TEST
Mr. and Mr. Smith is the first in an edgy spy series by HelenKay Dimon who, although she has an impressive backlist of about thirty novels and novellas, is new to me. I also have a not-so-secret love of the occasional alpha-male, spy / militaristic romance stories. Providing the plot is good, and I can relate to the characters – without too much eye-rolling â I do enjoy them.
Fisher Braun is a covert paramilitary operative working for the CIA. He tells his lover, Zach Allen, who lives with him in a very nice London apartment, that he is an engineer. However, Zach is not the computer geek he claims to be either; in reality, heâs deep undercover for the CIA. One day Fisher comes home – to investigate a silent alarm at his house – and finds it has been broken into, its contents torched and Zach missing.
As his branch of the CIA covert organisation doesnât know about this house, or the fact he is gay and has a partner, Fisher has a lot to explain to his best friend Nathan, his unit and his bosses. He also has to save Zach. There is a nice little touch when Fisher announces to Nathan âĤIâm gayâĤHappy? that gave me high hopes for the novel.
ââĤNot especially… As if I care. As if I didnât know.â âWhat?…â Fisher froze. Even the frustration inside him stopped spinning. âWhy didnât you say something?â âIt seemed strange for me to tell you that youâre gay.â
I liked this offhand approach, because it read true for these characters. I enjoyed the plot, but when I read the book, I didnât know it was to be the first in a series. This does explain a few of the niggles I had regarding overloaded exposition, as the author is obviously introducing a lot of new characters who I assume will each take starring roles in later books.
This is a very intense novel and feels a little too claustrophobic. There is a lot of âterseâ dialogue in darkness, and the middle section takes place in the teamâs secure safe house, which by its nature is small and confined. The secondary characters were not fleshed out enough to stop me occasionally thinking â ânow who is he?â – except for Fisherâs partner and best friend Nathan. It isnât a very long novel and it does leave the reader a little less than satisfied, but I find this often applies to first books in a series.
A niggle – as an English reader and reviewer I am always pleased to find books set in the UK. Even UK authors will often set stories in the States obviously, because the market is much larger. However, Ms. Dimon decides to set an American CIA operation in the UK, and all the âgood guysâ are American, and the natives and Europeans are – as often found in the Hollywood movie industry – the âbad guysâ and âmuscleâ. Letâs hope the ratio can be addressed in later books. I did enjoy this novel in parts, but Iâm not sure I shall be reading the next instalment.
Grade: B-
Book Type: Romantic Suspense
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 30/03/16
Publication Date: 2016/06
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! Iâm grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.