Lethal Affairs

Kim Baldwin and Xenia Alexiou are a great writing team. This book is first-rate quality. All I have to say is, where's the sequel?!

Domino is an agent of a secret organization. Their jobs take them all around the world to assisinate all sorts of folks. Her current assignment is to grab the security tape, which was mailed to a reporter. On this tape is Domino assisnating a man in a parking garage. But this woman and her have an instant and irresistable "click" Domino finds herself falling in love and it (unlike the guns, bullets, and bad guys, scares her to death! Will she kill the reporter whom she has increasing feelings for?

I'd been anticipating reading Lethal Affairs for months and can say that it was well worth the wait. Being a crime/thriller/action/intrigue/plot junkie, I was pleased to have all my favourite elements accounted for. There were enough twists and asides to keep my mind busy and, while the genre may dictate the general outcome of the story, I wasn't thinking about it all the way through the book. I was reading/experiencing the moment on each page instead of plodding through a predictable plot. Put it this way: If this was on the telly, I wouldn't be doing any zapping between channels. My only wish is that the book had more pages so that I could have gotten lost in it for a while longer. The characters have history and depth, making them believable. Hayley is the kind of woman I'd like to be, confident, industrious and beautiful. I like that she isn't afraid of speaking her mind or, rather, heart. Luka remains mysterious but through the flashbacks and narrative I got a glimpse of who she is. She's certainly someone I'd like to learn more about. Quite a number of their insights were recognizable, some of them straight off the pages of my diary, which made for a week of vivid dreams. Also, a book that touches me personally stays with me, and Lethal Affairs will be on my 'special' book list. I closed the book thinking wistfully of my own trip to Malta... and happy for the girls, satisfied with the plot and looking forward to the next one!

Be prepared to spend the rest of your day reading this fast-paced thrilling novel after picking it up the first time. The book opens with a fabulous opening prologue, leaving the reader on the edge of their seat. Thirty-three year old Domino is utterly believable and at the same time quite original, she is a terrific and wonderfully intriguing character, you want to know everything about her that the authors provide. I really enjoyed every moment focused on twenty-nine year old Hayley Ward, every aspect about her seemed true. The locales set the mood and tone perfectly, Istanbul, Washington DC, Malta, Colorado, Baltimore, Miami, Sumatra, NYC. The use of flashback really added to the story at the right time. I loved the bad guy - a completely excellent villain, I found him as interesting as the two heroines. He is also fully fleshed out with a wife, twin sons and a high stakes career with ruthless ambition to go along with it. In addition to the perfect ending there is a very sweet romance that builds slowly and subtly at just the right pace and develops at the right moment.

OK - I just finished Lethal Affairs late, late last night. This is a great whirlwind of a story that is well-researched, well-written, and sexy in all the good and bad ways we come to expect of a brilliant work of literature. Upon finishing the last page, I got up to get some badly needed water (whew!) and glanced at my image in the bathroom mirror. As I passed, I saw that my hair had been blow straight up, just like when you get off a roller coaster. Yes, folks, it's that kind of a ride and THAT good. Xenia Alexiou and Kim Baldwin - Bravo.