Publisher's Weekly Review
This high-charged thriller doesn't let up for a moment as it follows Jane Nichols, an emotionally drained undercover agent for Britain's MI-5, into a less than peaceful semi-retirement. Haunted by the death of her lover, who was betrayed seven years ago by a rogue infiltrator named Jim O'Neil, Jane travels to Savannah, Ga., where she easily slips into one of her many alter egosthat of Max Murdock, bestselling author of a hard-boiled detective series. As she begins to seek background material for her next mystery, Jane is dumbfounded when she reads in the paper that Jim O'Neil, respected local citizen, has been voted Georgia's Businessman of the Year. Vowing to find out more about his "business," Jane allies herself once more with MI-5 and is aided by several canny American agents in her investigation. Romantic flames are ignited when she meets up with ruggedly handsome Alex Callaghan, Savannah's gentlemanly yet highly competent chief of police. Jane is ambivalent. Can she still be a cold-blooded assassin when she's feeling so dewey-eyed and romantic? There are very few surprises here, but there are wonderfully precise characterizations, explosive action and a liaison that is both funny and sizzling. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Coy debut action-romance featuring a British secret agent turned bestselling mystery novelist who can't quite stay out of the spy business. After her parents are murdered in an apparent IRA strike, Jane Nichols is raised by her kindly grandfather, a retired British Navy admiral who guides her toward the fatherly MI5 chief Douglas MacDonald. Packing a Walther PPK (one of James Bond's trademark weapons), Nichols takes to dangerous, violent IRA infiltration like a seasoned pro--until her lover (and fellow spy) Brian Hurst dies trying to protect her from a contract killing ordered by a red-headed, American-based IRA terrorist. Nichols tries to work out her romantic frustrations by pounding out a pseudonymous American trenchcoat mystery series that becomes successful enough for her agent to warn her to prepare for tax problems. Then Nichols's next spy job results in the death of a British undercover cop. Racked by nightmares and guilt, she quits MI5 and retires to a cozy bed-and-breakfast in Savannah, Georgia, intending to tour the swamps and continue her writing career. But, alas, she can't help but discover that her erstwhile red-headed adversary, Jim O'Neil, is a respected pillar of the local community. Newcomer Tan owes more to Sharon McCrumb than John le Carr, as Nichols submits to the advances of tough-talking Savannah Police Chief Alex Callaghan, a fan of her mysteries. As the two of them expose O'Neil, who drops into brogue as he strangles his victims, Tan piles on the clichs- -numerous blows, for example, cause Nichols repeatedly to ``explode'' in pain. At last, the besotted, Callaghan will murmur to Nichols, ``You're one tough cookie.'' Predictable but crisply written female fantasy, frothy and fun.
Booklist Review
Tan's first novel is ambitious, cunning, and intriguing. Her heroine is British intelligence agent and sometime mystery novelist Jane Nichols, who has reached the end of an extremely difficult and emotionally exhausting year during which she infiltrated a band of IRA shooters but saw several of her colleagues brutally murdered. And she's still not recovered from the gruesome murder of her lover seven years earlier. Emotionally and mentally exhausted, she decides to leave the intelligence service and concentrate on her mystery novels. When her literary agent offers her a chance to visit Savannah, Georgia, Jane enthusiastically seizes the opportunity, failing to realize that the road to the South will lead her straight into the wide-open arms of an old and lethal enemy and bring her a handsome new lover. Although Tan's plot is occasionally rocky and sometimes improbable, she knows how to measure out a winning combination of danger, suspense, and romance. A promising new series in the thriller-chiller genre. --Emily Melton
