Bianca St. Ives, con artist with-a-heart, is on the run to snag a German treasure from a Russian museum. Impossible? For most, yes, but not for BiancaBianca St. Ives, con artist with-a-heart, is on the run to snag a German treasure from a Russian museum. Impossible? For most, yes, but not for Bianca. And besides, this theft just might save her from those who are trying to kill her.
Karen Robards delivers a page-turning follow-up to The Ultimatum with Book 2 of The Guardian series.
Bianaca St. Ives is a successful cyber security consultant and provider, running a profitable business in Savannah, Georgia with her tight-knit team. She is also living a double life as a thief-for-hire and now, woman on the run. Now before you start to roll your eyes and ask, “Why oh why am I cheering on a thief?” you must hear her backstory.
Bianca discovers she was part of a government top secret "super soldier” project, number 44 of 48. In fact, she is the only surviving member of that covert cohort, but the government is out to make her clan extinct. Earlier in life, Bianca was saved thanks to a protective mother and a government sniper with a change of heart and a change of plans. The sniper, Mason Thayer, rescued the young girl, raised her as his own and taught her the fine arts of hand-to-hand combat as well as his new occupation — master thief. But now the hit team is back and they have their crosshairs on #44.
One reviewer noted, “This series is suspense and mystery but not romance.” To which I say, “Thank you!” Let the woman get the job done! And get-er-done she does. I listen to most novels of thriller genre to help me stay awake on long drives. Robards book is better than coffee!
The Rules: Mason Thayer taught Bianca his “rules.” Here’s one that might help save her life:
Think a problem through before you make a move.
Recommendation: Robards is a New York Times best-selling author with more than 50 books to her credit. She is known for her romance novels, which for my tastes, this one happily is not. She will tease you here and there with a little romantic twist, but the book is thriller not romance. My wife and I enjoyed it, and I use the word, “enjoyed” purposefully, as the book will keep you awake, but not change your life. I would also recommend reading Melanie Reynolds review for the BookReporter.com. It’s good!...more
If I don’t know the author, it can take me a long time to settle on a thriller. As I searched for an Audible listen to keep me aGripping . . . mostly!
If I don’t know the author, it can take me a long time to settle on a thriller. As I searched for an Audible listen to keep me alert on an all-nighter to our Arkansas getaway, Robard’s work came highly recommended. Shannan and I gave it a shot and were not disappointed.
Bianca St. Ives has the skills of Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne, and a past just as curious. Like Bourne, Bianca lives in the present with few memories and few glances in the rear view mirror of life . . . until . . .
The publisher’s promo says, “Thief. Manipulator. Con artist. Call it what you will - Bianca St. Ives is the best in the business.”
Is she? What happens when her proficiency falls prey to momentary passion? New York Times best-selling author Karen Robards delivers a thriller that kept me engaged and alert (except for Bianca’s romantic and humorous run-in with her would-be pursuer — that was far-fetched).
Interesting protagonist
Is the “bad girl” a “good girl”?
Interesting characters
Engaging story
Part romance novel?
Plot: Bianca runs a legitimate security firm as a cover for her undercover work as a thief. Trained by her ever-vigilant father, Richard St. Ives, her life is humming along nicely until a $200-million heist goes haywire. Now her father is dead. He cover is blown. And Bianca finds herself hunted even as she is on the hunt for “the truth.”
Engagement: This is not an “unputdownable” story, but at its best it kept me hanging on with a tight grip.
Question:Why am I/we cheering on a thief? I think that is an important question, the answer of which reveals both our humanity and glimmers of God’s creation and redemption....more
Simon Riske has a special set of skills. Both are on display in Christopher Reich’s fourth installment of this fantastic series. Riske is a world-clasSimon Riske has a special set of skills. Both are on display in Christopher Reich’s fourth installment of this fantastic series. Riske is a world-class restorer of exotic automobiles. He is also a man with a checkered past. That past, however, furnished him with another kind of proficiency — that of investigative prowess.
In Once A Thief, Riske celebrates his hundred-million-dollar sale of a rare 1963 Ferrari, until the buyer charges that it is a fake. Riske is forced to prove the car’s authenticity or face dire consequences. This will be no easy task. The proof lies in a transmission that is near impossible to source. As Riske races against the clock to find the part and establish the Ferrari’s authenticity he meets Anna Bildt, the daughter of a Swiss banker recently murdered by a car bomb.
On a crisscross adventure across Europe, Riske and Anna “find themselves players in a deadly game, where billions of dollars change hands and knowledge is paid for with your life” (www.christopherreich.com).
