Review For Opal By Freya Barker.

GEM series #1 Opal

Blurb:

GEM: A PRIVATELY-FUNDED ORGANIZATION OPERATING INDEPENDENTLY IN THE SEARCH FOR—AND THE RESCUE AND RECOVERY OF—MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN. ALTHOUGH, AT TIMES WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, GEM AIMS TO ENSURE THE VICTIMS RECEIVE JUSTICE…BY WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY.

GEM Operator Opal; multifaceted, versatile, a chameleon.

She hides in plain sight, adapts, and infiltrates.

When Opal goes undercover in a youth center several teenagers have disappeared from, she’s shocked to find a ghost of her own traumatic past at the helm. However, her worry for the missing kids is greater than her concern being recognized and she risks her own safety to discover the truth.

To complicate matters, a familiar FBI agent shows up conducting his own investigation and almost blows the whistle on her. It takes some doing to convince him to join forces with her but as it turns out, they work well together.

In the course of uncovering an organized group of child molesters, they find themselves falling—for each other.

My 5* Review:

Opal is the first book in Freya Barker’s new GEM series. I don’t know why but I’ve never read this author before and thought this was a great start to a new series. The story is a thrilling romantic suspense, full of mystery and intrigue although it does involve previous trauma, missing teenagers and deviant predators. At times it is hard to read but the strength of these women is amazing. The romance part of the story is between GEM operative Opal aka Kate and FBI Agent Mitchel Kenny.

We meet the three female operatives of GEM – Opal, Pearl and Onyx, and their mysterious boss Jacob Branch. It has vibes of Charlie’s Angels because the women have never met him and have no idea how he found them. We learn their real names and get some information about their traumatic experiences growing up. They suspect he must know about their history as he’s managed to bring them back together after twenty years. GEM stands for Gather, Evaluate and Mobilise and their objective is to search for, rescue, and recover missing and exploited minors.

Opal is ex-armed forces and was a police firearms instructor when Jacob recruited her. She is extremely good at her job as it gives her an opportunity to stand up for forgotten and vulnerable children as no one stood up for her. She hates being underestimated especially due to what she looks like. Mitch works for the FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team. He is divorced due to his job but is a devoted father to his daughter Sawyer. They first meet on a search for a missing child and he’s surprised at how she takes control and helps find the child.

When a volunteer at a Youth Center is concerned about a missing girl, it becomes GEM’s new investigation. Opal has to go undercover in the town she grew up in and it brings back bad memories for all the women. Is something happening again in Lanark? What happens when Opal comes face to face with the ghosts of her past? Things escalate when the police bring in the FBI and Mitch recognises her. She has to convince him that she and GEM are useful to his case so her cover isn’t exposed.

“I’ve kept the abuse hidden for more years than I suffered it. It’s like it happened to a different version of me—a version I’ve long outgrown—but these past few weeks have shown me the trauma continues to be part of me.“

Opal felt an instant connection to him when they first met and feels it again. Mitch is intrigued about her but she’s a distraction and he has a job that requires his full attention. They have great banter and a real electric energy between them so will they succumb to their urges and feelings?

Can they work together and share information especially when the case becomes bigger than any of them they thought. For both of them trust is a two way street, she has never told anyone of her trauma and he has a past that she would understand, so can they open up to each other? What will happen to their relationship when the investigation takes a turn for the worse?

I commiserated with Mitch that he had to keep to the legal procedures and play by the book when GEM could stop the traffickers in any way they can!! I loved the great surprise at the end for Opal thanks to Jacob. Amongst the heart-wrenching tale there are some very funny parts especially when Pearl meets Lee the reporter. The epilogue sets the scene for their book. I was totally engrossed in this book, loved all the twists and turns and trying to work out who had done what. It’s a very involved investigation with links to all three women so it continues through each book.