Just a week ago, on October 21st, I read about how there was an eighteen percent drop in crime in D.C. due to cooperation between law enforcement agencies. Eighteen percent is just a drop in the bucket, especially in a crime-mecca like D.C., but up till now, between federal and local law enforcers in the daily course of operations of their variety of crime task force units, cooperation across the agencies has been mostly imaginary. It's not that suddenly everyone is cooperating across the board; but there is improvement. It is still the kind of city where a story like At Her Command could actually happen.

Much of the humor of At Her Command stems from the left-hand-not-knowing-what-the-right-hand-is-doing syndrome. Much, but not all. Much of the humor also derives from characterization. Not that this is defined as a comedy; this is a romantic suspense that is written with a wry comedic slant. But, I am getting ahead of myself, as usual. The plot has DEA Agent Dominique Petracelli going undercover as a Domme, dealing with her abrasive partner Gus Meyers, and learning how to handle a crazy quilt of submissive clients.

Frankly, the submissive clients are a hoot--they're a fascinating batch of oddballs. And then, of course there's her first client ever, Dalton C, a man to whom Dominique is tremendously attracted. And no wonder--Dalton is six feet four "with the impressive shoulders and chest of a linebacker" -- somewhat of a challenge for her to Domme for her very first time. She's working undercover and ironically has no clue that the sexy Dalton C. is a policeman, who, on his own time, is investigating the death of his partner.

So we have two different agencies that haven't a clue they're in each other's stakeouts. It makes for very interesting dynamics, especially when the volatile chemistry between Dominique and Dalton is flipped a hundred and eighty degrees from their actual tendencies. At Her Command is a very entertaining read.

Reviewed by Maîtresse
© November 2006