Taylor Stevens

Another outstanding thriller by Taylor Stevens. Androgynous Vanessa Michael Munroe, still scarred from her near death adventures in Djibouti, travels to Osaka, Japan, to meet up with her security consultant lover, Miles Bradford hoping for time to heal mentally and physically in the arms of Miles. Miles current job is trying to track down a corporate espionage employee selling biotech secrets to an unknown competitor. The employee is embedded somewhere in the organization and has covered show more their tracks well. About to be uncovered by Miles the employee frames Miles who is arrested as a murderer and held without legal counsel by the Japanese police. Vanessa swings into action and the bulk of the book is his/her efforts to untangle the web woven by not one, but two, corporate thieves. Vanessa's/Michael's inner viciousness, combined with her innate ability to ferret out evil, match her against a rigid corporate culture that is uniquely Japanese, the yakuza, and hidden employees skillfully stealing the company's secrets. Miles' life is the motivation that keeps Michael moving against all of these overwhelming forces. A suspenseful read up to the last page. show less

I have read a jillion mysteries and thrillers, but Vanessa Michael Munroe, in The Mask, is one of the few investigators/mercenaries I've come across whose thought processes I found myself so rapidly following closely, keeping up with her logic, sussing out the bad guys, replicating the charts and diagrams in my mind that she creates in the story, identifying with her, living vicariously through her. Then, in a sharp and cutting contrast (at least to my nature), experiencing the copper taste show more of adrenaline as she drops into her kick-ass killer persona and feeling exhilarated along with her when she employs her astonishingly fast and violent skills.

Munroe is a highly intelligent survivor turned predator. She has come to Japan because a love she had been separated from, Miles Bradford, has asked for her. He is working on a case of industrial espionage and wants her by his side. However, as is common in mysteries, surface appearances may mask a deeper and different reality. The facade of Japan as a polite, peaceful country is stripped away as a layer of criminality, brutality and bloodshed is exposed in all of its rawness. Munroe's shape-shifting and jaguar-like character is given full rein and the bad guys learn that the person they thought they were dealing with was but another kind of mask, one that covers a dangerous and violent history, and the consequences are deadly.

We are drawn irresistibly into Munroe's perceptions, her thoughts and her emotions. Each of the reader's senses is brought, tingling, into play, caressed, teased to life and then stabbed with a jarringly original but vividly accurate image. Taylor Stevens, the author, wields her writing style and skills with the same adroitness and ability as does her heroine with her hands and knives. It is a real pleasure to watch the both of them perform!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. show less

The Informationist (forthcoming from Crown) is, simply put, one of the best fiction debuts I've read in a very long time. Taylor Stevens has crafted a thriller that will keep you guessing until the last page, populated with a cast of unforgettable characters. The major one (and the one I'm guessing we'll see again soon) is Vanessa Michael Munroe, known for her take-no-prisoners style and her ability to get the job done, whatever it happens to be.

Stevens' book offers a well-crafted plot, in show more which Munroe is sent off into the wilds of equatorial West Africa to find out what happened to a Texas oilman's missing daughter, only to find herself the hunted rather than the hunter. Betrayed by those closest to her, but determined to find out the truth behind the girl's disappearance, Munroe (joined by her former drug- and gun-smuggling mentor Francisco Beyard and Houston security consultant Miles Bradford) dives back into the mystery. The rest, you'll have to read for yourself.

Good stuff - I suspect we'll be hearing quite a bit about The Informationist, and I'll be watching closely for the next Vanessa Munroe tale.

http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2011/01/book-review-informationist.html show less

Taylor Stevens is not only an amazing writer, she is an amazing lady. In this book Vanessa (Michael) has been kidnapped and forced due to threats to people she cares about (Logan) to transport a kidnapped woman to a buyer of women for sex. Again, the book is violent, though she doesn't kill as many people as usual. I've been doing a lot of research on sex trafficking for use in my next book and I found Stevens description very realistic. The problem most of us face is the "it doesn't happen show more in my town" syndrome. The reality is: it does. You can learn how to recognize it and how to report it - go to TAT (Truckers Against Trafficking) and you will find a lot of information. The one difference with [The Doll] is that often women are often moved short distances rather than internationally (at least here in NA). But the violence and what women suffer is the same. The book is not for people with weak stomachs, but it is a very good thriller. show less