Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Book Review: The Expats

 The Expats by Chris Pavone is a suspense book starring an ex-CIA agent/operative. Interesting to me was that this ex-CIA agent is a woman, Kate Moore. After quitting the CIA, she moves to Luxembourg with her husband and two kids. Another thing quite interesting is that Kate’s husband has no idea she was a CIA agent.

Quitting the CIA doesn’t mean that Kate totally changes her mindset. And that’s a good thing since things are not all sweet and cozy in the Luxembourg world of ex-pats.

The Expats starts out fairly slowly, but soon revs up the suspense. Can she, after so many years, admit her past to her husband? Will he leave her if he knows the things she’s done? Can she uncover the secrets he’s hiding? Are the friends she’s making in this new country really friends? Is the FBI after her? Are they after her husband? Can she protect her husband and family?

The Expats is a bit like a locomotive. It begins with a few puffs of smoke, picks up speed, then barrels toward the end of the line.
Amazon (Kindle, Hardcover, Audio)

Barnes and Noble (Nook and Hardcover)

I give The Expats a rating of Hel-of-a-Character because being in Kate’s head was fascinating.
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FTC Disclaimer: The Expats was sent to me Danielle Crabtree with Crown Trade. This did not influence my review. I admit I like strong female protagonists. My husband reads a lot of suspense and thrillers, but he usually chooses male leads. I read a lot of the same since, before we both got iPads, he handed his books down to me. There definitely are more suspense books with male protagonists, so I enjoy reading one with a female lead, especially when the book is well written and suspenseful. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve read some books labeled suspense which were definitely not suspenseful. The Expats keeps you guessing and keeps you reading until the last sentence. I’m passing this one on to my husband. In fact, I’ll just leave it on the coffee table. I’ll bet you two cents and a popcorn ball that he’ll pick it up.

7 comments:

  1. Good review, Helen. Makes me want to read it, which is all an author can wish for.

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  2. Two cents and a popcorn ball :-)
    I agree that some suspense novels aren't suspenseful at all. This looks good. The only thing I know about Luxembourg is that we got evening radio from there in the 60s (I know I'm dating myself). The BBC in England at that time played very little pop music and we couldn't wait until late evening when Radio Luxembourg started broadcasting.
    Ann

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  3. This sounds like a book that would have me turning the pages as fast as I can.

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  4. Two cents and popcorn ball ... now there's a bet I could cover.

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  5. Christopher, I may not be able to produce the popcorn ball. Never made one.

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  6. A locomotive, eh? This sounds like a fun read. I like the conflict set up.

    Sia McKye OVER COFFEE

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  7. IF he doesn't, can I have the popcorn ball?

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