Marliss Melton uses just the right amount of romance and suspense to keep you glued to the story. I found Next to Die to be a very entertaining read.

Lieutenant Penelope Price is a physical therapist at the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center. Her next-door neighbor is Commander Joe Montgomery. Joe has just returned from an assignment gone wrong in Afghanistan. Joe was the lone survivor of the worst disaster in Special Forces history. Three of the four SEALS were fatally wounded, with Joe barely escaping with his life. Joe feels responsible for the deaths of the three SEALS and isolates himself inside his home, shutting out everyone and everything, resigned to burying himself in a bottle.

Penny has had a crush on Joe for years. But with the gorgeous women jumping in and out of his hot tub with him, he has scarcely noticed her. She knows that she isn't Joe's normal type of woman but understands the emotional turmoil he is enduring and becomes friends with him. Joe begins to lean on Penny more than he ever thought he would lean on or need anyone. The priorities in his life begin to change.

Penny's little sister, Ophelia, shows up on her doorstep, needing a place to stay. Having recently found a journal of her father's indicating that there was foul play involved in his death, Penny feels it's safer for Lia to be staying with her.

Penny and Lia turn their father’s journal over to the FBI. They believe that there is proof in the journal indicating that Eric Tomlinson, who was their father's partner at BioTech (a biological warfare lab) was involved in their father’s murder. They also believe there is evidence that Eric stole a poison, ricin, and sold it to terrorists to pay for his wife’s mounting medical bills. Over the past few years, four high ranking officers have been killed with the ricin.

Now that they've caught his attention, the killer has his sights set on Penny and Lia. Will they be the next to die? And who is killing the high ranking officials and why?