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Taylor Stevens

The Informationist: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel Paperback – October 18, 2011

by Taylor Stevens (Author)

4.3 1,561 ratings

Book 1 of 6: Vanessa Michael Munroe

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Governments pay her.
Criminals fear her.
Nobody sees her coming.

Vanessa “Michael” Munroe deals in information—expensive information—working for corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. Born to missionary parents in lawless central Africa, Munroe took up with an infamous gunrunner and his mercenary crew when she was just fourteen. As his protégé, she earned the respect of the jungle's most dangerous men, cultivating her own reputation for years until something sent her running. After almost a decade building a new life and lucrative career from her home base in Dallas, she's never looked back.

Until now.

A Texas oil billionaire has hired her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago. It’s not her usual line of work, but she can’t resist the challenge. Pulled deep into the mystery of the missing girl, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood, betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead. If she has any hope of escaping the jungle and the demons that drive her, she must come face-to-face with the past that she’s tried for so long to forget.

The first book in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series, gripping, ingenious, and impeccably paced, The Informationist marks the arrival or a thrilling new talent.

“Stevens’s blazingly brilliant debut introduces a great new action heroine, Vanessa Michael Munroe, who doesn’t have to kick over a hornet’s nest to get attention, though her feral, take-no-prisoners attitude reflects the fire of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander….Thriller fans will eagerly await the sequel to this high-octane page-turner.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred, boxed review

Book 1 of 6

Vanessa Michael Munroe
Print length

327 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Crown
Publication date

October 18, 2011
Dimensions

5.19 x 0.73 x 7.99 inches
ISBN-10

0307717100
ISBN-13

978-0307717108
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"An irresistible, gorgeously written thriller....impossible-to-put-down....Hollywood, let the casting wars begin."
--The Dallas Morning News

“Extraordinary….No one has written a more exhilarating, adroit, and stylish debut for a suspense series since Raymond Chandler introduced Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep back in 1939."
--TheDailyBeast.com

"A globe-trotting thriller. . . . The Informationist is an accessible, crisply told tale."
--NYTimes.com

"One can't help but think that Munroe and Salander are lone wolves who, if they ever had a chance to meet, might discover they are really part of the same hunting pack...Stevens...writes with the confidence of one who knows she's hit on a winning series character who has the world at her beck and call."
--Los Angeles Times

"The Informationist is a remarkable thriller; intense and heartbreaking, with a chilling, killer climax."
--Associated Press

"In the wake of the stunning success of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo comes a thriller by an American writer whose protagonist is drawing comparisons to Lisbeth Salander. The good news: Vanessa Munroe, the woman at the center of The Informationist, Taylor Stevens' debut novel, lives up to the hype. Best of all, Munroe evokes the spirit and intelligence of the gutsy, damaged Salander, but she's far from derivative...Much will be made of the similarities between Munroe and Salander. But in some ways, Munroe's brooding personality and her ability to blend in to her surroundings bring to mind the provocative Jason Bourne. Thank goodness a sequel to this fiery novel is in the works."
--USA Today

"Vanessa Munroe is the book world’s newest tough-girl action hero."
--New York Post

"A Dazzling new thriller...The Informationist is Steven's first novel but it reads as if she's already a master of the genre."
--New York Daily News

"Stevens' debut novel, The Informationist [is] an international thriller featuring a most unusual hero."
--Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"The star of this novel- an androgynous espionage agent named Vanessa Munroe- boasts a mysterious past and impressive survival skills."
--Entertainment Weekly

"Taylor Stevens in her first novel has achieved the gripping story telling technique of many acclaimed authors."
--Paramus Post

"The Informationist pushes every one of my buttons: exotic locale, sassy and competent protagonist, crisp dialogue and nonstop action. A fine debut—can’t wait for the sequel!"
--Book Page, Bruce Tierney

