"This is a book I can enthusiastically recommend!"

Although frustrating, Torrie accepts that having to constantly prove her abilities is part of being 'baby sister'. This cargo run was to prove to her brothers that she was able to captain a ship in her family's shipping business and she was not going to let some computer glitch or a pirate hijacking get her stuck in a desk job.

Qaade was leader of the Ghost Riders, the most elusive groups of Dead Zone pirates. He was also the secret leader of Slipstream, a slave rescue network. Qaade allowed the plucky captain to keep her ship, but now he has gambled his precious hijacked medical supplies to rescue her from slavery. He doesn't expect Torrie to appreciate his rescue, particularly as he demands she help recapture the cargo.

Torrie and Qaade are drawn together in love and into dangers that will test that love as the slave master plays his game of revenge. Torrie's heart aches as she assists the rescued slaves - how can she leave such important work and return to her life? How can she leave this pirate who seems to have captured her heart as well as her cargo?

In this fourth "Un...ed" story, Ms. Barry has again delivered a fresh tale of intergalactic proportions and heart-touching entertainment. We enjoyed meeting Torrie briefly in UNLEASHED when she came to her brother's rescue. InterGlax's mix of law enforcement and corruption was also presented, but knowing past events was not necessary for reading and enjoying UNMASKED.

Ms. Barry's remarkable characters (I love Nod) and those special touches of humor combine to guarantee a book that you will not want to put down until the very end. UNMASKED has a thought provoking sensation of history (pirates of the Caribbean and slavery) situated in fantasy (star worlds) and skillfully presented using lively dialogue and various emotional conflicts caused by family, responsibility, trust and love. This is a book I can enthusiastically recommend to those who love entertaining fiction. sci-fi, futuristic or romance books.

Reviewed by Cy Korte
Posted May 22, 2005

Summary

A MAN OF MANY MASKS ...

To the merchants he plunders, he is the Ghost Rider of the Dead Zone. To sector law enforcement, he is a wanted space pirate. To the slaves he rescues, he is the savior laghato. To one determined female captain, Qaade Deter is serious trouble.

Torrie Masters had heard of the legendary raider, but she never expected to encounter him, especially on her maiden voyage for her family's shipping business. Nor would she have expected that beneath his black mask lurked an enticing man destined to challenge her in ways she can't shoot herself out of.

But a great threat has emerged, one that leaves Qaade no choice but to join forces with the woman he believed was his enemy. A woman with a warrior's spirit—now entrusted with the fate of thousands, one pirate's impossible dream, and the power to leave him...UNMASKED.