The Innocent

Starred review from October 24, 2011
In Stevens’s impressive second Vanessa Michael Munroe novel (after 2010’s The Informationist), Vanessa travels to Buenos Aires in search of a 14-year-old girl, Hannah, who was kidnapped eight years earlier by her mother’s boyfriend and hidden among a religious cult known as the Chosen. Aided by security expert Miles Bradford, Vanessa frees Hannah after infiltrating the compound where the girl was being held, setting off a volatile chain of complications. The gripping plot runs on adrenaline as much as does Vanessa, who unleashes her violent tendencies when the powerless are threatened. The neglected daughter of American missionaries, Vanessa knows too well the mind control a closed society exerts over its members. Her career as “an informationist,” specializing in ferreting out top secrets for corporations and the über-wealthy, has evolved into her role as “accidental assassin.” Haunted by her “kills,” she can’t stop meting out her brand of justice. The complicated Vanessa makes for an intriguing heroine—at once tough, fearless, vulnerable, and compassionate.

November 15, 2011
Whatever you do, don't touch this heroine. Vanessa Michael Munroe (The Informationist, 2011) reacts badly when men paw her, even if it's only in her nightmares. She either attacks whoever's by her side or goes out looking for a bad guy to kill, which she does with speed, dispassion and these itty-bitty knives she likes to keep handy. Her lethal skills are sought by many--in this case her old friend Logan, who asks her to reclaim the daughter who was kidnapped eight years ago by a member of The Chosen, the cult he used to belong to. With Logan, Gideon and Heidi--two other former cult members who have their own agendas for seeking out The Chosen--and her protective backup Miles Bradford, Munroe sets off for Buenos Aires, where the cult has established several compounds. Able to plant bugs, tail persons of interest, speak 22 languages, make up cover stories and allay her anxieties about being touched with murderous forays, Munroe gains access to The Chosen's enclaves. At length she zeroes in on the one where Logan's daughter has been hidden--and sexually abused by the cult leader. Gideon, Heidi and Logan almost derail Munroe's efforts, but the assignment ends with parent and child reunited and Munroe's nightmare demons placated, at least for now. A disappointing second effort from Stevens, who interrupts Munroe's gore fests for diatribes you've heard before about the sexism and debauchery of cults. Imagine.

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October 15, 2011

Even the devil can cite scripture. Stevens's follow-up to the best-selling The Informationist finds her tough protagonist in the midst of trying to chase away her personal demon when she is asked by a friend to find a missing child. Logan and Charity were raised in and escaped from the nomadic cult The Chosen. Eight years ago, Charity's five-year-old daughter, Hannah, was kidnapped by this same cult. Now they have their first solid lead that Hannah may be in Buenos Aires. Munroe, recalling her own horrific childhood, agrees to infiltrate The Chosen and rescue Hannah. But will she be too late? VERDICT Part Lisbeth Salander, part Jason Bourne, Munroe comes out swinging hard again. Hannah's story will touch readers as Stevens, herself a religious cult survivor, weaves some of her own painful childhood experiences into a gritty, suspenseful novel. Recommended for action thriller fans as well as for readers interested in kidnapping and cult stories.--Susan O. Moritz, Montgomery Cty. P.L., MD

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2011
The much-anticipated follow-up to Stevens' accomplished debut, The Informationist (2011), finds blade-wielding heroine Vanessa Michael Munroe in Buenos Aires, plotting the rescue of 13-year-old Hannah from a cult known as the Chosen. The product of a damaged upbringing herself (she was abandoned by her American missionary parents in Africa and barely escaped the continent with her life), Munroe is utterly driven and a little deranged, a fearsome force for both evil and good. She can kill with her bare hands and keeps knives strapped to her shins. Enlisted by a group of adult survivors of the Chosen, she infiltrates the cult, in which twisted acts, including child prostitution, take place in the name of religion. Assisting her in the risky recovery mission is security pro Miles Bradford, every bit as cunning and lethal as she. Stevens, a cult survivor herself, goes a bit over-the-top with Munroe, who at times seems too bitter and belligerent to be believed. But Stevens vividly depicts a dark domain of manipulation, indoctrination, and abuse.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)