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Dec 28, 2008

Samantha rated it:

Currently reading this...... We've gone from Washington to the Ukraine and I think all hell is about to break loose.....

(After finishing) I really (!!!) liked this, but I'm a sucker for fast paced spy stories with a credible female main character. The story went all over Europe, to South America, back then to Europe. I LOVED THE MAIN character and really felt for her when something horrible happened to her around 40% into the book. This appears to be a series. I'm down for the next o

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 28, 2010

Julie rated it:

The product description describes this book as a "solid, fast-paced espionage thriller". Unfortunately, this book is anything but that.

The first approx. 40% of the book revolves around the main character, FBI Special Agent Alexandra LaDuca, getting ready to travel to Kiev. There is a brief bit of action in Kiev, then another 30% or so of the book is Alex recovering from and dealing with what happened in Kiev. This includes her traveling to Venezuela. There is a brief bit of More...

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Feb 27, 2010

Linda rated it:

During the preparation for a United States presidential trip to Ukraine, Department of Treasury Special Agent Alexandra LaDuca was approached by the Secret Service for a special assignment. Her assignment was to keep an eye on organized crime leader Yuri Federov. Although conflicted, she accepted the job that would be a challenge to her both professionally and personally. Before the action ends, Part Two of the book changes the location and Alex finds and uneasy alliance.

Conspiracy i More...

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Feb 16, 2010

Rick rated it:

(from my Amazon.com review "Spymaster Masters me Again")

I was a little nervous reading this book. I'd really enjoyed Midnight in Madrid (another in this trilogy), but that was my first Kindle read, and I didn't know then that these books are published by a Christian publishing house. Starting this one, I was afraid my positive impression might have been contaminated by first-timeism (I liked reading on the Kindle) and I have to assume that Christian publishing would prove t More...

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Dec 24, 2009

Matt rated it:

I've just finished reading three novels by this author. I'm not going to pad my statistics by claiming them individually because once you've read one, the others have nothing new to add.These books are also additions to the growing phenomenon of illiterate, technically ignorant authors of techno-thrillers. If you are trying to make your novel seem tough and gritty by including endless detail about the firearm the heroine is using as she faces danger, the details should be right. How much trouble More...

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Dec 21, 2010

Mark rated it:

This is the first book of Noel Hynd's that I have read. I picked it up on Amazon-Kindle for free a few days ago when they were offering it for free (as often they do, and they do it unannounced, so if you are a Kindle reader, it pays to check out the free book list every day!) Anyway, I found this a really quick read. Intriguing with all the factual information about various locations throughout the book. If you've ever been to any of the places mentioned (and even it you have not) you'll fe More...

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Jul 19, 2010

Allison rated it:

I would give this one 3 1/2 stars.
I was pleasantly surprised with this novel. I got it for free on my kindle and didn't know too much about it.

Alex is an FBI agent with the department of Treasury who goes "on loan" for a CIA operation. She gets pulled into a web of intrigue and a situation more complicated than she had bargained for - including an assassination attempt on the president of the U.S.A.
The story jumps around the world from Washington, to Ukraine, Ve More...

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Jan 22, 2010

John rated it:

I've read other reviews of this book, and although I agree with some of the criticism, I did find this to be a very enjoyable book. I found little to criticize with the editing or other technical details; something I had expected to find fault with based on the bad reviews.

The good: Since this book is in the (new?) genre of faith-based novels, in that Christianity is promoted during the course of the plot, there is no adult language/situations. It's nice to see that a thriller *CAN* More...

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Jan 31, 2010

Paul rated it:

For the first thirty chapters of this book, it's a decent spy thriller with a strong female lead who has an oddly dispassionate relationship with her fiance. Her faith is important to her, and although it seems stilted when an entire chapter is devoted to her prayer in an Episcopal church before going on a mission, it isn't that jarring.

Then the mission unfolds, and the spy thriller disappears. It becomes a Christian book about avoiding sin and fighting atheists, calling Arabs " More...