"Stevens’ debut novel is as compelling as her actual back story. Like Vanessa Munroe, a heroine haunted by her hijacked childhood, Stevens was raised all over the world in a religious cult. But the similarity ends there in this breathless, international thrill ride as Vanessa lies, kills and uses her incredible gift for getting what she wants. But underneath all the action is an even more powerful story of a woman trying to make peace with her personal demons."
--Family Circle, Darcy Jacobs

"Stevens’s blazingly brilliant debut introduces a great new action heroine, Vanessa Michael Munroe, who doesn’t have to kick over a hornet’s nest to get attention, though her feral, take-no-prisoners attitude reflects the fire of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander…. Thriller fans will eagerly await the sequel to this high-octane page-turner."
--Publishers Weekly (Starred, boxed review)

"Stevens has penned a fast-paced, gripping, edgy mystery with a heroine whom even Lisbeth Salander would admire."
--Library Journal (Starred)

“Dazzling…Munroe is a model of an emerging action heroine: like Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander, not a guy in a girl suit but not one to whimper in the corner, either.”
--Booklist

"A riveting procedural, and a multi-dimensional thriller, with a heroine that hooks you from her first appearance."
--OpenLetters.com

"An utterly smashing debut, starring an unforgettable heroine who could go toe to toe with Lisbeth Salander—and claw her way on top. One of the best thrillers of the year!"
--Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of Ice Cold

"With its break-neck pacing set against the simmering violence of Central Africa, THE INFORMATIONIST is a thriller of the highest caliber. Michael Munroe is a heroine you’ve never seen before—a shape-shifter who’s sharp, fast, and deadly, but still vulnerable to her own demons. Powered by intricate plotting that leads to a climax on a grand scale, this novel announces Taylor Stevens as a writer to watch."
--Colin Harrison

"A turbo-charged debut with a protagonist as deadly as she is irresistible. With THE INFORMATIONIST Taylor Stevens has crafted a thriller that’s smart, sexy, fast-paced—and impossible to put down."
--Vince Flynn

"A terrific thriller with piercing tension, chest-tightening adventure, and a one-of-a-kind heroine I’ve continued to think about long after finishing the last page. Taylor Stevens is a born storyteller. I couldn’t put THE INFORMATIONIST down."
--Michael Palmer, author of The Last Surgeon

"Stevens debuts with a tightly written thriller woven around an uncommon heroine with a knack for putting facts together and coming up with the right answers...the writing is stellar, the heroine grittier than Lara Croft and the African setting so vivid that readers can smell the jungle and feel the heat—a gifted debut with much promise."
--Kirkus

About the Author

TAYLOR STEVENS is the award-winning New York Times bestselling author of The Innocent, The Doll, The Catch, The Mask, and the novella The Vessel. The series featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe has received critical acclaim and the books are published in twenty languages. The Informationist has been optioned for film by James Cameron's production company, Lightstorm Entertainment. Born in New York State, and into the Children of God, raised in communes across the globe and denied an education beyond sixth grade, Stevens was in her twenties when she broke free to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond. She now lives in Texas, and is at work on the next Munroe novel.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

Ankara, Turkey

Vanessa Michael Munroe inhaled, slow and measured, focused entirely on the curb of the street opposite.

She’d timed the motorcade from Balgat to the edges of Kizilay Square and stood now, motionless, watching from a shadowed notch while the target group exited the vehicles and progressed down a wide, shallow stairwell. Two men. Five women. Four bodyguards. A few more minutes and the mark would arrive.

Multistoried glass buildings reflected neon onto broad streets still alive with late-evening pedestrian traffic. Bodies brushed past, seemingly unaware of her presence or of how her eyes tracked movement in the dark.

She glanced at her watch.

A Mercedes pulled to a stop across the way, and she straightened as the solitary figure stepped from the backseat. He walked casually toward the entrance, and when he was fully out of sight, she followed, down the stairwell to the Anatolia: private of all private clubs, Ankara’s holy of holies, where together the wealthy and powerful fattened the cogs of democracy.

At the door she flashed the business card that had taken two weeks of greased palms and clandestine meetings to acquire.

