An Unexpected Distraction

Richter, Book 3

By: Catherine Bybee

Narrated by: Lori Prince, Joe Arden

Family secrets and fresh romance collide in this heart-pounding Richter series installment by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee.

Jacqueline “Jax” Simon knows how to expose secrets: she’s a skilled operative with MacBain Security and Solutions. When Jax hears her parents are divorcing, she races to London to find out why. She’s determined to learn the truth, especially when her investigation uncovers why her parents sent her to Richter, the German military school that made her a fighter.

Andrew Craig collects Jax at Heathrow Airport as a favor. He’s heard she’s a handful, but he didn’t know she’s dangerously gorgeous too. His instant attraction could change his life...or end it.

Jax doesn’t want to fall for Andrew, but soon he’s worming his way into her life. Together, they infiltrate Richter to discover if it has returned to its covert purpose: training children to be spies and assassins and blackmailing parents to look the other way. As the attraction between the two intensifies, so do the secrets exploding all around them. How deadly are those secrets - and who will survive?

©2021 Catherine Kimmer (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

loved it

I really enjoyed reading this author.  I look forward to reading more books by this author in the near future.

Very Good Story

4.5 Stars for me!

My rating range of this story... 4.25 - 4.50
If significant, why?

Main Character Ratings...
H = 8/10
h = 9/10

Narrator Rating(s)
M = n/a
F = 8/10
If below 5/10,why?

Was cheating involved? No
Any major triggers to be aware of? No

If Comedy... Type? n/a
Genuinely Funny
Cringe Inducing
Just No!

Angst Level? Moderate
Light, Moderate, Heavy or Please Stop


Scenes with heat... Yes
What point does it start? 60%
How much of the story? 3%
Anything beyond M/F? No
If yes, explained

Heat Rating... 6/10
Clean or Fade to Black - 1 or 2
Normal to Descriptive 3-5
Detailed Descriptive Sex - 6-7
Um, Wow, Beyond Descriptive Sex - 8 or above

Was there so much sex or unrealistic sex that you rolled your eyes and/or skipped forward? No

The back story... The h travels home to England when her brother asks her to to help with family problems. Dad has moved in with her brother and mom is overly proper. She decides to find out what is going on since both parents are being stingy with information. Brother sent a friend to pick the h up at the airport and there is instant attraction between the two.

The Romance... Builds quickly throughout the story, especially as they learn more about each other.

The drama explosion... The bad guy makes his big move.
Did it feel Real, OK or contrived? Mostly real
Was it OTT? A bit
Separation involved? Not really
Was it resolved properly or rushed? Properly with a lead in to the next book in the series.

Final Notes... This has been an excellent series and this was a very good read. It is much different from the last story and the relationships were the focus of the first half of the story. The second half is a blur.


HEA or HFN? HEA

very good

love all Catherine Bybee books. The narrator are awesome. I read or listen most of of her books there's not one I don't like.

Good storyline

I am enjoying this series and appreciate that you get a full story even with the continuation of the overall storyline rather than a true cliffhanger. I am impressed with the number of accents the narrators had to manage, but not as impressed with the way the team members can lose their focus and get everyone into jams. It’s a pet peeve of mine that the characters who are supposed to be so well trained and observant get taken in or outmaneuvered by someone who often isn’t supposedly as good at what they do. I don’t think it’s necessary to drive the story and that’s what kept this from being a 5 star review.

Awesome series!

Love this series... the narrators really do a great job bringing this story to life! Thank you Catherine... can't wait till the next book in this series!