The Captive by Julie Coulter Bellon is the first book in her Griffin Force series. It is the first book I have read by Ms. Bellon, but it won’t be the last. The Captive is the story of a hostage situation – the hostages are an American diplomat and the daughter of a notorious Algerian hostage negotiator. Former Navy SEAL Jake Williams heads a task force to rescue the hostages. Joining the task force is another daughter of the Algerian hostage negotiator, Mya Amari, who will do anything to bring her sister home.

Amid rescue plans that don’t go as planned and flying bullets, romance starts to bloom between Jake and Mya, but they must focus on the mission.

Julie Coulter Bellon is knowledgeable of military missions, top government agencies, and hostage negotiations. She is talented in creating characters her readers will care about and want to walk through the dangers with them to see if they’ll come out safely. Ms. Bellon has crafted a well-told story filled with tension and suspense and has woven a blossoming romance in the midst of a crisis.

This story does contain some violence but it is minimal and is not graphic. The romance is clean and also minimal, and there is no profane language.

As a reader who enjoys a tense suspense novel from time to time, I must say I turned the last page of The Captive, wanting to immediately pick up the next book in the Griffin Force series to keep reading.

I highly recommend The Captive by Julie Coulter Bellon to anyone who enjoys a story based on a situation that could happen in today’s world and is filled with tension, suspense, danger, and excitement, with a bit of romance.

I give The Captive by Julie Coulter Bellon 5 stars.