In acknowledgment the doorman nodded and said, “Sir.”

Munroe replied with a nod, slipped a knot of cash into his hand, and entered into the din of smoke and music. She moved beyond the hive of secluded booths, past the bar with its half-filled line of stools, through the corridor that led to the restrooms and, finally, the “staff only” door.

Inside was not much more than a closet, and here she shed the Armani suit, the Italian shoes, and the trappings of the male persona.

It was unfortunate that she was known as a man to the contact she’d used to gain access, when tonight of all nights she needed to be a hundred percent woman. From her chest she shrugged down the sheath that would function as a figure-hugging dress and slid thin lacy sandals from the lining of the jacket onto her feet. She pulled a mini clutch from the suit pocket and then, checking that the hallway was empty, stepped into the restroom to finish the transformation with makeup and hair.

Back in the main room, the motorcade’s bodyguards stood as homing beacons, and she walked, with long and languid strides, in their direction. Time slowed. Four seconds. Four seconds of direct eye contact with the mark and then the slightest hint of a smile as she averted her eyes and continued past.

She placed herself at the end of the bar, alone, face turned away, body turned toward him. Ordered a drink. And demurely toying with the chained medallion at her throat, she waited.

This final step and the job would be complete.

She’d estimated ten minutes, but the invitation to join the party came within three. The bodyguard who delivered the message escorted her to the table, and there, with only the briefest round of introductions, coy smiles, and furtive glances, she slipped into the evening’s role—seeking, hunting, prodding, all in the guise of the bimbo’s game.

The charade lasted into the early morning, when, having gotten what she wanted, she pleaded exhaustion and excused herself from the group.

The mark followed her from the club to the street and, in the glow of the neon lights, offered a ride that she declined with a smile.

He called for his car, and as she began to walk away, he came after her, fingers gripping her arm.

She pulled away. His grip tightened, and she inhaled deeply, forcing a veneer of calm. Her vision shifted to gray. Her eyes moved from his face to the veins on his neck, so easily slit, to his throat, so easily crushed, and back again. With blood pounding in her ears, she fought down the urge to kill him.

Against instinct she maintained the smile and sweetly said, “Let’s have another drink.”

The Mercedes pulled to the curb. The mark opened the rear door and, before the chauffeur had a chance to step out, shoved Munroe into the backseat. He climbed in after her and slammed the door. Ordered the chauffeur to drive and then pointed in a brisk movement toward the minibar. “Have your drink,” he said.

With a flirtatious smile, she looked over her shoulder, seeing but not seeing. It was the smile of death and destruction, a disguise to the fire of bloodlust now coursing through her veins. She struggled to maintain reason. Focus. Subduing the urge, she reached for the bottle of Jack with one hand, her clutch with the other, and said, “Drink with me.”

Reacting to her calm, and with the unspoken promise of sex to come, he relaxed and took the drink she offered. She dipped her fingers into it and then pressed them to his mouth. She repeated the gesture, playfully, teasing the Rohypnol into his system until the glass had been emptied, and when it had been done, she staved him off until the drug took effect. She told the chauffeur to take the man home and, without resistance, stepped out of the car.

In the cool of the predawn, she breathed deeply to clear her head. And then she began to walk, oblivious to time, aware only of the lightening sky and eventually the morning call to prayer that sounded from the minarets across the city.

It was fully light when she arrived at the apartment that had served as home for the last nine months.

The place was shuttered and dark, and she flipped on the light. A bare low-wattage bulb hung suspended from the ceiling, revealing a one-room apartment with more floor space devoted to cluttered stacks of books, file folders, and computers with their attendant wires and paraphernalia than to either the desk or the couch that doubled as a bed. Beyond that, the place was empty.

She removed the medallion from around her neck and paused, momentarily distracted by the blinking red light at the foot of the couch.

Then, with the medallion flat between her palms, she twisted it and removed a microcard from the opened halves. She sat in front of the computer, slid the card into a reader, and, with the data downloading, reached for the answering machine.

