Loving the commander of a Special Ops unit has never been easy.  But when Catherine goes into labor early, the day after begging her husband not to leave her for another mission and then ends up losing the baby without so much as a phone call from her world saving husband, Catherine decides she has had enough and files for divorce taking her two daughters with her to start a new life.

Garrett comes home from his latest mission to find his wife and children have left him.  Garrett knows he has a lot of making up to do, but when that last mission follows him home and strikes at his family, Garrett and Catherine have to put their problems aside and work together in order to save their children. 

Tamara McHatton’s DEADLY OBLIGATIONS could be the story of any military family.  It tells of the difficulties of keeping a marriage together when a spouse is gone for weeks or months on end with no way of knowing if they will be returning at all.  And best of all, it tells the story from both points of view.  The strain on the relationship cannot be denied.  McHatton does a wonderful job of describing the many difficulties thrust on the men and women who protect our country while they attempt to live a normal home life at the same time. 

Readers will cheer for Catherine and Garrett’s love even though no solution appears possible.  Simply imaging how heart wrenching it would be to go into labor prematurely and then have to live through the death and burial of your only son all by yourself while your husband is off saving the world without a clue what is going on at home is an obstacle that seems insurmountable indeed.  Even after Garrett manages to get their children back safely, the couple’s problems are still present and appear to have no solution.

The only problem this reader had with this story is the ending was exactly as expected.  After all that suspense, to end on such an expected note was somewhat disappointing.  But then, DEADLY OBLIGATIONS is a romance so the happily ever after ending is expected.  Still…

And then there are the unanswered questions, which this reader must admit she sort of enjoyed as they kept her thinking about the story long after it was over.  Why did Garrett’s superior feel the need to keep the stillbirth of his son from him?  Why spring the divorce on him out of the blue and then give him only a few days to resolve it?  Just who exactly is the bad guy here?

Readers who love a good military suspense with a douse of reality thrown in for good measure are sure to enjoy Tamara McHutton’s DEADLY OBLIGATIONS.  The ending may be expected but getting there sure is worth the journey.

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