Victim #8 by Traci Hunter Abramson - OPTIONAL

Victim #8 (Luke Steele #2) by Traci Hunter Abramson, 320 pages. Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2025. $28.

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: ADULTS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

As an FBI agent, Amberlyn is accustomed to being privy to top secret information—though this is the first time the president has given her top secret information personally and the first time she can’t discuss it with her boss. Amberlyn is assigned to work with Luke once more, something she is looking forward to after their last assignment, but Luke isn’t sure if he wants her friendship—or anything more.

While the national threat that Amberlyn and Luke deal with in this book is completely separate from the conflict in the prequel, the first book is necessary for understanding Amberlyn and Luke, as both of them are dealing with grief stemming from events in the prequel. Abramson refers to some current events, lending relevancy to the fictional conflict. The book focuses more on the relationship between Amberlyn and Luke than the imminent threat of nuclear missiles, though there is plenty of action and espionage to keep the pages turning.

The majority of characters are either American, Russian, or Turkish, though characters of other nationalities are included. The mature content rating is for kissing and illegal activity. The violence rating is for assault, gun use, mentions of terrorism and nuclear weapons, and murder.

Reviewer: Carolina Johnson