Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Action-Adventure
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
Get It On Amazon
About The Book
Sam Walch has never tried to match up to his flashy, high-spirited twin brother Brad in anything—school, sports, or romance. Competing against Brad only led to disappointment and heartbreak, which is why Sam stayed in town after their mom’s death and let Brad take off for grander adventures. After years being stuck in neutral, Sam finally plans a dream trip to Malta to start a new chapter in his life. Too bad a hospital phone call about his long-lost brother comes just days before he’s due to step onto the plane.
Agent Nicolas Conti and his promotion-minded colleague Brad Walch had an easy gig: observe the target, seduce and infiltrate, and gather the intelligence needed to take down the guy’s boss. But a stupid accident lands Brad in the hospital instead of their target’s bed and leaves Nicolas holding the bag. With time on the op running out, he has no choice but to convince (okay, blackmail) Brad’s twin Sam to step in and cover, so they can finish this final job and punch his ticket to freedom.
The only problem? Sam is nothing like Brad, a fact Nicolas finds harder to ignore every passing day. The op seems doomed to fail, until Sam catches the target’s attention by being … himself. Now Nicolas has to decide which is more important: using Sam to get out of the spy game for good, or protecting the self-sacrificing man from everyone, including himself.
Under His Name is part of the multi-author Accidentally Undercover shared romantic suspense series.
The Review
Sam Walch is a school teacher who lives in the small town of Troutbeck Falls. He inherited the little secluded family house from his loving mother. Sam also has a green thumb, and has made arrangements to have his friend Krista take care of his babies while he heads to Malta in a few days. He’s ready for anything – even a hook up.
Krista warns him not to pick up the phone, especially if it’s “unknown caller.” Sam has a twin brother, Brad whose older than him by minutes. They are total opposites. Brad’s a bully, and Sam often got blamed for many of Brads bad ideas. Besides not knowing where Brad is these days, Sam hardly ever hears from him.
Nicolas Conti is an undercover agent who wants out of the agency. He has something very important coming up, and needs to dedicate all his time to his mother, Rei. The Director is on his back to resolve a case of human trafficking, and to get pertinent information from a very protected accountant, Alexandros Dimitriou. Unfortunately, Nicolas has been stuck with agent Brad Walch, a loose cannon who causes trouble trying to be top dog and solve all the cases. Nicolas is lucky though, because he has a top notch analyst, Beverly Jones, who keeps him well informed.
When the phone starts ringing, Sam tries to ignore it, but it won’t stop. At least he’s packed and ready to go, but it’s not time for vacation just yet. He picks it up, and finds out that Brad has been injured and is in the hospital in Seattle. It reminds Sam of his mother.
Sam flies out to Seattle, and finds out that Brad will live, even though he’s still sedated. \While Sam is watching over his twin brother, a stranger shows up. She claims she’s the Director, and Brad works for the Agency. Sam doesn’t believe it at first. She shows him a file filled with proof. She even has information on Sam, and wants him to stand in for Brad. Sam’s not buying it and there’s no way was he going to replace his brother.
He barrels out the door and heads for his truck. On the way out of the parking garage, he hits someone. How bad can this all get? Pretty bad, when he finds he was tricked and has now been kidnapped.
Will Sam be able to stand up to Nicolas? Can he prove he’s not like his brother? Can he really help and close this dangerous case? Will he live another day, to finally make it to Malta?
Sam and Nicolas are both interesting characters. They both have a special connection to their mothers that brings out their vulnerabilities. The friendship that builds with Sam and Beverly is fun, as they make a great team and tease Nicolas to no end.
This is the first time I’ve read something by M.A. Grant. I was thoroughly entertained with this very well-written story. The plot is solid, filled with suspense, excitement, fast-paced action, danger, humor and romance.
I highly recommend Under His Name. It took me by surprise, and was a pleasure to read such an exciting story. I will definitely be looking into other books by this author.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
