Wes Skelly has long carried a torch for Lana Quinn, the wife of a fellow SEAL. His unrequited love is even more poignant because he knows that Lana’s husband has cheated on her multiple times. Recognizing that he ought to be looking elsewhere, he agrees to being fixed up with Brittany Evans, the sister-in-law of another SEAL, a nurse, and the mother of an adopted teenaged son Andy. While sparks don’t fly at first sight, a friendship between them develops quickly.

Wes is in Los Angeles on Lana’s behalf. Her sister Amber Tierney, a high profile television actress, seems to be the target of a stalker. The longer Wes is in LA, the more he comes to appreciate Brittany. She has a depth and a level of sensuality he cannot resist.

When Lana’s husband is killed in a freak accident, Wes has to decide which woman holds his future.

The main reason I’m not overly enthusiastic about Night Watch is that I’m not overly enthusiastic about Wes Skelly, who is the central character in the story. His long-term fixation on the unavailable Lana suggests a commitment issue. There’s one scene where Lana reveals that she’s known he’s attracted to her and always believed they’d eventually end up together. Learning that she’s been willing to keep Wes along as a back-up didn’t endear her to me and made me wonder why Wes has been so obsessed with her all these years.

Wes also has a problem with his height – or lack thereof. It’s frequently mentioned that he’s short – 5' 8". The average American male is 5' 9" tall so Wes is only slightly shorter than average. Meanwhile, legendary WWII flying ace Jimmy Doolittle was only 5' 4". Wes has got four inches over him plus he’s a SEAL with all the physical prowess that implies. For a character who’s supposed to be the hero, Wes spends a lot of time feeling sorry for himself.

Brittany is a solid heroine, caring and responsible – the kind I like seeing end up with the hero. The story behind her adopting her Andy must have been told in a previous book because there are hints of a fuller explanation.

The stalker subplot doesn’t play a major part in the book, but in a shorter length novel there isn’t much time to develop subplots. There’s also a minor subplot about Andy and his girlfriend. Fortunately, neither one overpowers the romance which is the main focus of the book.

Night Watch doesn’t stand perfectly well on its own because lots of characters from earlier books make cameo appearances, but it isn’t essential to have read all the previous books in the series. If you’ve enjoyed others in the series, you’ll probably want to read this one, too. If you haven’t, it still could be a good choice.

--Lesley Dunlap