The women pretty much steal the show in this story of complex double-dealing in Kazakhstan with Big China breathing down its neck. ( )

Our hero, Cono, is a free-lance spy. With his heightened nervous system, mixed heritage, and gift for languages, he makes a great spy. Now he’s on a personal mission to assist a friend out of a heap of trouble. In Kazakhstan, the stakes are raised as European oil resources are threatened and weapons-grade uranium comes into play.

I was easily swept up by this book. Cono is perfect for espionage and it was refreshing to have a non-Caucasian hero. His mixed heritage and linguistic skills allow him to blend into so many different cultures. Cono is sometimes referred to as Cono 7Q and there’s a short flashback that explains this. He has a rare mutation on gene 7Q that accelerates his nervous system, giving him an extra edge. He can pick up on minutia and interpret their meanings quickly. Also, he has lightning fast reflexes. He’s just on the edge of being a superhero.

Early in the story, he receives a desperate call from his former lover Xiao Li. She’s currently working as a classy prostitute and unfortunately she witnessed something she shouldn’t have. Now her life is in jeopardy. Cono is several countries away but he calls in a favor with his long-time friend Timur who can get to Xiao Li quickly.

Once Cono meets up with Timur, things get messy. There are plenty of things that Cono and Xiao Li are unaware of, making it difficult to figure out who is on their side or against them. I really enjoyed the changing allegiances as people make backroom alliances. It made it so much harder for Cono and Xiao Li to untangle themselves from this mess.

My one quibble with this story is how the ladies are sexual objects or love interests, each of them. Now they are a bit better than Bond Women in that each of them has their own personality and a role that affects the plot. Still, I couldn’t help giggling and rolling my eyes a bit as each woman wanted to bed Cono. Maybe that 7Q gene also puts out an irresistible pheromone. Dimira is a teacher and has known Cono for some years. She provides a temporary safe house and some contacts for Cono. Katerina, a Russian asset, has also known Cono for some years and has enjoyed his personal company on their dealings. Xiao Li struck me as rather petulant and self-centered. While I didn’t like her character very much, I did like how she was a catalyst for the story and how Cono risked much for her safety.

There’s this torture scene that had me laughing quite a bit. Now that makes me sound a bit demented but Cono came up with an excellent way to get under the skin of his captor. The torture was harsh but Cono’s response was all defiance but defiance with a solid understanding of how to demean his captor in front of his lackeys. It was great. That is my favorite scene from this book.

I’m definitely looking forward to more adventures of Cono 7Q. This book kept me up to 1am as I didn’t want to put it down.

I received a free copy of this book.

The Narration: David Pittu was a very good fit for this book. He did an excellent Cono, giving him a vague, unplaceable accent (as the book describes it). There were a ton of accents in this book and to my untrained ear, he did a good job of keeping each one distinct. There were also plenty of characters who yelled and Pittu used skill in making it sound like yelling without actually raising his voice and blowing out my ear drums. His female voices were varied and believable. There were a few tender moments and he did a good job working with those emotions. ( )

NOTE : The book was shipped by the writer as a part of Good Reads Giveaway Program.,

When the book landed in my door mat I was rather surpised. A Hardbound autographed book? That too from a writer who won't dislose his real identity? Makes reading the book all the more exciting.
Sadly, the book didn't live up to the excitement. The plot was a drag in the first half till Cono met Katerina. I almost wanted to junk the book till that happened. The story line is almost confusing thanks to the absence of any background about the characters. I even wondered why the book was titled so. Agreed the protagonist Cono has abnormally sharp reflexes thanks to a messed up DNA strand but that's not reason to title the book “Performance Anomalies”.
One thing the writer certainly got right was Asian Politics. For an ethnic Asian, the politics part of the book might sound a wee bit cynical neverthless, its more or less true.
I simply feel the writer has trired “hard” (Like “Real Hard”) to induce suspense by using espionage as a central theme.Unfortunately, that backfired. Reason: The lack of background of the main characters.
The book is more or less like a movie script sans the “usual” intros. If this were the 3rd or 4th book in a “series” it would have made much more sense.
The only thing I loved about the book was the ending. Towards the end the book was virtually gripping with plenty of twists and turns.

VERDICT: Overrated. Disappointment. Needs a lot of work to be done

RATING: 2 on 5 ( )

Interesting, exciting, strange. Three things you can say are true about this first in a series thriller. An independent operator, who has more money than he will ever need because of a computer adaptation of a genetic difference of his own nervous system, bounces around the world playing at being a covert agent until he runs into the reality of the world. When games turn into real pain for real people that he knows, things change. It was a wild ride. ( )

In Performance Anomalies Cono, a James Bond type, independent brave young man, has some remarkable traits. A polyglot, world citizen with an accelerated nervous system, by which he can see and react quicker than his opponents. That serves him in all kinds of near-deadly confrontations while out on a mission in Kazakhstan. An enormous country, rich in natural resources such as oil, uranium. Kazakhstan has the attention from both Russians, Americans, Chinese, radical muslim groups and adventure seekers. A deadly mix of spies, intrigues, bad girls and taxi drivers. For a freelance spy, headed to Brazil, Almaty, Kazakhstan means a roller coaster ride for Cono to help his friend Xiao Li and discover the possible plot behind all these strange attacks on him. Not so much a novel (as the cover suggests), but a great thriller. ( )