Sub Rosa by Kate McNeil

Holy Moly!  I waited WAY too long to read Kate McNeil's work.  I don't think I've enjoyed a spy book this much in quite a while.  Generally, I gravitate more toward stories about people and exotic locations, rather than tales of espionage and government back dealings... but this one had me hooked from page two. 

It took me a minute or two to realize that this wasn't going to be the average take on the spy genre.  This wasn't James Bond or Jason Bourne... this was so much better!  Why?  Mostly because of the fact that the main character, Vivian Carmichael, was a real person.  She has self-doubt, strong confidence, mad firearms skills, and a heart and brain that are constantly in motion... sometimes overlapping with the high-energy of a quick-step, and at other times with the seductiveness of a tango.  So unpredictable are her thoughts and movements, that only a skilled author, like Kate McNeil, can create a love interest to keep up - and sometimes, he doesn't... which makes this story even more engaging.

If you're looking for an escape into a world of thinking ahead while simultaneously pulling the pieces together, this book, with its tight dialogue, reverberating action, and tender psychology will have you hooked.  The details written into the story... the places, the language syntax, the cultural nuances... they all provoke you to follow wherever Vivian leads, and you'll believe it's all true.

This is book three in the series, but it's really the beginning.  The acumen with which the author can entice you to jump in the middle while validating your need to read both forward and back, is, in my opinion, the reason to ditch your preconceived notions about what spy thrillers are all about, and embark on the adventure to Bulgaria.  

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