Guest Book Review: Taylor Stevens - The Informationist

Reviewed by Sophie Hedley

Vanessa Munroe deals in information: covert information. With an extraordinary intellect and ruthless fighting skills, she will work for anyone - government or individual - who'll pay her.

Now a Texas oil billionaire has hired her to find his missing daughter. Where international investigators have failed, Munroe follows a trail deep into lawless central Africa.

And then things spin out of control.

Soon Munroe finds herself cut off from civilisation and left for dead. Her only hope of discovering the truth - and of getting out of Africa alive - is to face up to the violent past that she's fought so hard to forget.

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

I was really looking forward to starting The Informationist and though it wasn’t as great as I thought it would be, I still really enjoyed it. Vanessa Michael Munroe, known as Michael, was raised in Africa or at least left to her own devices whilst growing into an independent woman. In The Informationist, Michael is hired to help discover whether a girl, missing for over four years, is dead or alive.

Although she’s not the typical easy-to-like stereotype of a main character, I loved Michael. She was strong and tough and intelligent – not afraid to face up to things. Her actions were brilliant to read and made for a fun, kick-ass heroine. Another character I particularly liked was Miles because he was always intriguing. I loved that I never really knew whether he or anyone we encountered were trustworthy because it kept my interest trying to figure it out.

The pacing of the book was where I had my issues because it went from being fast-paced and entertaining to a long part towards the middle of the book where I grew a little bored with the plot. It did pick itself back up but having to force myself through a good section of this book stopped me from loving it as much as I wanted to.

I did love the mystery in this thriller though and that I was always on edge, waiting for a double-
cross or some more great action. While some parts were more fascinating than others, it was the unpredictability that kept me going and I loved how it all turned out. It was a slow-burner of a novel but ultimately a satisfying thriller.

I'd like to thank Najma at Arrow Publishing for sending me a copy of this book and Sophie for reviewing it for me.