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Aug 22, 2011

Natalie rated it:

I'm reviewing the audiobook version and although I threatened during the experience to tear my stereo from my car, I am happy to report that it is still intact within its housing.

What would push a gentle person such as myself toward such automotively destructive fantasies? a)commuting in general b)an author who uses the same descriptive phrase for every character's posture while sitting over, and over, and over again! WTF? Where's the editor ? How many times can a person sit with th More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Apr 07, 2011

Emily rated it:

Honestly, I'm only halfway through this but I have absolutely no idea why this book is rated so highly everywhere. Not to be "that guy" here but did anyone else READ the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo?? First of all, the main character Michael (who is actually a woman named Vanessa) is such an almost painfully blatant poor-man's version of Lisbeth Salander that it's almost ridiculous. HOW IS NO ONE CALLING THIS OUT?? And ok, not that every intelligent, super gifted, socially inept main fe More...

9 comments like (12 people liked it)

May 30, 2011

Lisa rated it:

I can't say that I liked it. I thought that it was boring, over-written, and unbelievable (to the point of being silly). To be honest, I couldn't even enjoy it on the level of "fantasy".

It reminded me of your standard, second-rate, mildly-ridiculous gun-for-hire novel - only this time written with a tormented female lead, instead of a tormented male lead.

I suppose one is supposed to like the book largely because of the gender-switch. If you enjoy silly, poo More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2012

Joan rated it:

I haven't finished this yet, but it is one of those books that once you start reading, it's nearly impossible to put down. I am listening to to audio as well, and it is very well done.

Vanessa Michael Munroe was raised in Africa by indifferent, missionary parents, left to her own devices, and as a young, rebellious teen, fell into bad and brutal company due to her unusual gifts of observation, liguistics, and analysis. When she escaped from Africa, she put those same skills to profitab More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 13, 2011

Wyma rated it:

The Informationist: the title grabs me like Noah Wylie's The Librarian, promising adventures of a someone like me. Nothing could be further from the truth of Michael (Vanessa, Essa) Munroe. She's the epitome of an informationist, researching a region or country, boots on the ground, sniffing out unwritten data, a super observer and synthesizer. A young girl who went missing while a tourist in Africa lures Munroe from usual assignments to a hunt for information on a trail, four years cold.
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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 28, 2011

Keith rated it:

This is a solid high-tension thriller in what must be the flourishing genre of "kick-ass babe with issues." Vanessa (aka "Michael") gathers information for various employers, generally in various unstable regions of the world. She grew up in Africa, daughter of American missionaries, drifted into association with various criminals, learned the use of weapons and close fighting, finally escaped to America, where she does the very remunerative informationist gig. Oh, and she's More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 25, 2011

Carol rated it:

I surprised myself by liking this book. I didn't expect to. Didn't really want to. But I found I had to finish it. It is gripping, and more than a little chilling. Not my normal kind of book at all. But it definitely made an impression.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2012

Tracy rated it:

This is honestly one of the worst plotted books I've ever read. The dialogue is cheesy and the major plot points revealed at the strangest moments. For example, when the main characters are finally rescuing the woman they've been searching for the whole book, the author has the characters take the time to have her explain how she came to be in this predicament instead ofgetting her the hell out of there.
The action is disjointed and the reader needs to take great leaps in imagination to get More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 30, 2011

Cathy rated it:

I think The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has spawned a new genre of novel -- girls with abusive pasts who grow up into emotionally crippled, gender ambiguous women. The novel is set in Africa and that makes up for a lot; the detail is good and it seems well researched. At times this book teeters on the edge of romance novel. It was a fast read, entertaining enough for a plane ride, and who knew one could purposefully dislocate a thumb to escape handcuffs. Reading really expands my horizons. More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2012

Britni rated it:

Governments pay her. Criminals fear her. Nobody sees her coming. I sure didn't.

Vanessa Michael Munroe speaks 22 languages. She can blend into any crowd and pull information out of thin air. And she's been trained to get the job done, no matter what it takes. She's paid by governments and corporations to get information that is seemingly impossible to obtain. But this mission is different. She's hired by Texas oil billionaire Richard Burbank to find his daughter Emily who disappeared i More...

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Feb 02, 2012

Randy rated it:

I figured I was in trouble here when one of the main characters names was "Miles Bradford."
Seriously, Miles Bradford who supposedly is ex-special forces and a trained mercenary/bodyguard. Would anyone really hire someone named Miles Bradford as a bodyguard or black ops guy?

