'I had to fall in love with someone who gets nearly killed three times a year.'
Sophie is an ex-spy who is having a very bad day indeed. She was the last person at the scene of the murder of an MI5 officer and despite her protested innocence, everything points to her being guilty of the crime; he was shot with her gun, and her fingerprints are found in his office. Now she's on the run, and trying to discover who has set her up.
Her boyfriend Luke Sharpe works for MI6, and he swore he'd never get involved with a woman like Sophie, but then: 'Hurricane Sophie had blown into his life, the levees had cracked, and a lifetime of emotion had unleashed itself...now the strength of his feelings terrified him'. He has fallen in love with her, and sets about trying to help her find out what has happened.
Sophie is an ex-spy who is having a very bad day indeed. She was the last person at the scene of the murder of an MI5 officer and despite her protested innocence, everything points to her being guilty of the crime; he was shot with her gun, and her fingerprints are found in his office. Now she's on the run, and trying to discover who has set her up.
Her boyfriend Luke Sharpe works for MI6, and he swore he'd never get involved with a woman like Sophie, but then: 'Hurricane Sophie had blown into his life, the levees had cracked, and a lifetime of emotion had unleashed itself...now the strength of his feelings terrified him'. He has fallen in love with her, and sets about trying to help her find out what has happened.
Sophie meets Jack in a very entertaining way. He is wanted for a crime in the USA that seems all too similar to what Sophie is alleged to have done. Could the same person or people have set them both up? And can Jack be trusted?
I think Sophie is a very likeable, highly entertaining and fun character, and despite the amount of trouble she seems to attract and the sometimes rather daft actions she takes, you get the feeling she would be a very interesting person to be around, and life would certainly never seem to be boring with her. She watches 'Buffy as a kind of therapy.' Sometimes she acts before she thinks, making her dangerous too. When a friend asks Luke if he intends to marry Sophie, the thoughts that run through his head give us a detailed picture of this larger than life lady who he loves:
'She was a lunatic. She had no prospects, even when she wasn't on the run. His family hated her. She was fast-mouthed and sharp-tongued and soft-hearted, and she'd turn his home into a lost-cat sanctuary given half a chance. She was young, irresponsible, bright, mad, and everything he'd spent his life ordering himself to believe he'd never wanted.'
The story concentrates alternately on Sophie's escapades, and then on what Luke is getting up to. The writer develops both characters, so we have both a heroine and hero whose points of view we get to know in this story. There is always something happening to keep the reader interested. I love how they travelled around and so we get many different locations in the story. There is also some lovely witty humour at times. This is a romantic story with two handsome heroes and a good deal of adventure and mystery woven in. I would have liked it to be perhaps a little bit more intricate on the mystery side and perhaps a little tighter in the middle, but the novel for the most part is fast-paced and Kate Johnson keeps us guessing and interested in what is coming next.
'She was a lunatic. She had no prospects, even when she wasn't on the run. His family hated her. She was fast-mouthed and sharp-tongued and soft-hearted, and she'd turn his home into a lost-cat sanctuary given half a chance. She was young, irresponsible, bright, mad, and everything he'd spent his life ordering himself to believe he'd never wanted.'
The story concentrates alternately on Sophie's escapades, and then on what Luke is getting up to. The writer develops both characters, so we have both a heroine and hero whose points of view we get to know in this story. There is always something happening to keep the reader interested. I love how they travelled around and so we get many different locations in the story. There is also some lovely witty humour at times. This is a romantic story with two handsome heroes and a good deal of adventure and mystery woven in. I would have liked it to be perhaps a little bit more intricate on the mystery side and perhaps a little tighter in the middle, but the novel for the most part is fast-paced and Kate Johnson keeps us guessing and interested in what is coming next.
As mentioned in the title, this is number five in the Sophie Green mysteries series. I haven't read the other books in the series, but I enjoyed this one very much without any knowledge of her previous encounters. There are occasional mentions of past episodes in her life and career which adds a bit of background for those of us who are new to her adventures having only started with this book.
A fun read full of antics, dilemmas, disguises, mystery and romance featuring 'the stubborn, contrary, brilliant, corkscrew-brained entity know as Sophie Green.'
A fun read full of antics, dilemmas, disguises, mystery and romance featuring 'the stubborn, contrary, brilliant, corkscrew-brained entity know as Sophie Green.'
You can follow the author on twitter @K8johnsonauthor and visit her blog and website here.
Thank you very much to the publisher for sending me an ebook of this novel to read and review.
3.5/5
Thanks for the review! This one is on my list.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Talli. I hope you enjoy it, I did. She's a fun character.
DeleteI came across your blog as I was searching out new book review sites to add to my sidebar, as a resource for writers. I really appreciated this complete and thorough review! I am adding your blog to my book blog list and adding myself to your follower count :)
ReplyDeleteKarenG
Hi Karen, thanks for your lovely comments, much appreciated. That's kind of you to follow too and me to your list. Best wishes, Lindsay
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