As with the other volumes in the Simon Riske series, Once a Thief will keep you turning pages or (if you prefer the audible route), listening for hours.
PS: Read Reich’s bio. The author’s story is a fascinating tale of its own. Once you read it, you can understand why his protagonist jumps here and there around with the world with ease....more
“It’s so easy to forget that there’s great beauty in the desert!” So remarks Detective Renee Ballard as she and Harry Bosch pause at the Old Spanish T“It’s so easy to forget that there’s great beauty in the desert!” So remarks Detective Renee Ballard as she and Harry Bosch pause at the Old Spanish Trail to fulfill a commitment. Taking in the distant ridgeline, the salt flats and the flowers at their feet. Of the flowers, Bosch remarks,
“Desert Star,” . . . "I know a guy, says they’re a sign of god in the fucked-up world. That they’re relentless and resilient against the heat and the cold, against everything that wants to stop them.” (p. 388)
Bosch takes the flower as a metaphor for Ballard, but the same of course can be said of the aging detective, relentless in his pursuit of the killer who took the life of a family of four.
Desert Star is volume five of the Renee Ballard series, but with other novels crosses over into the life of Bosch. There is a reason Michael Connelly has sold 80 million books. Desert Star blends his talent for creating credible characters while weaving threads to multiple lines of intrigue all in the search for “justice” or at least resolution.
According to Connelly, Harry Bosch is seventy-two after aging real-time over thirty years and twenty-four thrillers. Connelly’s writing is like a new adventure with old friends — fresh and exciting....more
Those three words are essential to Sierra Six, the eleventh book in the Gray Man series, but the precursor to it all.
Court GenTWELVE YEARS AGO . . .
Those three words are essential to Sierra Six, the eleventh book in the Gray Man series, but the precursor to it all.
Court Gentry, the singleton operative has been tasked to take the place of a team member on SEAL Team Six that was killed in action. Gentry is a solo artist. He doesn't want the mission. Zack Hightower and the four other men of Golf Sierra don't want him. Hightower and his rugged team, all former SEALs or Delta Force underestimate the diminutive Gentry, but orders are orders. Gentry will become Sierra Six, the sixth man on the squad -- or will he? Court must first prove himself to his disgruntled squad. Along the way bonds are formed, an enemy encountered, and twelve years of Court's life -- and his most illusive antagonist -- flash before our eyes.
This is a riveting tale. Greaney gives us the backstory to Gentry's character, to his on-again/off-again friend, Zack Hightower, to Matt Hanley, and a cadre of connections that tie the past with the present. Greany weaves the episodic events, narrates with his usual technical competence, and keeps us bound page after page or minute-by-minute, especially when the knives comes out, the bullets fly, and the conflict is the hottest.
Sierra Six is a thriller and as thriller's go, Greaney is at the top of his class. But there are life lessons tucked away in all that spy craft. Maurice, a crusty veteran has been Court Gentry's trainer and mentor. There's a love-hate relationship between the two. Early in the story, Maurice is sent (against his will) to deliver an assignment to the young Gentry; the assignment going against the young operatives own desires. Gentry is distrusting and cagey. Maurice says:
. . . And the reason you've been so successful is due to what I put you through in training." Flatly, Court said, "You almost killed me. Multiple times." "Exactly. And that made you hard to kill." Maurice added, "All that was out of love, not out of hate, although I know how building somebody up can seem a lot like tearing somebody down when you are the one on the receiving end." (79)
Here's another tidbit of Maurice wisdom Court lives by: "Stay ready so you don't have to get ready"(79).
Sierra Six lets us know that Gentry is ready . . . and that's because Greaney has remained at the ready....more
Reid Lawson, aka Agent Zero is no longer working for the CIA. He is not disavowed, but neither is he welcome. Those days are over -- or are they?
ZeroReid Lawson, aka Agent Zero is no longer working for the CIA. He is not disavowed, but neither is he welcome. Those days are over -- or are they?
Zero is a man with questions:
"What happened?"
"What's next?"
"Who am I if am I not 'Agent Zero'?" Most importantly,
"How will I strike back at the assassin who took the life of my wife?"
Zero is a man in conflict.
If those challenges are not enough, Lawson is feeling the bodily effects of the old memory suppressor (see Agent Zero Book #1). Though long-ago removed, it continues to wreak havoc, slowly deteriorating his brain. The prognosis is not good. Zero must get answers to his neurological problem (no small feat when he believes he is the only one on the planet with this problem) . . . and he must find and end the life of Stefan Krauss, the assassin who has so altered his life.