He's not the main character though I understand he becomes the main squeeze of the main character in Book 2. The main character is a tortured female information specialist/assassin/linguist (22 languag More...

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Jan 24, 2012

Deanna rated it:

First, I agree with comment of making one think of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books. Not in the same class, but some common psychology of main character. I liked that the woman was the moving force. Ending was not new. I found very annoying the quotes that kept being put forth for no reason. Okay, you said she was a missionary's child and learned to quote the bible, but enough all ready. These quotes were too much. The one quote that should have been effective was the one when she remembered ki More...

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Jan 16, 2012

April the Cheshire Meow rated it:

This is the worst book ever. The writing is boring, the plot is brain dead dumb, 'Michael' is the stupidest 'genius' I've run across since the biker Eric Von Zipper in the 'Beach Blanket Bingo' movies starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. This book is such a stinking piece of dung. Can anyone do a phrase count on how often Munroe thought, "she fought down the urge to cut his throat"? What a douchebag moron. This character should have gone on Paxil or at least taken up smok More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 01, 2012

Annie rated it:

I miss Billy's Pan Pizza.

Suckered by the breathless references to Lisbeth in the blurbs, a can't miss promotional strategy. Here's what I mean- "a great new action heroine, Vanessa Michael Munroe, who doesn’t have to kick over a hornet’s nest to get attention, reflects the fire of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander". Well, woo-hoo.

Okay, we do have a super bad-ass woman who makes a very good living tracking down information. She's tops in her field, hired by a bi More...

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Dec 11, 2011

Vannessagrace rated it:

Vannessa “Michael” Munroe was raped repeatedly while fifteen years old and she knew the only way to make it stop was to kill her rapist because she most certainly could not depend on her parents for help. Killing her rapist brought her to the realization that she could survive under any circumstances and that she need not apologize for her actions or seek out permission from others because where were these people when she needed them?

Munroe earned her living by trading information. She was neari

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Nov 21, 2011

Luanne rated it:

When Taylor Stevens' debut novel The Infomationist came out last year, I was aware of the buzz, but never got around to picking it up. Well, this New York Times bestseller is newly released in trade paperback, so I picked it up - and had a hard time putting it down. Wow - what a non stop thriller!

Vanessa Michael Munroe grew up in Africa, rebelling against the upbringing her missionary parents envisioned for her. Instead she made her own way, creating her own niche as an 'informationist More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 08, 2011

Leeswammes rated it:

Vanessa Michael Munroe is a tough woman. Her job is to obtain information in countries where others don’t manage. She’s escaped a traumatic girlhood in Africa, which has made her very resourceful.

She’s hired by a rich American, Richard Burbank, whose stepdaughter went missing in Africa four years ago. Several times he’s hired people to try and find her but they have not succeeded. As a last resort, he’s paying Vanessa, who is more commonly known as Michael, a lot of money to spend a ye More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 03, 2011

Annmarie rated it:

I liked this thriller for the realistic setting (Africa) and the nonstop action more than anything else. It had its flaws. Fans of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo who enjoyed it for the fierce, damaged heroine, violence, and suspense aspects might enjoy this. Although the mystery plot is not as good, not so suspenseful in the end, and the heroine was rather over the top in her skills. I picked The Informationist up because the reviews were good and I was intrigued that the main character, 20-som More...

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Oct 24, 2011

Anthony rated it:

Move over Lisbeth Salander. Here is Vanessa "Michael" Munroe, a female protagonist, also known as The Informationist, who is as intelligent, sexy and ruthless as the Girl With the Dragon Tatoo.

As an Informationist, "Essa" Munroe is hired by individuals and organizations to acquire information that is needed. She demands a high fee as her reputation for getting the information her clients want is unheralded. Nobody knows how she gets it, and no one dares ask how More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 10, 2011

Mike rated it:

My first choice when reading fiction has never been the genre of suspense/thrillers. I’ve read books by Brad Thor, James Grippando, Preston and Child, and others that, although they were good stories, always seemed to leave me with a sense of something missing. I usually came away feeling disappointed, even though I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. So when I picked up The Informationist by Taylor Stevens, I began with a familiar prejudice that this would be similar to most of the other novel More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 06, 2011

Virginia rated it:

