Reluctant Smuggler

It's new book Tuesday again!

This week I'm going to tell you about an author that I discovered on her, I think, first book, Reluctant Burglar. I don't remember the exact circumstances by which I came to read it, but I remember being really pleased or surprised at how good it was. (When you offer to read and review stuff, sometimes the books can be a real downer and you just never know. The good ones, like RB, are pleasant!)

So, when I came across the offering on Armchair of the second book in the series, Reluctant Runaway, I jumped on it. And it was great also!

When the third book came around, others apparently had gotten wind of this great author because it was long gone by the time I spoke up at Armchair. Bummer. But I got to read it anyway! And it, like its predecessors, is fantastic.

If you like the romantic suspense type books, these will be up your alley. Not so scary you won't read it in front of a window (shudder), but not so lame as to make you wonder why on earth they put "suspense" in the description. Jill gives RS a good name. Her books are a mini-vacation. I stress mini, because once you start it, you'll have to finish in just a couple days. They read that fast and well. Great pace for this bibliophile.

And now for the plot:

Looting of archaeological sites is big business in a thriving art and antiquities black market. When a desperate foreign government hires Desiree Jacobs’s security company to stop the hemorrhage, she runs afoul of a deadly art-for-drugs operation. Tony Lucano risks his rising career in the FBI to dive into the international underworld after her. Before either of them can come up for air, they must navigate through a deepening murk of ruthless looters, hair-trigger DEA agents, crooked government agents, and innocent bystanders caught up in an illegal trade beyond their understanding. Even if a miracle delivers Desi and Tony from evil, will their love survive the test?

Complete with a reader’s guide, this third book in the To Catch a Thief series explores the power of hope in the darkest of circumstances.

And yes, art and antiquities might sound boring, but I assure you they are not. Now I'm starting to remember why I was nervous about the first book. Don't be. They are wonderful!

Oh, and the whole series phenomenon? While it certainly doesn't hurt to read them all and in order, it isn't necessary. (Though I've included all the links for your perusal.)