When her mother disappeared while on assignment in Ukraine, artist Mercy O'Brien risked everything to find her. . . and failed. Thwarted by her own government, warned off by Interpol, now she has no choice but to accept a dangerous undercover assignment in the Virgin Islands in exchange for help. Red Sands Consulting is tasked with recovering precious gemstones stolen by Chameleon, a ruthless terrorist cell. If Mercy can't locate the rare Australian opals, they will finance new attacks on an increasingly fragile world. Sebastian Hidalgo, Mercy's mysterious lover, wants to protect the woman he loves. But involving himself in her increasingly complicated life threatens to blow his cover. The wealthy Mexican rancher is reputed to head a ruthless crime cartel, but he secretly works for his president to destroy the powerful weapons- and drug-smuggling syndicates strangling his country. He knows he should forget about the beautiful American socialite. But for the first time since the loss of his father to a car bomb, he's dared to believe he might climb out of his dark hole of despair. Praise for MERCY KILLING, Book 1 in the dazzling new suspense series, Affairs of State: "Highly recommended to fans of the suspense genre." Window on the World blog "Sex, drugs, spies, sex, intrigue, great adventure-this is not your Mama's cure for insomnia " David Sabin "(Johnson) walks the line between fact and invention with ease." Shelf Awareness for Readers "I adore books by this author. They're addicting " Toby Devens, author of Happy Any Day Now "If you're looking for a strong female protagonist, Victoria Mercy O'Brian Davis qualifies-in spades." Kathy Auerbach