Zero Zero is Book #11 in the Agent Zero espionage thriller. Mars continues his exceptional work of developing his characters. There are plots and subplots and he has us (me anyway) wanting to chase them all down.
You may be wondering, Why is Book #10, titled Zero Zero? Jack Mars provides the clue in the front matters to this book. Zero Zero: Atmospheric conditions that reduce ceiling and visibility to zero; the ejection of an occupant of an aircraft from a grounded stationary position. Tough conditions. Zero visibility. A grounded agent. Hmmm, seems like the perfect title.
If you have read the other books in the Agent Zero series and enjoyed them, this one is just as good as the rest. If you haven't turned a page on an Agent Zero book, PLEASE, go back and start with Book #1. Just give yourself some time; you are going to get hooked on Jack Mars and Agent Zero.
Recommendation: Agent Zero is a life "under the sun" perspective on evil and the solution to it. I've worked my way through all the books. Good and evil duke it out in every Agent Zero thriller. Kudos to Jack Mars for never hiding from the evil of evil. The world is flawed. Zero's family is flawed. Agent Zero is flawed. We see it on every page. Zero is trying to stop the madness. He wants to get it right as an agent, a friend, a husband, a dad; but the reason we are on book 11 and on our way to book 12 is that he can't. So the question I'd like to ask Mars to answer is, "Why?" Why the evil? Why can't he stop it? Who can?
This book and this series is very good. I am on my way to the finale!
Jack Mars delivers with Chasing Zero, (Agent Zero #9). Once again, CIA operative Reid Lawson, aka Agent Zero, walks out of his living room onto the woJack Mars delivers with Chasing Zero, (Agent Zero #9). Once again, CIA operative Reid Lawson, aka Agent Zero, walks out of his living room onto the world stage to stave off an international crisis. This time he's too late to stop it, but maybe he can keep it from erupting into a world-wide conflict.
As with other books in the Agent Zero series, Mars gives us a super hero who is often pretty unspectacular. Lawson's body is breaking down and he has challenges aplenty raising two teenage daughters after his wife's death. Ah, but this does provide occasional ventures into the sub-plots of their lives which proves both interesting and tiresome at times. Interesting in that his girls may not be as skilled as their dad (yet), but they are every bit as savvy! Tiresome in that we see that "lather, rinse, repeat" cycle of their own adversities. But hey, they are teenagers and like teens, Maya and Sara are maturing at a teen's pace.
Mars' characters are believable. His dialog moves, the story is engaging, and (if you listen to the Audible), Brian Callanan's narration is fantastic!
I do find it interesting that for all the ambiguity in his life, the uncertainty of his missions, and the compunction surrounding his daughters, Agent Zero is dead certain he will see his dead wife again. "She's waiting for him!" Huh?! This too is an element of Lawson's humanness. One would think that a guy who trades in life and death, who is as careful and calculating and bright as Zero, would have a better blueprint for life after death than that napkin philosophy. Fluffy planning won't work for his missions, why will it suffice for the afterlife?
My recommendation: I enjoy spy-thrillers as much as I do ice cream, and I come back to Jack Mars and Agent Zero almost as often as I do my favorite flavor. Both still satisfy. On to Vengeance Zero (Agent Zero #10)....more
Retired members of intelligence forces around the world are disappearing like Halloween candy. Americans, Brits, French, Australian, Israelis, and a SRetired members of intelligence forces around the world are disappearing like Halloween candy. Americans, Brits, French, Australian, Israelis, and a South African.
What’s going on?
Then former NSA big shot Clark Drummond, once thought dead, is sighted by a field agent in Caracas . . . and he’s walking!
Matt Hanley, Deputy Director of the CIA and leader of Poison Apple, an elite off-the-books black opps team, sends in veteran Zach Hightower to recover Drummond, but the always reliable Hightower gets rolled up by SEBIN. And that is why Hanley is now standing in a clandestine medical facility deep in Prince George County, Maryland.
Court Gentry, aka The Gray Man, lies in his hospital bed recovering from a knife injury just below the clavicle. The wound nearly killed him and the after effect is still trying to send him to the grave. A portion of the blade nested in his collarbone, infection set it, and now antibiotics are fighting to keep this “good guy” assassin alive.
Gentry should be in an ICU, but Hanley has other plans. What is going on out there is “very dangerous, very sinister.” So Gentry is on his way to Caracas, and despite his health, he will be relentless in pursuit of the truth and his mission.
