A Game Of Chance

By LINDA HOWARD

His only chance

Undercover agent Chance Mackenzie knew that the best way to capture an elusive terrorist was to use the man's daughter as bait, so he cleverly seduced Sunny Miller and set out to discover her father's whereabouts. Sunny's own innocence was questionable, and gaining her trust was nearly impossible. And even with all his experience and training, Chance found it difficult to overlook her beauty.

However, Chance soon realised that Sunny wasn't running from him – she was running for her life, and she needed Chance's protection. But keeping Sunny safe would involve telling her the truth – about his mission and what she'd done to his heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Jul 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9780733524202

LINDA HOWARD

Born in Newport, Rhode Island, I grew up in neighbouring Middletown with parents who lived to be on the water. After graduating from Middletown High School in 1984, I attended the University of Rhode Island where I double majored in journalism and political science. I graduated in 1988 and went to work for a small community newspaper, the writing equivalent of boot camp. We worked like dogs for almost no money, but we had a lot of fun and learned so much about writing, editing and life.    I lived in Rhode Island until I was 26 when I did something I had vowed to never do while growing up in a Navy town—I married a Navy guy and moved from the smallest state in the U.S. to Rota, Spain, where he was stationed. To say the change in my life was dramatic is putting it mildly! We had the time of our lives in Spain from 1992 to 1995, where I also earned a master's degree in public administration through a program offered to the military by the University of Maryland. Our daughter Emily was born there three months before we returned to the states.    After we moved to Rhode Island in August 2002, I started to get more serious about the book but still wasn't able to get very far. A year later, in November 2003, my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The next nine months were a roller coaster ride, during which I turned to the book more and more often, seeking an escape from the nightmare of my mother's illness. By early August 2004, I had four solid chapters that my mother was the first to read. I made her cry, she said. She died on August 31, 2004.    Something that had lain dormant for years kicked into gear in the aftermath of my mother's death. I asked myself—what are you waiting for? What meaning will it have to finally write that book if you wait until neither of your parents—the two people who always said you had it in you—aren't around to read it? I firmly believe my mother is sending me these amazing characters who continue to pop up out of nowhere and lead me on one great adventure after another. How else can I possibly explain the incredible things that have happened in the years since she died?    I finished Jack's book, "Treading Water," on May 18, 2005, and published it along with its two sequels, Marking Time and Starting Over, in late 2011. (Read more about The House That Jack Built.) I've finished a few since then, including "Line of Scrimmage," which was the first to be published in September 2008.    I finally sold to Sourcebooks Casablanca in late 2007. Line of Scrimmage was my first published book in September of 2008. Love at First Flight followed in July of 2009. In early 2010, I sold Fatal Affair to Harlequin's new Carina Press digital-first imprint. Fatal Affair was released in July 2010, followed soon after by Fatal Justice, Fatal Consequences, Fatal Destiny and Fatal Flaw. Fatal Attack will be out in November 2012 and the early books in the series will be released in mass market paperback through Harlequin's HQN imprint beginning in the fall of 2013. Going back to 2010, authors were getting more and more excited about the opportunity to publish direct to readers via Kindle, Nook, Kobo and later the iPad. I decided to test the waters and published True North in November 2010 and The Fall in December 2010. Everyone Loves a Hero was released from Sourcebooks in February 2011, and I followed that with the release of the following books in 2011: The Wreck, Maid for Love, Fool for Love, Ready for Love, Georgia on My Mind, Treading Water, Marking Time and Starting Over. Many of these books had been written for years and were waiting for the right avenue to get to readers.    When people ask me what led me to the decision to self-publish, my reply is always the same: "No one was interested in these books except my readers." And boy have they shown me the love for my self-published books! The McCarthy's of Gansett Island Series, which now also includes Falling for Love, Hoping for Love, Season for Love and soon, Longing for Love, has turned me into a bestselling author on Kindle and Nook. The success of that series also led to the recent sale of my Green Mountain Country Store series to Berkley publishing. Watch for the debut of that series in 2014. Readers can also look forward to much more from Gansett Island, much more from Sam, Nick and the Fatal Series gang, and another book in the Treading Water series called Coming Home, which I hope to have out by Christmas 2012. It will pick up Reid and Kate's story from Marking Time ten years later—a story readers have asked me to write. 

