by Cynthia Chow

Details at the end of this review on how to enter to win a copy of The Job, along with a link to purchase the book where a portion goes to help support KRL.

The third installment in the adventures of FBI agent Kate O’Hare and international thief Nicholas Fox opens with Kate mind-numbingly bored after spending four days working undercover at California Metro Bank. Thankfully, the Tarzana bank is finally held up by the Businessmen Bandits, although an untimely phone call from Nick has her take a more confrontational route than originally planned. Kate soon learns, someone has been stealing priceless artifacts around the world and skillfully framing Nick.

Traveling to Nashville, Turkey, and France, Kate and Nick discover the thefts have been a ruse to lure Nick into hunting down Lester Menendez, a ruthless drug lord. Recent plastic surgeries have made him an unidentifiable cipher to both the criminal underworld and law enforcement. After the FBI granted Nick his freedom in exchange for his cooperation in helping them capture criminals, Kate has been Nick’s reluctant handler charged with ensuring that he doesn’t stray too far over to the dark side. Kate usually finds herself among Nick’s Ocean’s Eleven crew of shady specialists, with her retired CIA agent father along for the ride.

In an outrageous scheme to lure Menendez with a fake expedition to the sunken treasure ship Santa Isabel, they’ll be joined in Portugal by their wheel woman Wilma “Willie” Owens, method actor Boyd Capwell, genius set designer Tom Underhill, a former Somali pirate, a CGI effects specialist, and retired mercenaries. Kate’s skills ensure that there’s never too much of a sense of real jeopardy–I mean, her father taught her as a child how to kill with a sandwich baggie and a straw–but she may have met her match in a sadistic and beautiful bodyguard who wavers between seduction and torture.

Once again bestselling authors Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg have crafted an enjoyable thriller with a blend of exotic locations, delicious cuisine, elaborate capers, and snappy banter. The writing shines with the expertise of two experienced authors, blending Evanovich’s humor with Goldberg’s cinematic vision. One can easily see these novels being turned into action movies. Even with complex schemes, the novels revolve around the interactions between Kate and Nick, a couple who have an undeniable chemistry and a relationship the two barely resist pursuing. Romantic tension keeps the dialogue fast and fun but never distracts from their jobs and makes them an unbeatable team. It is refreshing to see they never doubt one another or falter in their trust, thus avoiding plot clichés to keep them apart. Readers will enjoy a fast-moving, thrill-ride filled with humor, international intrigue, and hints of romance.

To enter to win a copy of The Job, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Job,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen November 22, 2014. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

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Click on this link to purchase this book & a portion goes to help support KRL!

Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).