw-up, wanting to get to the bottom of things, even if it destroys the entire company and her name is ruined. But other than this, y'all. The woman is a bit of a hot mess with past suicidal tendencies who starts off the story "still half in love" with her high school ex who works with her and she's still in mourning over the death of her father three weeks ago but yeah, pursuing the instant attraction to a federal agent who's investigating you and your company for faulty armour is definitely not a reaction to the death thing...
Okay, suffice it to say that I am not exactly a fan of the protagonists. But I do like Kane and Melinda. Who are Kane and Melinda? A side romance that isn't even mentioned in the synopsis. Kane and Melinda are both TCD agents assigned to Davis' investigative team for the Petrov Armor case and they both have some major issues. But I have to say that Kane and Melinda did not deserve that disrespect. I did not deserve that disrespect.
Content warnings! Because why button for this. Leila had some suicidal issues from bouts of depression from loss of parents, there's child neglect and abuse ((abuse is not on page, only mentioned in brief passing in each instance)), there's gun violence and combat situation, a white nationalist group and the racist rhetoric mess that goes with that (brief content), and attempted murder!
Overall, I'm giving Secret Investigation 3 stars and 1 flame for heat - half a flame? There was barely any heat to this, a nun could read this. And here's some more honesty, none of those stars are protagonist-sourced. Mystery, Melinda, and Kane. Mostly the mystery because of the whiplash! This book made me cranky. In case you missed the excerpt part of the tour, here's my post on that. I was given a review copy of Secret Investigation by the publisher and this is my undiluted review, the FTC seems to think a free book makes me a mindless sheep. As much as I love sheep, I baah for no one. All opinions are my own and I make no apologies for them.

Publishers Weekly bestselling and award-winning author ELIZABETH HEITER likes her suspense to feature strong heroines, chilling villains, psychological twists and a little romance. Her research has taken her into the minds of serial killers, through murder investigations, and onto the FBI Academy’s shooting range. Her novels have been published in more than a dozen countries and translated into eight languages. Visit her at her website.
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I need someone to remind me down the road that I need to take a long break from ARCs. The more responsibility I take on, the less I want to do. Procrastination Professional right here. Why do I do this to myself? Tune in on Wednesday to see if I'm covering book 3 or if I say 'screw it'... Y'all. I don't even know right now. I'm functioning on 2 king-sized chocolate bars, a Little Debbie honey bun, and 4 cups of coffee...
Be good, do good, wear your masks, wash your hands, and read a book. Until next time, have a happily ever after!