Minggu, 06 November 2011

another great Michael Munroe thriller

The Doll Vanessa Michael Munroe

The Doll Vanessa Michael Munroe

Taylor Stevens gets better with each book. This--"The Doll" (Crown 2013)--is her third in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series, and in my estimation, the best. Her Munroe character is unlike any other out there in the thriller genre. She is severely damaged by events in her life, but uses those scars to thrive as an informationist--finding information and sometimes people for others. With spot-on instincts, the ability to connect the dots even when she can't see them, and a facility with both mental and physical weapons, she is not someone you want to anger.

In this third book, she has found a level of peace with Miles Bradford, a man who cherishes her for what she is, watches her back, and understands her needs. That is shattered when she is kidnapped by the Doll Maker, an international human trafficker, to deliver another kidnapped woman into the hands of a psychotic misogynist. The Doll Maker knows threatening Munroe's life won't work for she cares little whether she lives or dies, so instead, dangles the life of one of her few friends, promising to release them both once she has succeeded in her mission. She complies, hoping Bradford will rescue her friend while she figures out how to save the second kidnapped woman. Munroe uses the full gamut of mental and physical tricks in an impossible quest to bring everyone out alive, barely maintaining control of the voices in her mind insisting she solve the problem with extreme violence, not mental canny.

And then the Doll Maker makes a mistake. He kills Noah, the rare man Munroe allowed into her life. The last man she loved, if she let herself admit that. Now, Munroe will not be satisfied with simply escaping with the life of her charge. Now, she must destroy the Doll Maker, his organization, and everyone around them.

Stevens is a unique writer, with an almost stream of consciousness approach to the life-and-death plot. When the reader is with Munroe, we feel her pain, her battle to do what must be done while tamping down the demons that constantly lurk below the surface of her consciousness. Every minute of the day, she struggles to control her self-conscious, her addictions, the fury at injustice that becomes a visceral presence trying to control her thoughts and actions. Where the story could be considered a fairly typical plot, Vanessa Michael Munroe make it anything but.

If you haven't read the first two books, read those before Doll Maker. Then, sign up with Crown to be notified every time Stevens publishes a new book.

Get your The Doll Vanessa Michael Munroe Now!

4 komentar:

  1. This is the third in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series and Michael is still going strong. It opens in Dallas, where Munroe has been hanging out with lover, Miles Bradford. She is leaving his office when she is drugged and kidnapped. Bradford tries to find her but all he discovers is that her best friend, Logan has been taken. This scares Bradford as he knows this was probably done so that whoever has Munroe can control her.

    Munroe awakens to find she is someplace in Europe. She discovers she has been taken to assist a very creepy man known as the Doll Maker, transport a kidnapped Hollywood actress that the Doll Maker has kidnapped for a rich buyer. The Doll Maker is part of an international smuggling ring of women to various men that will pay a fortune for them. Munroe knows if she doesn't help him, he will kill Logan and though disgusted by what he is doing, she will do anything to save Logan. But the actress won't go easily and Munroe struggles with wanting to not just save her but bring down this international ring and she is prepared to die to do it. But she won't risk Logan and has to hope that Miles can find him before she has to make any decisions.

    Munroe is a great character, she is very hardcore, very smart, filled with demons of her past. Others have stated that this novel could be read as a stand alone, but I think the reader really needs to meet Michael from the beginning. You are going to want to read them anyway, so you might as well not spoil them for yourself. This series is well-written and very refreshing to have a dark heroine that doesn't need rescuing from a man. I look forward to the next installment. This book and the series is highly recommended!

    BalasHapus
  2. Vanessa Michael Munroe returns to Dallas only to be kidnapped and spirited off to the Balkans where she is compelled to deliver a package, in this case a gorgeous star to the Doll Maker. The Doll Maker heads an organization which delivers female slaves to billionaires in the Middle East.

    Monroe is threatened herself but the simultaneous abduction of those closed to her." Deliver the package or sign the death warrant for someone you love" is the message.

    This is a terrifying look into a dark corner of the world, exposing a trade which actually exists in our world. It is riveting and will keep you up late. Don't miss it.

    BalasHapus
  3. Taylor Stevens gets better with each book. This--"The Doll" (Crown 2013)--is her third in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series, and in my estimation, the best. Her Munroe character is unlike any other out there in the thriller genre. She is severely damaged by events in her life, but uses those scars to thrive as an informationist--finding information and sometimes people for others. With spot-on instincts, the ability to connect the dots even when she can't see them, and a facility with both mental and physical weapons, she is not someone you want to anger.

    In this third book, she has found a level of peace with Miles Bradford, a man who cherishes her for what she is, watches her back, and understands her needs. That is shattered when she is kidnapped by the Doll Maker, an international human trafficker, to deliver another kidnapped woman into the hands of a psychotic misogynist. The Doll Maker knows threatening Munroe's life won't work for she cares little whether she lives or dies, so instead, dangles the life of one of her few friends, promising to release them both once she has succeeded in her mission. She complies, hoping Bradford will rescue her friend while she figures out how to save the second kidnapped woman. Munroe uses the full gamut of mental and physical tricks in an impossible quest to bring everyone out alive, barely maintaining control of the voices in her mind insisting she solve the problem with extreme violence, not mental canny.

    And then the Doll Maker makes a mistake. He kills Noah, the rare man Munroe allowed into her life. The last man she loved, if she let herself admit that. Now, Munroe will not be satisfied with simply escaping with the life of her charge. Now, she must destroy the Doll Maker, his organization, and everyone around them.

    Stevens is a unique writer, with an almost stream of consciousness approach to the life-and-death plot. When the reader is with Munroe, we feel her pain, her battle to do what must be done while tamping down the demons that constantly lurk below the surface of her consciousness. Every minute of the day, she struggles to control her self-conscious, her addictions, the fury at injustice that becomes a visceral presence trying to control her thoughts and actions. Where the story could be considered a fairly typical plot, Vanessa Michael Munroe make it anything but.

    If you haven't read the first two books, read those before Doll Maker. Then, sign up with Crown to be notified every time Stevens publishes a new book.

    BalasHapus