The voice on the recording was like champagne: Kate Breeden at high noon. “Michael, darling, I know you’re still wrapping up and aren’t expecting another assignment for a while, but I’ve received an unusual request. Call me.”

Munroe sat on the couch, replayed the recording, leaned her forehead onto her arms, and closed her eyes. Exhaustion from the day’s work weighed heavily, and she lay back, eyes glazed in the direction of the monitor and the download status. She glanced at her watch. Just after ten in Dallas. She waited a moment, then straightened, and bracing for what was to come, picked up the handset, and dialed.

The effervescence in the voice on the other end brought the crack of a smile, and Munroe said, “I just got your message.”

“I know that you aren’t looking for new work for a few months,” Kate said, “but this is an exception. The client is Richard Burbank.”

Munroe paused. The name was familiar. “Houston oil?”

“That’s him.” She sighed. “Okay, fax me the documents, I’ll take a look.”

There was an awkward silence, and then Breeden said, “For a hundred thousand dollars, would you be willing to meet in person?”

“In Ankara?”

“Houston.”

Munroe said nothing. Simply let the silence of the moment consume her.

Breeden spoke again. “It’s been two years, Michael. Consider it a good omen. Come on home.”

“Is it worth it?”

“You can always go back.”

Munroe nodded to empty space, to the inevitable that she’d so far managed to postpone, and said, “Give me a week to wrap things up.” She dropped the phone into the cradle, lay back on the couch, and with an arm draped over her eyes inhaled long and deep.

There would be no sleep today.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown; First Edition (October 18, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 327 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0307717100
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0307717108
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.19 x 0.73 x 7.99 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #656,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,127 in Kidnapping Thrillers
- #18,947 in Women Sleuths (Books)
- #31,602 in Suspense Thrillers

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Taylor Stevens

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TAYLOR STEVENS is a critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers including the breakout hit The Informationist. Best known for high-octane stories populated with fascinating characters in vivid boots-on-the-ground settings, her books have been optioned for film and published in over twenty languages.

Stevens came to writing fiction late. Born into an apocalyptic cult, separated from her family at age twelve, and denied an education beyond sixth grade, she lived on three continents and in a dozen countries before she turned fourteen. In place of schooling, the majority of her adolescence was spent begging on city streets at the behest of cult leaders, or as a worker bee child, caring for the many younger commune children, washing laundry and cooking meals for hundreds at a time. In her twenties, Stevens broke free in order to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond. She now lives in Dallas with her two children and an ever-growing menagerie of pets.

In addition to writing novels, Stevens podcasts weekly at www.taylorstevensshow.com where, together with co-host Stephen Campbell, she tackles listener submitted questions, solves writing problems, and generally teaches others how to kick writing in the butt one word at a time. The accompanying video tutorials are posted free at www.patreon.com/taylorstevens under the HACK THE CRAFT tag. For fans and readers who prefer email, she shares extensively about the mechanics of storytelling, writing, overcoming adversity, and the details of her journey into publishing at http://www.taylorstevensbooks.com/connect.php.

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MLBME

INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2013

Verified Purchase

I liked this book. It was intense, and a little scary thinking that the world is really like that in places. More and more places..... but even more scary was thinking there are people like Vanessa walking around with us....

I like the plot and the writing. I did spend half the book wishing I had been given a better discription of the heroine though. It would have made it easier for me to picture the story as I read.

She is a scary gal. I'm sure glad she is on the good side of the fight...wow! Would I hate to be the one going up against her! She is the scariest sociopath I've read about in a long time.....

