Vanessa Munroe, the protagonist of Taylor Stevens' debut thriller The Informationist, has a job that will make Whodunit fans drool: She is an information broker, dealing in the sort of intelligence that typically slips under even the best radar. Against her better judgment she accepts an assignment from a Texas oil billionaire, to find news of his daughter who has gone missing in Africa. Since the disappearance took place four years ago, the trail has grown quite cold, not to mention well trampled by Vanessa's predecessors, none of whom could turn up a wisp of a clue. It's not her normal sort of endeavor, but she nonetheless finds herself sucked in by the mystery—and perhaps by the promised seven-figure paycheck. And it won't take long for her to begin wondering if she is being grossly underpaid. The Informationist pushes every one of my buttons: exotic locale, sassy and competent protagonist, crisp dialogue and nonstop action. A fine debut—can't wait for the sequel!

LOST IN TRANSLATION

Gerard O'Donovan's The Priest is a fine debut as well, introducing Dublin cop Mike Mulcahy, back in Ireland after a long stint in Madrid with Europol, the European Union's criminal intelligence organization. He finds himself dragged into a case simply because of his facility with the Spanish language. A young exchange student from Spain has been raped and mutilated, her body branded by a fiery crucifix, and Mulcahy is called upon to serve as interpreter for the first interview of the victim. Perhaps as a result of his compassion for the girl, the Spanish authorities request Mulcahy's ongoing participation in the case, as liaison between the Dublin police and the Spanish government. A quick arrest allays the concerns of the public and the politicos involved, but Mulcahy is less than convinced by the evidence. And rightly so, for in a matter of days there is another attack—and then another, this time resulting in the death of the victim. So, unbeknownst to his bosses, Mulcahy embarks on a secondary investigation, aided by aggressive tabloid correspondent Siobhan Fallon, with whom he shares what one might call a "complicated" relationship. It will grow ever more complicated with each day the killer remains on the loose. The verdict: This is a book you want to read right now, so you can later lay claim to bragging rights of having been "one of O'Donovan's earliest fans."

THE NEXT MCBAIN

Author Lou Manfredo is one book ahead of the aforementioned Stevens and O'Donovan; his Rizzo's Fire is the sophomore effort from a writer hailed as the heir apparent to Ed McBain. Protagonist cop Joe Rizzo is near the end of his run as a detective. He'd be there already, were it not for the crippling tuition fees of his college-age daughters (that, and a bit of unfinished under-the-table business from the first novel, Rizzo's War). This time out, he's teamed with a new partner, an African-American lesbian named Priscilla Jackson. Together they will investigate the murder of an unknown writer whose finest work may have been plagiarized by Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway playwright Avery Mallard, coincidentally (?) recently killed as well. Manfredo's books intersperse the mundane details of daily life amid the main storyline, much like real life or an ongoing television series, as opposed to the relentless on-point pacing of a two-hour movie. McBain did that as well, and it is a style that will appeal to many readers, yours truly included.

MYSTERY OF THE MONTH

The Mystery of the Month winner for March is well past his freshman and/or sophomore efforts. Indeed, were this academia, Ian Rankin would be working on his third or fourth Ph.D. by now. His latest, The Complaints, centers on the internal affairs department of the Edinburgh police force. Everybody hates them, everybody fears them. And Malcolm Fox is one of them, a complex and serious fellow, struggling to keep up the payments on his father's nursing home care, and dealing not at all well with the abusive relationship his sister seems locked into. Fox gets saddled with the unpleasant investigation of Detective Sergeant Jamie Breck, suspected of being involved in a child pornography ring. The investigation holds the distinct possibility of destroying lives, including one closer to home than Fox ever could have imagined. Comparisons will inevitably be drawn between Malcolm Fox and his predecessor, the iconic John Rebus. They are as different as chalk and cheese, but a master storyteller of Rankin's caliber can draw in his audience, making them sympathize (and identify) in equal parts with the hard-charging Rebus and the taciturn Fox, all the while not missing a beat in the plotting, the setting, the characters and the ever-present battle between good and evil. The Complaints is superb on every level, and begging for a follow-up!

