Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Charade-Kate Donovan

Charade
Kate Donovan
Silhouette Athena Force, Oct 2007,
ISBN: 9780373389742

Athena Academy graduate and FBI agent Sasha Bracciali is undercover using her vocation as a fashion designer and her heritage as the daughter of Chicago Mafia Don "Big Frankie" to hide her efforts to rescue an Athena student Teal Arnett being held by the new Kestonian dictator. Apparently this Eastern Europe despot is aware of Teal’s special skills.

Accompanying Sasha on the rescue attempt is her FBI handler special agent Jeff Crossman, who recently has become her lover. However, inside the Kestonian compound, Sasha operates alone as she must seduce the megalomaniac in order to save the child. However, as she gets closer to mission successfully accomplished, Sasha unravels shocking information that leaves her trusting no one especially Jeff.

Country name aside (Kestonia vs. Estonia?) The third Athena Force tale since the reincarnation from the Bombshell days (see THE GOOD THIEF by Judith Leon and LINE OF SIGHT by Rachel Caine) is an excellent fast-paced thriller. Sasha is terrific as an Athena graduate trying to save a current academy student while quickly finding she is alone with no one she can trust or rely on. Readers will appreciate Kate Donovan’s entry as CHARADE is a superb action-packed romantic suspense.

Harriet Klausner

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