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Jan 28, 2010

Amanda rated it:

I read this book because it was a free Kindle download and was very pleasantly surprised. It was a great book. Sometimes it seemed like the main character was looking for trouble, but all in all it was interesting. The story takes place in three major places, Ukraine, Venezuela and Paris. The author took time to explain some of the cultural and historical aspects of these places but manages to make it interesting. It doesn't read like a history textbook. Also, after having read several supernatu More...

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May 05, 2011

Pam rated it:

This was a really enjoyable book to read. I loved the main character, and I was intrigued with the character of the Ukrainian mafia guy.

I was annoyed with the way the author portrayed Ukraine in general. I've experienced some of the corruption there first-hand, but I think he's probably going a bit far when he calls it the most corrupt nation in the world. I know it's just a novel, but still...

I eventually got past all of the Ukrainian stuff, however, and found the book More...

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Aug 03, 2011

David rated it:

A very involved story with lots of separate strands - Paris, Rome, Kiev, Washington, Venezuela. It fills the bill as a suspense filled spy story, but in the end I wonder, "What was the point of the story?" It seemed to portray a dark or negative view of every country mentioned, especially regarding Ukraine and regarding US intelligence. Religious faith seems important in the life of the main character, but not decisively so. Perhaps things will resolve better by the end of the tril More...

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Apr 13, 2011

Meg rated it:

Decidedly mediocre. This book had some potential: the often-complimented strong female lead, the exciting plot premise, etc. However, it came across as unpolished and disappointing.

My biggest issue is with the pacing and construction. While the book is very fast-paced at some points, at others it finds itself bogged down in details. The natural flow of the narrative is also disrupted by the rapidly-changing setting, as the story moves from Ukraine to Venezuela to Paris without real More...

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Feb 10, 2010

Amber rated it:

Well, I almost always finish books, even if I'm not enjoying them. My rule is to give it 100 pages, and if I'm still not committed to it then at least I've given it a fair try. I read exactly 50% of the book, according to my faithful Kindle, and I could care less about the characters or the plot. It isn't that it is a terrible read, just that it is long winded on bizarre details and the Christian agenda gets too pushy to be just a reflection of the character and not a form of propaganda. I ga More...

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Jun 08, 2009

Jeanna rated it:

Wow, if I had wanted to read a history of Ukrainian gangsters, politics, and sculpture (and let's not forget all the South American gangster, politics, jungles, and economics thrown in), I probably wouldn't have picked up a spy "thriller." Just a thought.

On the other hand, this book was nearly an example of writing about faith in a nonobnoxious format. It was mostly not obnoxious. So it was good to see that it can be done.

Unfortunately, it was the rest of the wr More...

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Jan 04, 2010

Erin rated it:

The author of this book definitely seems to be up on his international politics and has written a good, fast paced thriller, and for those reasons, I liked Conspiracy in Kiev. However, I found the main character a bit insufferable (she's really supercilious, but is apparently not smart enough to stay out of obviously dangerous situations). I also found the Christian elements jarring. This is an espionage novel with a lot of gratuitous and graphic violence, and the main character's obvious Chr More...

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Jan 14, 2010

Mikolaj rated it:

Another book started but life too short to finish. The author writes with this casual wealth of incidental detail that makes for beautiful world-building, but some of the detail is just jarring. Characters react in over-wrought and improbable ways, and some of the minor plot constructions - keeping in mind that I only made it a fifth of the way through the book - really stretch credulity. Which is a shame, since the writing style has something going for it.

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Jul 01, 2011

Lesli rated it:

Meh! Beyond meh! Ther's oversharing of the plot, there's oversharing of politics, te female lead is superwoman or something; and five people are murdered in less than 150 pages...with no discernable reason (which really means you have to remember names and places for further along in the book). Oh, and who in the hell thinks non-english CDs and a Russian tourist poster equals subversive tendencies!?