Mark Greaney’s writes thrillers that are so much more than knives and guns. His degree in international relations and political science coupled with extensive travels, military and close-combat tactics make his books exciting, informative, and believable. This is the guy who co-worte with Tom Clancy. Relentless, like the other volumes in the Gray Man series, are intellectual thrillers and will keep you turning pages.
The bad guys have the big gun. The good guys know it. Now, if they only knew who the bad guys were, where they were, and what their intentions were . The bad guys have the big gun. The good guys know it. Now, if they only knew who the bad guys were, where they were, and what their intentions were . . . this mission would be so much easier. Fortunately, the good guys have Agent Zero.
Agent Zero is the CIA's enigmatic superstar; a lethal operative with a secret that could put his career and life in jeopardy. Zero is losing his mind! No, he's not a candidate for the asylum. He is suffering brief cognitive lapses, a precursor to a very uncertain future (read Agent Zero--Book #1). It's a personal problem that Zero is trying to hide from his teenage daughters as well as his fellow operatives: Maria, Mitch, and Todd.
That's a problem . . . and a problem compounded when an international terrorist secures a high tech railgun, capable of massive destruction. Zero and his team must secure the weapon. That sounds easy enough, but the gun is attached to a ship almost as illusive as some of the memories in Zero's mind.
Jack Mars delivers a quick-paced story that weaves threads of family and loyalty, secrecy and mystery, action and thrills into a series now twelve books long. Kent Steele, aka Reid Lawson, aka Agent Zero is the avowed-disavowed-avowed again CIA operative with a very good friend in the White House. That's a good thing because Zero's career is like riding a motorcycle over whoop-de-dos. His reputation is the stuff of legend . . . but not his home. Lawson struggles at times to raise his teenage daughters, especially after their mom and Lawson's wife was killed by the CIA.
Yeah, it's complicated, but so is life. Lawson is infuriatingly frustrating at times. Lies and cover-up -- even to "protect" his loved ones -- have a way of coming back to haunt him. Can't he see that?! His MO is becoming theirs, but as in the field, he refuses to give up. It's part of what makes him a great agent and, despite his failures, a good dad too.
About reading Decoy Zero:
Mars hooked me from the start. Decoy Zero is entertaining and mostly believable. There were a few "What the heck?" moments. Doors expand in the heat, not the cold. A Skylark is not a sports car. And certainly the gates at the CIA have video monitoring. Okay, with that little rant out of my system, I really liked this book. His cast of characters. are "real" -- and fun. His writing is crisp. His plot is plausible . . . okay mostly plausible. And now that I have read books 1-8, I am starting book 9.
My recommendation: If you are looking for an enjoyable read and a superhero who is often neither super nor hero, but exceptionally good at what he does, pick up this book. I suspect you won't want to put it down. Kudos to Jack Mars for delivering once again....more
Old enemies and new heroes emerge in Locked On, the collaborative espionage thriller by Tom Clancy and Mark Greany. Get ready, this is pure adventure:Old enemies and new heroes emerge in Locked On, the collaborative espionage thriller by Tom Clancy and Mark Greany. Get ready, this is pure adventure: mystery, suspense, and adrenaline-pumping action . . . with all the attention to detail you would expect from a novel bearing the Clancy name.
Father and son, Jack Ryan Sr. and Jack Ryan Jr., pursue their separate dreams while running a parallel track that puts them on a collision course with an old nemesis with a old grudge. The bad guy has it in for Ryan -- and the world. That is, unless father and son can take him down! Locked On also features the salty John Clark, who is on the run from his own government. What?!
I really enjoyed mining that that vein in the overall plot.
Locked On is the second in The Campus series:
Dead or Alive (2010)
Locked On (2011)
Threat Vector (2012)
Command Authority (2013)
Kudos to Tom Clancy and the Clancy estate for collaborating with other writers to continue the Jack Ryan Universe. Clancy passed away in 2013, but the excitement continues thanks to the suspense, action, and thrills, here by Clancy and Mark Greaney (author of The Gray Man series).
My recommendation:Locked On is "FIVE STARS" precisely because I want to write "it is typical Clancy" in all the best ways: plot, characters, research, detail, suspense, mystery, description, and more. That said, I gave Locked On FOUR STARS in that while it was momentarily pleasurable, it was just that, "momentary." Months later, I did not remember it. That probably speaks more to my mental state than the Clancy/Greaney one-two punch. But then, the memory lodge is also what separates lasting literature from that which provides a satisfying temporary diversion. For me, Locked On, as splendid as it is, falls into that second category -- but I still highly recommend it....more
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