Many reviews compared her to other strong female anti-hero roles from the dragon tatoo series and several others. The only thing these women have in common is the terrible violence and abuse in their background to mold them into who they are today. The resemblence ends there. Unfortunately, Vanessa put herself in the position for the abuse to happen when she ran away from home at 13 to join a bandit band. Vanessa can't really function in society. Her first urge is violence, she fights that urge even in her personal life with people she cares about. She is incredibly smart and intuitive which makes her the best in her field of intelligence. She turns picassoesque pieces of information into grand master pieces of intelligence using the tiniest bit of glue to hold it all together. Watch out when things go wrong or she doesn't get what she wants. She is strong,intelligent, and thinks like the bad guys, since she was one of them growing up. Now, that dark past can keep her alive. Unfortunately, she is also damaged far worse than even her friends know, and in any situation that doesn't fit her ideal of norm she loses it. She hears voices and becomes a berserker...... scary.

I started the second in this series but the story didn't hold me the way the first one did and I never finished it. The first book is generally the best in a series and so far this is holding true for this one. Liking this book was unexpected for me. Normally, I like lighter reads with a more likeable lead. Vanessa is difficult to like, it would be far easier to just feel sorry for her. She wouldn't accept that though. Like her or hate her....she is impossible to ignore.

2 people found this helpful

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William Henley

More Bond than Salander

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2013

Verified Purchase

The Informationist certainly held my attention, but I found Vanessa Michael Munroe to be more of a female James Bond for the 21st Century than a knockoff Lisbeth Salander.

VMM kicks butt in same way Bond did in Ian Fleming's novels, and the exotic locales the protagonist operates in also remind me of a modern day Bond novel. That's a good thing. The African, American and European locales were beautifully and interestingly drawn by author Taylor Stevens. Even though I was about a hundred pages ahead of our brilliant informationist in figuring out who the traitor and the bad guy were--the story still took me on a wild and compelling ride.

The plot is fairly straightforward. Texas oil billionaire hires a brilliant but demon-haunted investigator to track down his long-lost step-daughter. The search leads Vanessa Michael Munroe to Europe and eventually to Africa where dangers and complications abound.

I was mystified by the androgyny/cross-dressing thing and why it's supposed to be central to the lead character's personality. VMM uses her ability as a trick of the trade, but the reader is led to believe that this is integral to her character in ways that are never demonstrated or fully explained, except perhaps as possibly evidence of all of the demon battling she is doing. Also, enough with the demons. We're told and shown ad nauseum that Vanessa is haunted by metaphorical demons, and that's all fine and dandy--everyone loves a deeply-flawed private eye. But I lost track of the number of instances of the word "demons" in the book and how often the lead character had to take a break from the action to battle them. It got in the way of the story in the same way as if we had to stop every 50 pages or so to battle a migraine headache.

Those flaws aside, I enjoyed this book and look forward to following VMM on her further adventures.

13 people found this helpful

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JustACaJen

A heroine you want to hear more from!

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2011

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I don't write a lot of reviews - something I need to get better at - but I know this is a first time author, and as an aspiring author myself, I thought I should take the time to share my thoughts. I went out on a limb with this one - I don't typically read a lot of "first" books when it is known to be a continuing series. I typically wait for 2 or 3 to come out and see how the hype is and then I will go back and start the first. I picked this one up because a friend recommended it and told me it was the sort of book I would enjoy.

I know there are a lot of comparison reviews out there comparing the heroine here to Lisbeth Salander (Dragon Tattoo) and I can definitely see the overarching similarities. And like the Larsson books, the first one was a struggle for me to get through. I have a tendency to glaze over details and there are certain points in this story line that the descriptions become tiresome for me - but I can't really take away a "star" because of that. I know a lot of readers who swallow up those details like starving children. I simply glaze over them and keep on reading.

I found the characters' voices pretty quickly and was able to disappear into the story and allow an hour to pass on the elliptical without realizing it. (A measure of "true" success in my book!) There are tons of little "easter eggs" throughout the story line that leave you wondering more about the heroine's story. At the end of the story, there is a nice climatic finish - that moment where you just don't want to stop reading but you also don't want it to end, you are satisfied with the outcome, and you can see the realm of possibilities for this heroine to keep on going for many more books.

Kudos to Taylor Stevens for a job well done first time around! I look forward to the next book in the series!

