The Kill Artist by Dnaiel Silva

Gabriel Allon had left the espionage world for a quieter life as an art restorer. Now he is asked for help again. At first he wants to turn it down until he finds out he will be working with beautiful fashion model Jacqueline once more. He does not know that there are secrets in the working and this may be his last chance to kill Tariq.

Mr. Silva is a fantastic writer. I could not believe how much research he had to do but it showed. I cannot say that I know the events he talked about but with the names of the books listed in the back from where he learned things, I can only hope that they are either true or names were changed.

Gabriel Allon is a man who has hurts. Yet he is able to stifle them at points to get done what is needed. I found that astonishing. The technology mentioned in the book may be outdated now who knows but I found what they were able to do very interesting. Jacqueline was such a sweetheart and I kept hoping she would get her heart’s desires.

Boy am I glad this was just the first book. I definitely want to read the rest soon!

Daniel Silva/New Author/ Mystery/ Espionage/Chunkster/ 448 pages/ 4 out of 5

Off to read a couple of review books and then something else from my pile. :)

The Likeness by Tana French

Cassie Maddox is at it again. This time the case is going to mean another undercover assignment. When she is called to a crime scene, she is not sure what to think until she sees the dead woman could be her double. Now she will have to convince the dead woman’s friends that she is Lexie. And to top it all off, Cassie used the dead woman’s name when she went undercover the last time. Things could get crazy and Cassie only hopes things don’t backfire.

Ms. French improves on her writing and I was so happy to see quite a few characters come back from the last book. This one was a lot different in fact there were a lot more thoughts in Cassie’s head this time. Last one mainly was about Rob. I got to see a side of things that I had not before and I appreciated that. There was a lot riding on this undercover assignment to go well and Ms. French truly showed that in not only the way the characters acted but also in the whole situation that had to be created.

Cassie Maddox is tough woman. She can give with the best and I was truly impressed with what she had to do in such a short amount of time. Frank her old boss comes to play in this story and it was fun to see their whole back-story including how she became part of the undercover team. And when it comes to working the case O’Kelly even makes an appearance.

There was a lot more thought process in this book. Cassie had to be sure of what she was doing and put her whole heart into it. She has got to be on her toes at all times and remember what she had to memorize to get to this point. I really enjoyed this book. It was well done and I cannot wait to see if there is another one with Cassie or maybe a different character this time. I am curious to see what is next for this author.

Tana French/ Chunkster/ 448 pages/ Ireland/ Thriller/ 4 out of 5

Charley's Webb by Joy Fielding

Charlotte Webb has had an interesting life. Her family is on the odds again and she is stuck picking up the pieces or so it seems. Her career as a journalist is not so glamorous but still warrants an occasional threatening email. She likes writing about things that are controversial. Her children keep her busy and she loves them dearly. She always makes sure that she is there for them even though she never married the fathers. Getting a letter from a woman in jail who wants her story told makes Charley curious. So she decides to meet Jill Rohmer to at least find out the details. The woman had killed three small children and oddly enough Charley had wrote a column about it. She has no idea that it will lead to some nasty things down the line and it might even put her children’s lives on the line.

Ms. Fielding is a fantastic writer who gives the best goose bumps. I have only read one other book of hers but I am so intrigued to pick up the one I have in my ever-growing book pile. She writes characters that question beliefs so much that I even started wondering about mine. Yet the thrill ride you are taken on will leave you almost breathless. She plots things out very well that I was shocked to find out a few things that were talked about in the book.

Charlotte just wanted her family to get along. But since her mom left them when all four children were very young, they are not so forgiving including her father. Now she tries to settle into a life well done except threatening emails shock her. She does her best to keep her children safe. She loves them too much to want anything to happen to them like any mother really. I just felt compelled to follow along with her journey to see what happens.

This is a book full of tough issues and tests the boundaries of truth. I would definitely thing this would make a good book club read. I thought the book was well written and the characters very realistic. People just want to find their place in life and they also want to make money. There is nothing wrong with that it is just how you acquire the money that is often wrong. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is not squeamish. It is not for the faint of heart and the details did get quite gruesome. It is the only way to retell things that happened to truly understand what was going on in the mind of a killer. This is one author that I cannot wait to see what she comes out with next as well as I am planning on reading the other book on my shelf very soon.

Joy Fielding/ Women/ Journalists/ Thriller/ 448 pages/ 4 out of 5

I am working on a review book but hope to get another one of my own in soon!