SHADOW WATCH (Shadow Strike 3) by Delta James-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 1, 2026

I disarm bombs for a living. Feelings are a different kind of explosive.

When Tidewater’s communication systems are hacked and classified training schedules leak, Lennox “Nox” Bradshaw is brought in to fix it. She’s brilliant, sharp-tongued, and allergic to authority.

Then she uncovers something worse than a breach—malware designed to cripple the base during a live joint exercise.
And when she gets too close to the truth, someone plants a bomb in her quarters.

I’m the one who responds to the blast. I’m also the one who decides she’s moving into my beachside cottage until we stop whoever’s behind this.

The threat isn’t just digital. It’s inside the perimeter. A former Navy cryptologic tech with a vendetta—and help from someone on base. If the malware triggers, comms fail. Security collapses. Operators die.

Nox trusts her code. I trust my hands. But forced proximity has a way of burning through defenses.

I’m not afraid of explosives. I’m afraid of wanting the one woman I might not be able to save.

••••••

REVIEW: SHADOW WATCH is the third instalment in Delta James’ contemporary, adult SHADOW STRIKE military suspense series. This is explosives expert Lieutenant Griff Morrison, and data analyst / civilian contractor Lennox ‘ Nox’ Bradshaw’s story line. SHADOW WATCH can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Griff and Nox) SHADOW WATCH follows in the wake of Nox’s discovery of an intelligence breach, a breach that requires countermeasures and the knowledge of counterintelligence that may or may not be connected to the previous investigations, military cyber training, the Joint Expeditionary Base Tidewater and the Navy SEALs.

The world building is detailed and laced with technical terminology referencing data analysis,cyber technology, military operations and NCIS investigations. As Nox is pulled further down the proverbial rabbit hole, Griff is determined to take down the person responsible.

The relationship between Griff and Nox begins as a work assignment but threats against Nox force Griff to take charge of Nox’s safety. Working and living together means up close and personal contact, contact in which our couple begin to fall. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

The secondary and supporting characters are familiar and determined. We are reintroduced to NCIS Special Agent Rivera, Dr. Gwen Abernathy , Lieutenant Commander Holden Lange, and marine biologist Fallon McKay.

SHADOW WATCH is a story of betrayal and vengeance, power and control, friendships and relationships, acceptance and love. The fast paced premise is intricate and complex but the conflict resolution is too fast and behind the scenes. The characters are desperate and charismatic; the romance is subtle and seductive.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy