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The Informationist (Vanessa Michael Munroe #1)

by Taylor Stevens (Goodreads Author)

3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 · rating details · 4,142 ratings · 950 reviews

“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….Thriller fans will eagerly await the sequel to this high-octane page-turner.” —Publishers Weekly, starred, boxe...more

ebook, 320 pages

Published March 8th 2011 by Broadway Books

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May 11, 2011 Lisa Sansone rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Women who have fantasized about being a butch, callous mercenary with super-human abilities. :)

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" or escapism.

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'm guessing that one is supposed to like the book largely because of the gender-switch. If you enjoy silly, poorly written fanta...more

10 likes · like · see review

May 02, 2013 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: thriller readers who like tough/quirky heroines

Shelves: action-adventure-challenge-2013, lethal-women, lovers-reunited, dark-heroine, tormented-heroine, abused, set-in-africa, unusual-profession, thriller-suspense, capable-heroine, heroine-i-liked, tough-as-nails-heroes, set-in-texas, set-in-dallas, set-in-houston, redhead, yearly-reading-challenge-2013, 2013-200s-club-challenge, dangerous-hero-general-challenge-20, antihero, nerd-prof-scientist-genius-geek, female-lead-action-reads, in-disguise, woman-in-pants, woman-warrior, library-checkout

The Informationist has one of the most daring and distinctive heroines I've personally read about. Vanessa Michael Monroe is practically a force of nature. Her personality is hard to pin down, even if you know her very well, which few people do. And she makes a very bad enemy. While some characters might go to Africa to run away from their past or to define a new life for themselves, Monroe is the opposite. She was born in Africa and raised there. Although she is Caucasian American descent, Afri...more The Informationist has one of the most daring and distinctive heroines I've personally read about. Vanessa Michael Monroe is practically a force of nature. Her personality is hard to pin down, even if you know her very well, which few people do. And she makes a very bad enemy. While some characters might go to Africa to run away from their past or to define a new life for themselves, Monroe is the opposite. She was born in Africa and raised there. Although she is Caucasian American descent, Africa flows in her veins and helped to make her who she was, and not all in good ways.

Monroe doesn't let fear define her, instead she walks in defiance of it. Being afraid is not her problem. It's the rage and anger she keeps under lock and key. She struggles against demons from her past that simmer in her blood and make her heart beat fast with the tribal beat of war. Control is a way of life when she knows just what she's capable of. Yet, she is unafraid to go into dangerous places when others would shirk such a responsibility. When Emily Burbank's adoptive father contacts her to find out what happened to his daughter in Africa four years ago, she is going to have to go back to the place she was born and face her ugly past.

I love to read about heroines who are tough and resourceful. Who can kick butt just like the action heroes. Monroe is definitely one of those kinds of heroines. I like that she is very adaptable and clever about thinking through situations. While she has other weapons, she uses the one between her ears very well. Her personality is really abrasive and she's not what I would consider a typical "likable" heroine. And yet, there is something about her that resonates with me. I like that she is such a survivor. I mean, who could go through what she did and still be 100% sane and free of scars? She actually is quite sane, although I think deep down, she fears what lurks in the abyss she keeps locked away inside. She's sort of the opposite of Kurtz in The Heart of Darkness. She's been there and she walked away. It holds no appeal for her.

I liked the complex relationship that Monroe has with Francisco. I didn't expect it, yet when it happened, I thought, "Of course." I knew that Monroe would have to come full circle and get closure about Africa in order to heal. That process was ugly and painful, but necessary. I also liked her relationship with Miles. Each encounter helped to shape her in different ways, as relationship with others should do.

While I didn't like everything about the narrative, I did like how the author builds tension and unfolds the story, and keeps me guessing what's going to happen next. While one could easily draw conclusions about what happened in Equatorial Guinea, it's different from what I thought, and complicated. I think this is a book that lends itself well to audio, because some of the written facts about Emily's disappearance and the various places she went/the stonewalling she encounters, and Monroe's search in those places might be a bit dry on paper. I also think that some of the action scenes could have been more suspenseful and intensely written. There was a sense of risk, but it was a bit muted at times. As far as the narrator, I liked her voice a lot. She captures who Michael aka Monroe very well.

This is one of those books that doesn't build up one's faith in humanity. Corruption runs so deep and twisted in this world, and some places are built on this foundation. And while some of us who are lucky to live in a more lawful country, those same individuals go to other places in the world and make things worse in their conquest for power and money because they can get away with that in some places in the world, where life is cheap. Like some of my other thriller/suspense/action hero favorites, Monroe is there to teach them a lesson, but in her case, that lesson is a costly one for her as well.

I couldn't imagine living the life that Vanessa Michael Monroe has lived. One of the things I love about fiction is that I can go on a journey with a distinctive heroine like Monroe and see life through her lenses. I can feel her pain and her anger and experience the victories and defeats she has, and it helps me to understand that life is a complicated thing, but we can make it through things we never imagined possible.

This book might not work for everyone, but I found it interesting and thought-provoking. It felt unique and Monroe is an unforgettable heroine. She's kind of lawless in some ways, but deep down, she has a code that she won't stray from. She's a complicated women. Readers who enjoy this kind of heroine or a reader looking for something different might enjoy The Informationist.(less)

11 likes · like · see review

Aug 18, 2011 Natalie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure-fiction, crime, africa

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 their forearms...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Emily rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 female chara...more 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 female character should automatically get tagged to Salander but COME ON.

Michael speaks TWENTY TWO languages? That in itself is pretty damn ridiculous. Granted, most of them are briefly explained away as 'dialects', as if the author subconsciously realizes how unbelievable twenty two language proficiency really is. At least Lisbeth has a photographic memory which is a lot more believable and way more endearing considering her general attitude and complete lack of social skills. Gifted in one thing, handicapped in the other. It's a believable balance.

Michael, on the other hand, is a super gifted linguist with an almost equally ridiculous fighting capability that is only explained away as a fragmented version of her past involving an abusive caregiver figure. The author would have done better to only give away bits and pieces of Michael's past at a time (a'la Salandar) making the character more appealing and intriguing instead of giving it all away up front like a hurried exhale of breath. Literally, in about four or five paragraphs Michael's entire history is summed up to basically rebellion from parents because she's a super genius, wandering around Africa with some random dude she met through some other random dude, and then being physically abused by some OTHER random dude who was also traveling with them. And somehow this all adds up to angst and a supposedly bruised and endearing main character. When really, I'm just annoyed at how much the author keeps shoving the facts of Michael's supposed awesomeness on her audience instead of actually demonstrating it throughout the novel.

It's the typical rush job explanations of a wam-bam-thank-you-ma'am action/crime novel. Except even Patterson does a better job then this.

The dialogue is choppy at best, not well thought out and at times painful to read. At one point Michael holds a knife to a companion's throat after a very poorly described upper-hand gaining action scene that only takes about three sentences to get to across, saying, "I could have easily killed you. Never forget that." And then promptly dropping the knife. It's some of the most lazyily constructed almost dime-store novel dialogue I've come across in awhile. Nobody talks like that. I'm sorry, it's ridiculous.

I don't know, maybe I'm just one of the many tainted by Stieg Laarson's total awesomeness at writing what is some of the best action/crime fiction I've come across in years but this is nowhere near that status. It's so depressingly far away from it in fact I'm not sure I could even be bothered to recommend this book to anyone. And I got it for free.

Not to mention, the main crux of the novel (who killed Emily Burbank?) is basically the entire premise of The Girl With the Dragon tattoo. Wealthy tycoon (insert old Swedish billionaire tycoon) hires genius investigator/informationist (Insert Lisbeth Salander) to find out what happened to his adopted daughter (insert Swedish niece here) who suddenly goes missing. Hello? Anyone else seeing this here?

Oh and also I'm not entirely sure why exactly I'm bothering to wade all the way through this dizzing epic of nonsense considering the "mystery" of what happened to Emily Burbank is given away in the first four pages of the novel via someone else's point of view. Sooo....why am I still here?

Good question. (less)

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Jan 16, 2012 aPriL MEOWS often with scratching rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-reading-but-i-hated-it, why-does-everyone-love-this-ick-ick

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 smoking hashish an...more 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 smoking hashish and she might have been more of a personality. And all the handsome lads loved her manly physique and wooden face and hands of steel. What a guy, uh, girl. Let's not forget the 47 stretch marks, uh, saber nicks on her hide, or her strange inability to avoid daily rape for three years while volunteering to be an adventurer with a jungle martial arts gang in Africa. She is a genius and manly and strong and independent, but she sticks around and pays up when she loses in martial arts by giving head, body and soul over to a man she "hates", every day! Holy masochistic charms! There are Arnold Schwarzenegger movies and there are Jackie Chan movies and then you've got that zombie-walking Chuck Norris. Chuck demonstrated more logical emoting than anything that occurred in these pages. A wooden log has more character than any found in 'The Informationist'. Emily, the victim, is a Stepford wife, who has absolutely no motivation or interest in being rescued except people tell her she should, and the bad guy in Texas who doesn't want her found but he sends the world's best tracker after her instead of a hit squad. Then there are the African towns, where young tourists are abused and threatened and beaten on their vacations, which is such fun that after many near death experiences and much hatred from the inhabitants the tourists study maps to find even more dangerous African countries to party on in rather than go home to their parents. I wish I could say this all was a satire, but it is obviously a serious thriller genre with a serious group of characters. Despite the occasional and unintentional hilarious scenes, this is really such a bore to read.

(less)

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Jan 10, 2012 Joan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thrillers

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 profitable use. As...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Wyma rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-4-or-5-stars

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.

This is...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Keith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, fiction, crime-thriller, ebooks

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 really good at some...more

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May 03, 2013 JulieLaLa rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was an okay thriller, in the exotic settings of various African countries, with an edgy female protagonist. The action wasn't as far-fetched as some of those by Clive Cussler or James Rollins (that's a good thing, by the way) so this book was slightly more believable. The mystery component was engaging, the characters were too, and the language and writing style were accessible (although the oft-mentioned physical positions of the players had me nervously tapping my foot, putting my elbows...more

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Sep 28, 2010 Claire rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: like thrillers/adventures- econo-politics?

Shelves: high-school-and-beyond, grownup-books, thrillers, high-school-fairs, book-fairs-spring-2013

This is a thriller that satisfies without draining emotions.
Raised unconventionally in Cameroon, Essa has unusual talents and skills- she intuitively understands all language, is trained in deadly combat, and gets the subtle body language of individuals and groups. She uses all this to get uncommonly accurate and useful information for her diverse clients.
On an unusual assignment she is to find a young woman who went missing in Africa four years ago. Set in a mysterious, complex and dangerous...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Carol Waller rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

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.

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Apr 26, 2011 Tracy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 from...more

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May 30, 2011 Cathy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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.

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Apr 10, 2013 Korrie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 02, 2013 Michelle Lancaster rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-ve-reviewed

A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel
By Taylor Stevens
Random House 324 pgs
978-0-307-71710-8
Rating: Read This Book!+ (this is a 4.5 of 5 for readers insisting on a rational rating system)

The Informationist is stunning. It roars like a freight train and sneaks like a cat through 3 continents and some half-dozen countries. There are mercenaries and missionaries, diplomats and gangsters in uniform, Texas oil tycoons and presidents, sacrifice and avarice, revenge and justice.

Meet Vanessa Michael Munroe. We...more A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel
By Taylor Stevens
Random House 324 pgs
978-0-307-71710-8
Rating: Read This Book!+ (this is a 4.5 of 5 for readers insisting on a rational rating system)

The Informationist is stunning. It roars like a freight train and sneaks like a cat through 3 continents and some half-dozen countries. There are mercenaries and missionaries, diplomats and gangsters in uniform, Texas oil tycoons and presidents, sacrifice and avarice, revenge and justice.

Meet Vanessa Michael Munroe. We very seldom get to meet a female character in any genre who breaks the rules, all of them. Her past is shady, her future precarious. She reminds me of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon on estrogen and without the ethical ruminating. She is a brilliant chameleon and physically fearless. She's got skills. Munroe is fierce.

Munroe's specialty is information. Governments and corporations need information and hire her to get it and they pay handsomely. Information on elections, coupes, espionage both national and business, trade secrets, you name it. Everyone wants the inside skinny for a leg up on the competition. Mainly this boils down to money. Information = money.