Reviews for A Game Of Chance

[msralways · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked how the Mackenzie's last baby got his happy ending and with a woman so cool as Sunny was. I would've liked a longer epilogue, but that's just because I'm a sucker for them and this is the last book in the series. Other than that and the fact that I think Sunny sould've made Chance wallow a little longer, this book was pretty good.

[nancynova · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

rabck box from bookstogive 03/11; double entendre in the title. The hero's name is Chance, and he's playing a chancy game to catch a terrorist. Sunny's father is the terrorist, and Chance thinks she's running shipments for him. When he intentionally intercepts her and strands them in a box canyon in the Nevada desert, he finds that she's running from Dad - and now he makes her the bait to capture the crook.

[bgillilan-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love this book!
Chance is one of my favor books!

[cranberrytarts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My heart breaks for Sunny every time I reread this book. Although Chance tried to justify his actions, it's hard for me to accept that he did what he did. I didn't dislike him, but I had a hard time letting it go. I think Sunny forgave him too quickly.

I liked her enjoyment in life and the way she made the best of every situation. I liked Chance's intensity and the way his emotional ties baffled him.

He needed to grovel more.

[dawn772 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this story with a good plot and an exciting ending but there were a couple times when the characters got a bit heavy thinking about things and there was definitely insufficient atonement. Chance set up a situation to get to know Sunny in order to determine if she is in league with her terrorist father.

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Game of Chance
4 Stars

Chance Mackenzie, the half-wild child adopted by Wolf and Mary Mackenzie, has become a dedicated undercover agent. When information concerning the daughter of a notorious terrorist comes to his attention, Chance embarks on a mission to seduce her and discover the extent of her involvement in her father?s business. However, there is more to Sonia ?Sunny? Miller than meets the eye and Chance soon realizes that he is willing to risk a lot more than his life to learn her secrets?

A sweet ending to a highly entertaining series.

While Chance is certainly overbearing, manipulative and arrogant, there is still something endearing about him. Perhaps it is his harsh childhood or his abiding loyalty to family, or perhaps it is his dark nature and tortured soul. Regardless, Chance is a particularly charming hero despite his shortcomings.

Sunny (by name and by nature) is just as appealing. She is exceedingly resourceful and copes with dire situations with a strong backbone and a calm demeanor. My one small caveat is that despite her obvious intelligence and her awareness of her situation, she still fails to notice Chance?s machinations. For someone on the run, she is far too accepting of events.

The minor suspense plot unravels quickly but plausibly and the glimpses along the way into Mackenzie family life are wonderful.

Looking forward to reading more of Linda Howard this year.

[sunnysd_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The final Mackenzie to meet his match, Chance has no intention of ever falling in love, marrying, or reproducing. Dedicated to his no-such-agency career in the shadows, his latest task is tracking down international terrorist Crispin Hauer. The key to Hauer is his daughter, but Chance's elaborate plot to trap Sunny Miller into revealing Hauer's location is about to backfire...One of the best parts of the book is catching up with the latest developments, babies and undertakings of the Mackenzie clan. The story's farfetched beyond belief, but Chance and Sunny are entertaining.

[readinggeek451 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Tough guy vs. terrorist's daughter. Part of her Mackenzie family series.Enjoyable, but two people lying to each other--for the best of reasons, naturally--does not seem to be a very good way to form a lasting relationship.

[thebooknerd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Off all the Mackenzie books, not my favorite despite how similar Chance is supposed to be to Zane. I just couldn't get into this one.

[gogglemiss · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Undercover agent Chance Mackenzies's mission is to hunt down a terrorist. The only way to hunt him down, is to use his prey's beautiful daughter as bait. He engineers an elaborate plan to isolate Sunny and himself in the desert canyon so that she falls for him and confesses all. Then, he discovers her innocence and her fear of her father.The desert scenes were hot, in more ways than one, and Sunny was a spunky heroine.Good to be re-acquainted the the rest of the Mackenzie family