This book has hovered near the top of my "to-read" list since its review in the Dallas Morning News. I finally snagged it at the library this weekend, devoured it and was not disappointed! I agree with other reviewers that Munroe is similar to other female protagonists (Mallory comes to mind...) but I also found her more emotionally engaged and intentional about her behavior. She knows when she is shutting down (or seeing gray, as she describes it) and she either decides to go there or More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 29, 2011

Steven rated it:

Like most reviewers have already said, the protagonist of this novel - Vanessa "Michael" Munroe - could be the American version of Lisabeth Salander. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

-Page 216
"It took two days of cultivating potential information sources before the first genuine lead materialized. After nights that lasted unitl nearly dawn and mornings that began shortly after, it was at La Biniou, taking a meal far too late for lunch and still to More...

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Jul 10, 2011

Deborah added it

There was actually quite a lot I liked about this book. So I'm going to talk about that first. Then I'm going to go on, perhaps endlessly, about what didn't work as well.

First, this was an audiobook and the narrator, Hillary Huber, was fantastic. I might have given up on this book if I'd been reading it, but I stuck with it. Second, the author's knowledge of modern Africa shines through, not just the physical landscapes, but the people and the infrastructure and the ways everyone More...

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Jul 10, 2011

Saxton B. Little rated it:

I picked this one up for several reasons. First, I love the title and the picture it evokes. An Informationist, someone who deals in information. In this case this person is one Vanessa "Michael" Munroe,. That's the second reason I picked up the book. Reviews depicted Vanessa/Michael as one strong female,a character trait I like in my reading. Third reason; reviews called it a gripping, fast paced, high octane thriller. And lastly, I picked it up as it is debut fiction, always a treat More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 03, 2011

Mal rated it:

For reasons that escape me, Publishers Weekly called The Informationist “blazingly brilliant,” and the book won raves from the New York Times and numerous other reviewers. Taylor Stephens’ debut novel, an unconventional thriller, assuredly does merit high marks for its exotic setting — mostly the little-visited Central West African nation of Equatorial Guinea — and for its decidedly offbeat protagonist, a mentally unbalanced woman with skills and a penchant for violence to rival Lisbeth Salander More...

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Jul 03, 2011

Rachel rated it:

Very disappointing, I have no idea why this book is ranked so high. Reviewers compare the protagonist to Lisbeth Salander, but the similarities are quite superficial- a gender-ambiguous female with emotional trauma in her past who is super gifted and talented and tough. This character, Vanessa who goes by Micheal, is completely unbelievable, however, unlike Lisbeth. She is seemingly invincible, getting herself easily out of all situations, in a totally unbelievable fashion. The book is a stan More...

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May 01, 2011

David rated it:

Okay, it was a real page-turner, and it kept me entertained in fine style from Santa Rosa to Denver. And, it depicted darkest Africa in an intense way that leads me to have no desire to set foot in the more dangerous countries. But other than that, not that great.

The complaint I have is the protagonist is too much super-hero. I'm getting a little tired of this already - Joe Pike (Robert Crais), Jack Reacher (Lee Child), John Rain (Barry Eisler), do they think everybody's got to b More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

May 01, 2011

Kathleen added it

The Informationist, by Taylor Stevens, a-minus, narrated by Hillary Huber, produced by Random House Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

Vanessa Monroe, (Michael is her moniker) has a thriving if unconventional business of providing information to high-priced clients including corporations and heads of state with headquarters in Dallas. Then she is offered a job finding the daughter of an oil tycoon who was last seen in Africa. Michael was the daughter of missionary parents and grew More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Apr 23, 2011

Hallie rated it:

Readers will recognize Vanessa (aka Michael) Munroe, the eponymous protagonist in Taylor Wait's debut novel "The Informationist." She's one of those elusive, brilliant, preternatural creatures in the tradition of Carol O'Connell's "baby sociopath" Mallory, or Stieg Larsson's lethal Lisbeth Salander. These women are damaged goods, brilliant and manipulative, ruthless and utterly fascinating.

Munroe is paid huge sums of money to find information others miss. Hyperawa More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 16, 2011

Christine rated it:

Vanessa Michael Munroe is specialist in gathering information for corporations that no one else seems to be able to get. Her past is checkered and her connections are many, and this aids her in her successful career. Hired by a Texas millionaire to find his long missing daughter is a little outside the boundaries of what she usually does, but the 5 million dollar paycheck makes it an offer she cannot turn down. Of course, nothing is ever as easy as it seems, especially when 5 million dollars More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)