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Feb 25, 2011

Meredith rated it:

A refreshing read. What I especially like, and the reason I gave this story (and it's follow-up, Midnight in Madrid) four stars instead of three, was the lack of what I call 'smut' and the near-real life depiction of a person of faith grappling with their application of that faith. It is an action-adventure story, and there is enough violence to qualify it as such. But not to heavy. A nice, light read.

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Dec 30, 2010

liirogue rated it:

2 1/2 stars. I got this on Amazon for my Kindle because they were offering it for free. Once I got into it, I realized this was a Christian book, though the author wasn't preachy about it, so it was okay. I enjoyed the story and the religious parts weren't slap-you-in-the-face. I enjoyed the story but wasn't really surprised by any of it - most of the "twists and turns" are completely obvious and cliched.

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Apr 09, 2010

Anita rated it:

This should probably be 2.5 stars. I had a really hard time getting into it, and must of read ten other books during the course of reading this one. It starts out with action, then slows way down. I've got the sequel, and am hopping it is better. While the end of this book answered most questions, it still left a lot of questions.

I do think Alexandra LaDuca is one cool chick though!

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Feb 21, 2010

Kay rated it:

I liked this story about a female FBI agent. Thought I would love it.

I can't pinpoint exactly why I didn't love it. Some of the writing bugged me, making me wish the editing was stronger. But that only distracted me a couple of times.

The plot and the people were complex; information about Kiev, the Ukraine in general, Venezuela and the workings of the FBI seemed fairly well researched. The story moved along at a good pace. But somehow, it didn't fully engage me and k More...

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Jan 05, 2010

Stephanie rated it:

I'd give this another 1/2 star if I could. I really like the main character of Alex LaDuca. Even though this book is the first in a series; I felt like I was missing part of the backstory. The author goes into a bit of detail about the political situation in Ukraine and Russia. While that is fairly interesting; it does kind of drag down the story a little bit.

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May 26, 2010

Jan rated it:

I really enjoyed this book and the dynamite character of Alex. She is smart, sexy, and comes from my city -- so when she's "home" in Washington I feel like I'm following her around the streets. Was particularly intrigued by the Woodley Park apartment building scene...been there -- we're neighbors...

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Jan 06, 2010

Wendy rated it:

I read this without stopping on my kindle (for free no less). As everyone else said in their reviews, it was excellent. Noel Hynds is a Goodreads author and he tells an amazing and exciting story of intrigue. The protagonist Alexandra LoDuca is brilliant, both as a character and as a choice for character. I loved this book-read it, download it, enjoy it.

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Jan 02, 2010

Laura rated it:

I liked the book, but found the mixture of action adventure and christian lit a little confusing. The book is a good cia thriller and I like Alex as a lead character. Sometimes there is a little too much political background. I found the background interesting but it broke up the pace of the book.

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Dec 27, 2009

Lynda rated it:

it was free on the kindle website, and i didn't realize it was christian fiction till i was almost all the way through. the last bit was much better than the first bit, but overall just average. i still feel like i have to read the next few stories just to see what happens to her.

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Feb 20, 2010

Gstroud rated it:

I got this for free for my Kindle and although the writing is a little choppy and basic at the beginning, he gets into his stride later in the book. I'm learning a lot about Ukraine and Russian geopolitics and am enjoying the book so far. Not sure I'd pay to buy it, but it is a good free read!

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Jun 04, 2009

Sharlin rated it:

i debated between three and four stars, but the fact that the last 1/3 really lagged in my mind made it a 3. i have to admit that i held on to see if what i thought was a potential bit of romance went anywhere. i am planning to read the second in the series, so that's something, too.

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Jan 04, 2009

Hal rated it:

Quite good. Very literate and wise thriller, the start of a series that I will be glad to follow. The story starts in Washington and runs through Kiev and then South America. Complex but thoughtful plot and the author, whom I've read before but not in this genre, REALLY knows his intrernational and diplomatic stuff. No profanity, by the way, just story, character and fast moving events. Darn good.

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