Haven’s War (Safe Haven #2) by Parker Williams

392 pages

Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

The blurb

With Haven on an extended honeymoon with Sammy, bad guys around the world are breathing a lot easier. No one is better at permanently removing these lowlifes who target children—and the brutal murder of two teenage girls makes clear it’s past time to return to work. Haven’s first assignment back results in a new family member and a renewed sense of urgency to protect and avenge the innocent.

There is nothing ‘usual’ about the business of hunting predators, but when several of Haven’s fellow agents are killed, a pattern emerges. The hunters have become the prey, tools in a bitter vendetta for a perceived wrong.

Despite years of working alone, when the target shifts to someone unexpected, Haven calls in reinforcements—a friend to stand between the family he loves and a ruthless killer. Teamwork may be the only way to win this fight—unless it’s already too little, too late.

Haven tries to approach this as he would any other assignment. Find your enemy and make sure they suffer before you eliminate them. But when a member of his team goes off-book and ends up dead, everything changes. It’s no longer a battle.

Now it’s war.

Review

I thought I knew what to expect when I started this book. It hasn’t been that long since I finished Haven’s Creed and my memories of that story are still vivid. So I knew there would be violence described in vivid and gruesome detail. I knew to expect moments when I’d want to read with my eyes closed. And I knew that whenever I thought it was getting too much for me, Sammy and Haven’s relationship would ground me again. I thought I was prepared for what was to come… I was wrong.

This book was harder to read than Haven’s Creed because the story turned very personal, both for the characters and for this reader. I’m not going to talk about the how and why but trust me when I say you too will feel the need to avenge the wrongs done and the horrors inflicted when you read this book. And just when I thought I knew exactly what was about to happen next and how it would all end…the story took me by surprise, in a glorious example of how far our Haven has come.

I loved the opportunity to witness how Sammy grows, not so much overcoming his past ordeals but learning how to live with them. He expands his horizons while continuing to ground Haven whenever Haven’s duties are close to getting the better of him. And it’s a joy. It is also very well done because there are no miracles here, just a natural and realistic continuation of Sammy's story.

What makes the books in the ‘Safe Haven’ more than ‘just’ heartstopping thrillers filled with suspense, violence, and blood — apart from the wonderful love story between Sammy and Haven of course — is the fact that at their core they are a study about good and bad and force the reader to wonder how far they would be prepared to go in order to stop evil. Another reason this book left me awestruck is that it gave such a wonderful insight into what makes a person transform from a man into a monster; how easy it is to lose touch with yourself and your moral compass once the killing takes over. It was as fascinating as it was chilling.

On a, somewhat, lighter note there’s Oscar who we meet for the first time in this book. I liked Oscar who is a lot like Haven except even less in touch with his emotions than Haven was at the start of Haven’s Creed. Oscar provided quite a few of the much needed lighter notes in this story and I’m delighted to know that he’ll be getting his own book too. If anyone needs to find what Haven discovered with and through Sammy, it is Oscar and I’m already eagerly anticipating his story.

Long story short: Haven’s War is a fast paced thriller with a thought provoking premise, fascinating characters, and a wonderful and at times very sexy love story. It gets graphic at times but if your stomach is strong enough to put up with that I can’t recommend this book and its prequel highly enough.

Related Review: Haven’s Creed