The information Munroe is hired to find is the whereabouts of the daughter of a Texas oil tycoon, Richard Burbank of Titan Oil. His daughter Emily went missing in Africa 4 years ago. Munroe grew up in Africa and understands that returning to the scene of her past could be problematic. Add Miles Bradford to the mix. He is a former (?) mercenary Burbank sends along to keep an eye on Munroe. Add to the mix Francisco Beyard, a gunrunner (among other things) from her African past who loves her and is a little angry that she disappeared 9 years ago. Hint: Munroe had to get "out of Africa." Ha ha. Sorry. I find very little to quibble about in The Informationist. In fact only one thing: Miles Bradford seemed to be superfluous a good deal of the time. However this doesn't weigh down the plot in any way.

The Informationist is Taylor Stevens first book and I am so excited to be able to read more. Her next Vanessa Michael Munroe novel, The Innocent, will hit stores this month. Even better, she is currently working on the third story. I confidently and strongly recommend this one. Ms. Stevens has created something special here and I, for one, am grateful. You will be too.

(FYI Taylor Stevens is a Texas author. Yay!)

For more on the author: http://www.taylorstevensbooks.com/aut...

For the publisher: http://www.randomhouse.com/(less)

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Oct 25, 2012 Jean rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Taylor Stevens is a captivating writer - especially since she does not boast the myriad creative writing credentials normally attributed to hot property writers. Her debut novel has everything one could possible ask for in a suspense thriller. And I like the fact that her kick-ass protagonist is a girl.

Meet Vanessa Michael Munroe – she likes to be called Michael -
after escaping from her native Cameroon at 15 under horrific circumstances, she wound up in Dallas where she made a new life for hers...more Taylor Stevens is a captivating writer - especially since she does not boast the myriad creative writing credentials normally attributed to hot property writers. Her debut novel has everything one could possible ask for in a suspense thriller. And I like the fact that her kick-ass protagonist is a girl.

Meet Vanessa Michael Munroe – she likes to be called Michael -
after escaping from her native Cameroon at 15 under horrific circumstances, she wound up in Dallas where she made a new life for herself as an informationist – her trademark is lifting very expensive information off impossible sources for anyone who will pay.

Her current assignment is finding the missing step-daughter of the impossibly rich oil baron Richard Burbank. Emily – the daughter - disappeared four years previously whilst on holiday in Africa. Munroe will be paid handsomely to find out how and why Emily disappeared. One stipulation of the contract is that Burbank be allowed to send one of his men along on the journey. Munroe does not like this condition as she is used to working alone, but agrees as long as Burbank’s man, Miles Bradford, does not interfere. Early on in the piece she slips a drug into Bradford’s drink so that she can slip away from him.

Once in Equatorial Guinea Bradford and Munroe create suspicion with all their questions (Munroe has previously explained what an extremely paranoid mindset prevails in EG and asking too many questions can make their search for Emily very difficult). Bradford disappears and Munroe is kidnapped ; but is it the corrupt authorities who wants her dead or is there more to the story of Emily’s disappearance.

The action is never-ending but I was not quite prepared for the violence that follows Munroe’s encounters with “the enemy”. Then there’s her relationship with Francisco ( her mentor from the age of 14 whose help she enlists to find Emily ) which for me rang a bit untrue as well as the fact that Munroe could communicate with almost anybody on the African continent in their mother tongue however obscure their lingo might be.
Having said that this is a fabulous read and I look forward to reading her next book.
(less)

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Oct 09, 2012 Louise rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Here's a female action figure for the record books. She speaks 22 languages, can tackle men twice her size, get fake documents for just about anywhere, shoot to kill or maim as she deems necessary, unmanacle herself, and can impersonate a male such that she can get a date and still be sensually spellbinding to the men she works with... and more.

Like Indiana Jones, Michael Westen or Rambo, Vanessa Michael Munroe was not created for realism, she was created for adventure.

