Whispered Lies by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love (B.A.D. #4)
March 23, 2010 (Mass Market Paperback)
Romantic Suspense
Paperback, 496 Pages
Pocket
Reviewed by Mandi
Why I read: Offered for review by the publisher.
Favorite Quote: “Exceptional is too understated for you. I’ll have to search for a better word.”
Gabrielle Saxe has led a lonely life. She went to an elite boarding school in France, only to have her roommate disappear. She was close to her roommate, refusing to believe she disappeared under normal circumstances. Some years later, she marries a Hollywood star, only to find he is extremely cruel and violent. They divorce after six months, and she goes into seclusion afraid for her life. While in seclusion, she learns the ropes of the internet and becomes known as “Mirage” a secret informant for many government agencies. She makes contacts in South America and when people go missing, she leaves tips to help these agencies give the kidnapped victims a chance at survival. She moves around frequently, and is currently in Peach City Georgia – but her anonymity runs out.
She received a note from her old roommate, in code they created while rooming together. The note tells of a girl that has been taken, and Gabrielle goes through great risks to get this information into the right channels. But this time, she has been tracked – by more than one person.
Carlos Delgado works for the super secret Bureau of American Defense, or B.A.D. and wants nothing more than to take the Fratelli, a terrorist group down. After going on a mission to save the girl left from a tip from Mirage, they get a break and find out where she lives. When he shows up, someone is already there to get her. He must convince Gabrielle he is the secret man to trust, as he helps her get to safety and then off to investigate the very evil players at work in the Fratelli.
Whispered Lies was a nice change of pace– I love the secret agents, gun battles, and all the secrets everyone holds. My favorite part of the book is the romance that develops between Carlos and Gabrielle. Now this is not just because I like romance, but because their romance makes sense. They are not strangers, hiding with gunfire in the background making out. They come to semi-trust each other, and the romance blossoms from there. Gabrielle has not had much human contact for years, and is desperate for Carols’ touch. For Carlos, Gabrielle becomes not the perpetrator, but someone he wants to see cleared and prove to everyone she is not on the evil side. The other teammates make an appearance, all very alpha and lethal. The one female teammate holds her own amongst the men and I admired her character.
There are two things that bothered me with this book. First, I had a difficult time keeping everyone straight. There are a lot of players in this book – both good and bad, and many times I found myself flipping backwards to remember who someone was. More than that, I had a hard time believing Gabrielle became this mastermind internet person. In the beginning of the book you are just told she went to a fancy boarding school, and married and divorced a creepy, yet rich guy. Now in seclusion, she can hack into sites and leave the highest government agencies information? It is not until later on that it is revealed Gabrielle is a genius. I wanted more time devoted to this aspect and how she developed these super skills.
Overall, Whispered Lies is a fun romantic suspense with lots of tension and action.
Rating: 3.5/5
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I've read this before and liked all the secret agents and gun fights. Fantasy is really fun to read, but every once in awhile I need a breather and turn to something like this.
Plus, I love Sherrilyn Kenyon and I'd read anything she wrote!
Great review – I liked how you balanced the stronger aspects of the story with the ones that left you scratching your head (so to speak ;-)
I like the premise of this story, it sounds like a quick read that can pull you in.
Was it that there were too many sub characters that you couldn't keep track of? Or was there a lot going on? Sounds like an interesting story and nice change of pace from what I usually read.
Caitlin – this is the first I have read of her BAD series..I like!
CJ – Thank :) Yes..def will pull you in..they did a nice job with romance vs. action.
FV – Yes, it was more characters rather than the events going on that was a bit confusing (for me:)
This looks like a fun read. I haven't read anything by her other then her Dark Hunters series.
Great review. I never read this series of hers. Those smexy dark hunters seem to take up all my time. lol I will have to give it a try. .
I wondered about the internet too, she learnt the ropes and became all that suddenly, but ok if she is an genious
Great review Mandi!
I also find it frustrating when there's too many characters to keep track of as well as unbelievable abilities of the hero or heroine.
Hmmm….I have this one in the TBR. I hope I like it.
:) VFG