Downloading Between Ghosts

In 2003, journalist Connor Regan marched through London to add his voice to a million others, decrying the imminent invasion of Iraq. Eight months later, his brother, James, was killed in action in Mosul.

Three years on, Connor finds himself bound for Iraq to embed with an elite SAS team. He sets his boots on the ground looking for closure and solace-anything to ease the pain of his brother's death. Instead he finds Sergeant Nathan Thompson.

Nat Thompson is a veteran commander, hardened by years of combat and haunted by the loss of his best friend. Being lumbered with a civilian is a hassle Nat doesn't need, and he vows to do nothing more than keep the hapless hack from harm's way.

But Connor proves far from hapless, and too compelling to ignore for long. He walks straight through the steel wall Nat's built around his heart, and when their mission puts him in mortal danger, Nat must lay old ghosts to rest and fight to the death for the only man he's ever truly loved.

In this romantic drama, a British journalist embedded with an SAS unit on the frontlines of the Iraq War in 2006 unexpectedly finds companionship with the unit's leader. Connor Regan is still coming to terms with the death of his brother, who was killed in action three years previously, and hopes to gain closure by reporting directly from the field. Sgt. Nat Thompson is determined to keep Connor safe as he and his team search for a dangerous terrorist leader. Soon enough, Connor and Nat indulge in their mutual desires, seeking release and satisfaction amidst the stress and horrors of war. What starts off as a clear-cut physical relationship soon grows deeper, just in time for a routine mission to go horribly wrong. Leigh does an excellent job of capturing the raw emotional connection between the leads and her depiction of the war-torn setting is convincingly tense. However, the story suffers from predictability as it moves from one plot beat to the next, leading to the inevitable confrontation with Nat's target. (Mar.)\n