The plot is pretty good, t...more

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May 23, 2012 Andrew Montooth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kismet, from the Turkish qisma, or fate. I buy too many books to keep track of where they come from or how I heard about them or even what attracted me to them. This book was sitting there after I’d read my Christmas stack and before I made another book run. I picked it up and was surprised to learn that she was an apocalyptic cult survivor. Hey, me too! Kinda. My childhood cult was a bunch of wacky architects who worship Frank Lloyd Wright. Better deal? Maybe. Anyway, I figured, OK definitely g...more Kismet, from the Turkish qisma, or fate. I buy too many books to keep track of where they come from or how I heard about them or even what attracted me to them. This book was sitting there after I’d read my Christmas stack and before I made another book run. I picked it up and was surprised to learn that she was an apocalyptic cult survivor. Hey, me too! Kinda. My childhood cult was a bunch of wacky architects who worship Frank Lloyd Wright. Better deal? Maybe. Anyway, I figured, OK definitely gotta read this one. Kismet.

Vanessa Michael Munroe is the Informationist. I’m a bit thick. I never got the ‘Michael’ part despite it being explained. It never really came into play and could easily have been left out. The Informationist part was also explained and also could have been left out. What would remain is a compelling central character: Munroe, an ass-kicking heroine first class. The author has given her an appropriately tragic background from which she freed herself. The background also gives us some richly drawn characters who have become loyal friends and aides in times of need.

Vanessa/Michael is asked to find the missing daughter of a wealthy businessman. She gets a babysitter in the form of Miles Bradford. She tolerates the well intentioned lug, while we readers suspect him of treachery. They tangle with authorities, nasty people, impossible situations, spies following them, etc. etc. This may sound like a typical mystery/thriller, but there are two things that separate it: 1) Excellent writing. Taylor Stevens has a literary bend in her somewhere that gives us great some great scenery. Descriptive passages are rarely found in thrillers because they slow down the action. She gets into and out of several passages with the right balance. Readers have not lost their feel for the story and are impressed by the phrasing. Nice. 2) Odd pacing & direction. Ascribing this to a debut author, it often is a deal-killer for a recommendation. In this case, it actually helps the story by keeping it unpredictable. Annoying to some, but I’ll take unpredictable any day.

What we readers love about mystery-thrillers is the guessing game. Whodunnit? If we call the bad-guy correctly, but are only 60% sure by the time we get to the author’s revealing, we gloat and beat our chests (provided we are alone). My wife and I are somewhat competitive about it, writing down page numbers and names and gloating over the other for days. Erasures are not allowed (anymore). I got to gloat for this one. I saw it very early due to me knowledge of cult survivors. I believe everyone else in the world will be in my wife’s camp, thrilled to the bitter end.

Definitely put this one in your “must read” pile. And put the author on your “keep an eye out for her” list.(less)

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Apr 24, 2012 Krita rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks

I gave this book 4 stars because I am quite intrigued by Vanessa/Michael's character. She is seriously screwed up but somehow manages to live with herself...some of the time.
There have been comparisons made to Lisbeth Salander but having read all of Lisbeth's books and only the first book about Michael, I would venture the following early assessment:
I do believe that these two characters are very different. Their similarities are their childhoods were somewhat messed up. However, I find Lisbeth...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is a puzzler: I really liked it at some points, and it was very uneven at others. The book tells the story of Vanessa Michael Munroe, a young woman with no fear she can't conquer. She's a loner with a serious crazy streak. She makes her living by traveling the world in search of information that will make companies more savvy and also her very rich. Her mission in this book is to find the daughter of a tycoon - a young woman supposedly killed in Africa. What makes it uneven is that Mic...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Britni rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 in Africa fo...more 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 in Africa four years ago. Others have searched and others have failed. So far "Michael" has a perfect record, but is this where perfection ends?

I couldn't put this book down. Others compare Michael to Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series but other than the fact that they both had a troubled past and could obtain seemingly difficult information I didn't really see any other connections. And I personally liked Michael a heck of a lot more than I liked Lisbeth. Michael reminded me more of Jason Bourne mixed with Jennifer Garner on Alias - tough, sexy, and lethal while still allowing a hint of her personal life and emotions to play through. Maybe it's because it's everything I'm not, but I loved her character and I loved how she played different roles as part of the overall strategy to find out what happened to Emily.