Copyright 2011 BookPage Reviews.

Stevens debuts with a tightly written thriller woven around an uncommon heroine with a knack for putting facts together and coming up with the right answers.

Vanessa Michael Munroe is both beautiful and androgynous at the same time. A chameleon by nature, she is Munroe to some, the boy Michael to others and Nessa to a very select few. Munroe hires herself out to glean information for international businesses. She has an encyclopedic and logical mind that stores, sorts and processes information. She can pass for a man or woman, whichever suits her purposes, and most important of all, she has a facility for languages that once sent the CIA calling to recruit her. It's this ability to pick up a language after a short exposure that makes her adversaries underestimate her. That, and of course, her violent past, which also gives her a hard edge, as well as the skills to kill without remorse or second thought. Munroe is hired by oil tycoon Richard Burbank to find out what happened to his stepdaughter, Emily, who disappeared in West Central Africa four years ago. Burbank sends along a babysitter, Miles Bradford, to help Munroe and report back to him. Munroe resents Bradford; she grew up in this part of Africa and not only speaks the dialects but also understands the geography, culture and politics. Still, the money that's offered is interesting and Munroe likes a challenge, so she takes the case, and plunges into the heat, chaos and treachery of countries run by dictators and greed. For a while the pair seems to be on the right track, but soon things go very wrong and Munroe finds herself facing her past and having to make a choice that she doesn't want to contemplate. When it comes down to the pivotal moment, Munroe won't know whom to trust and whom to kill.

Stevens' novel wanders a little, particularly at the end, but the writing is stellar, the heroine grittier than Lara Croft and the African setting so vivid that readers can smell the jungle and feel the heat—a gifted debut with much promise.

Born in Africa of missionary parents and a gunrunner at age 14, Vanessa Monroe now trades in information for CEOs, heads of state, and the like. Then a Texas oil billionaire asks her to return to Africa and find his lost daughter. This thriller is an in-house favorite at Crown, which has signed the author for a two-book deal and is highlighting her unusual background: she was raised in a religious cult whose members scorned education and burned her writings. Lots of foreign rights sales and a reading group guide.

In Stevens's debut novel, Vanessa Munroe's current case might be her last. Having spent her life distancing herself from her sordid childhood in Africa, Munroe has based her career on the skills she acquired there. She is an informationist and linguist with the ability to blend into any country and obtain the knowledge sought by her high-paying clients. Her current client is a distraught father whose daughter, Emily, vanished four years ago in Africa. After Emily's safari group finished its tour, she decided to stay on to travel more with two men she met on the tour. Of the three, only one returned. Emily disappeared, and the last man who saw her now resides in a mental institution. Munroe is intrigued by what previous investigators might have missed, but she is unprepared for what awaits her in Africa. VERDICT Stevens has penned a fast-paced, gripping, edgy mystery with a heroine whom even Lisbeth Salander would admire. Recommended for all contemporary thriller fiction fans who like thrillers similar to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/10.]—Susan O. Moritz, Montgomery Cty. P.L., MD

Stevens's blazingly brilliant debut introduces a great new action heroine, Vanessa Michael Munroe, who doesn't have to kick over a hornet's nest to get attention, though her feral, take-no-prisoners attitude reflects the fire of Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander. Nine years have passed since Munroe, the daughter of American missionaries, escaped Cameroon at age 15 after a violent incident. She's forged a new life in Texas as an "informationist," a person who specializes in gathering information about developing countries for corporations. Munroe's best friend, marketing consultant Kate Breeden, refers her to Miles Bradford, a high-stakes security pro, who believes she's the perfect choice to help Houston oilman Richard Burbank find his adopted daughter, Emily, who vanished four years earlier at age 18 while vacationing in west central Africa. Munroe returns to Africa, where she reconnects with her ex-boyfriend, Francisco Beyard, a sexy drug- and gun-running businessman, who assists in the dangerous search for Emily. Thriller fans will eagerly await the sequel to this high-octane page-turner. (Mar.)