3 people found this helpful

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M T Hoppe

New amazingly good author

Reviewed in France on August 2, 2014

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What a pleasure to encounter a new author who is capable of telling a suspense story in such a way that you get really hooked.
The characters are interesting and Stevens even succed in making them believable despite the maniac plot. The story unrolling in an unknown ( to most readers) environment like Equatorial Guinea adds an extra unsettling aspect.
Having read innumerable suspense stories, I all too often encounter a promising book which then just fizzels out into stereotypes and is forgotten soon after the plane has landed.
Not so for the informationist!
I shall definitely look very much forward to follow the coming works by Taylor Stevens

ageofextremes

今後、どのように成長するか楽しみな作家

Reviewed in Japan on January 20, 2013

Verified Purchase

結論。お勧めです。

主人公はVanessa Michael Munroe。クライアントの求めに応じて、「情報」を入手することを生業としている。天才的な語学力、マーシャルアートのスキル、そして別人に変装する能力。スパイ的なキャラクターだが著者はMunroeをInformationstとして造形した。

そんなMunroeにアメリカ人の富豪から依頼がくる。数年前に失踪した娘を探して欲しいと。アフリカ大陸を旅している途中、失踪したらしい。一緒に旅をしていたドイツ人男性は精神疾患に陥っている。いったい何があったのか？宣教師の娘としてかつて暮らした場所にMunroeは戻ることになる。そして彼の地で、主人公は自らの忌まわしい過去とも向きあわねばならない。

主人公が魅力的だ。欧米の書評では故スティーグ・ラーソンのリズベス・サランダーに本作品の主人公であるVanessa Michael Munroeをなぞらえるものがあったが、うなずける。同時に、やはりサランダーとMunroeは違うなあ、とも感じる。Munroeには、なにかもっと肉体的なものが感じられるのだ。

ある意味、一番興味深いのが著者であるTaylor Stevens自身であろう。HPによると、同人はかなり特異な幼少期・青年期を過ごしたようだ。カルト集団に引き連れられる形で様々な都市（本作の舞台をも含むようだ）に住んでいた、とある。東京にもいたことがあるようだ。HPには、満足に正規の教育を受けることがあまりなかったともある。そのせいかどうか、Stevensの英文はどこか、英語を母語以外の言語として学んだ人間が書いたような感じがある（ノンネイティブにとってはかなり易しい英語）。

Vanessa Michael Munroeを主人公とした作品は続編が出ている。2作目の「The Innocent」は発表済み。3作目の「The Doll」は今年6月に発売予定。

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Dean33

Female Jack Reacher in Africa?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2014

Verified Purchase

I don't usually review but the poor reviews so far nearly put me off.

I bought this and could not put it down. It moves fast from start to finish.
Monroe is a great new heroine for me and I'll be moving straight on to the next adventure.

No wonder Lee Child has praised this Monroe is a winner. Read the sample and if you like it expect hours more of the same fast paced adventure.

Nearly five stars for me. At times just a little complicated but still a great 'page turner' I could not put down.

Amazon Customer

A good thriller but adult read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2013

Verified Purchase

Thers a bit of a formulaic approach here but the twist is Michael (Vanessa Michael Moore) is a synthesist of data collected from observation, the dog that didn't bark lack of info, actions, pattern recognition, etc. She's a damaged heroine, as most protagonists are these days but, hey, that's the way the world is. I loved the Wesrt African sub-Saharan location, the characters were well formed and there are twists a[plenty. Oh, and lots of corpses. A very good read and Ive already got the follow up.

Amazon Customer

LOVED this book

Reviewed in Canada on September 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

I tried very hard but simply couldn't find any fault with this novel. It was excellent. The story had depth, the chacters were developed beautifully, and the editing stellar. You couldn't help but love the heroine, Vanessa Michael Munroe. She is a warrior in every sense of the word. Appreciated the detail about Africa as well. The entire story was very well put together. All in all, a great read!!!

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The Informationist: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel Paperback – October 18, 2011

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