On top of having a great main character, the story is full of twists and turns that kept me guessing within the first few chapters. A thriller that allowed me to share in the adrenaline as Michael fought for the missing information. And finally, I loved the supporting characters in the book and how Stevens developed them well enough to make you curious and intrigued without giving away too much. I for one will definitely be picking up Stevens second book, The Innocent, to see what dazzling adventure Michael takes us on next.

I would definitely recommend this book to any adult who likes a good thriller, especially ones with a fierce female lead. But be warned, while not over the top, the book does have quite a bit of language and has a couple of gruesome moments. 4 stars (less)

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Feb 02, 2012 Randy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 languages) who is deadly in comb...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Deanna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 01, 2012 Annie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 billionaire in search of his beloved...more

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Dec 11, 2011 Vannessagrace Vannessagrace rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: taylor-stevens

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

...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Luanne Ollivier rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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'. Her 'un...more 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'. Her 'unique' set of skills make her sought after by corporations and private clients. But her latest client is looking for more than information. He wants Vanessa to look for his stepdaughter, who vanished four years ago while travelling through Africa. Although it's not really her kind of case, he's offering a lot of money, so she says yes.

What made it hard to put down? I loved the character. Her past is alluded to in the beginning and only really fleshed out as the book progresses. I wanted to know more about her. It was fantastic to have such a kick a** female protagonist, one who can hold her own in almost any situation. Over the top? Maybe - but a delicious piece of escapist reading.

What I also enjoyed was having a setting outside of North America. I was initially surprised by Stevens' choice until I learned a bit more about the author herself. She has lived in many of the countries she writes about and more. Stevens was born into the infamous Children of God cult and went where she was sent until she escaped when she was 28. Much of the Moore's emotions and conflicts seem to be pulled from Stevens' reality. What makes The Informationist even more impressive is that Stevens has a formal education level of grade six.

When reading The Informationist, I started to picture Vanessa Michael Moore as Angelina Jolie. If you enjoyed Jolie in the roles she played in Tomb Raider and Salt , you would really enjoy this character. Or if you're looking for a female Jack Reacher character. The next book in this series The Innocent is due out Dec 27th. Stevens will be drawing on her own past again - Vanessa is on the hunt for a child being hidden by a cult. This reader will be definitely picking it up! Read an excerpt of The Informationist.

(less)

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Nov 08, 2011 Leeswammes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 year of her...more

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Nov 03, 2011 Annmarie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: africa, mystery, fiction, thriller

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 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-something Vanessa (aka "Michael") is an "informationist". She immerses herself in countries/places, acquires information from various people and sources through mad people-manipulating skills, incredible intuition, & very unbelievable foreign language abilities (22 languages! Nice). Because she's a genius, she synthesizes the info into terribly useful reports and gets paid lots. Sadly that's about as much info as we get on her methods. She's also a vicious and skilled fighter, and a little crazy. A damaged, sometimes androgynous heroine like Girl with Dragon Tattoo, whose name I forget.

A billionaire oil company dude wants to hire her to find his stepdaughter, an 18-19 year old when she disappeared on an extended travel through various African countries 4 years ago. Previous detective work produced little. Michael doesn't do missing people, but she is lured in by the mystery and because she needs hazardous, intensive research projects to keep her demons at bay. Also, she has a history with Africa - she was raised there by missionary parents, and left relationships behind very abruptly when she left by herself as a teen. Perhaps, she feels, it's time to go back. The billionaire sends a bodyguard/mercenary along with her, and the sleuthing/informationizing commences. The quest turns very hazardous, layered and complicated in the various parts of Africa. The depictions of the politics, cities, insect/other hazards, cultural aspects, etc. are fascinating and seem very realistic (turns out the author has a similar background to her heroine, hopefully without the damage). I disliked how we finally (but not terribly far into the book) got Michael's backstory in one big infodump once she gets to Africa, after having such pleasing hints of her character's personalty and motivations up to that point. Rather anticlimatic to receive it that way. Still, it's a solid action-adventure suspense novel.(less)

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Oct 24, 2011 Anthony Pacifico rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 she gets it.

In this thrilling, in...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Mike Lantz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 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 novels I have read, another run-of-the-mill, typical spy/hit-man novel.

I was wrong. The Informationist is by far the best novel I have read this year, and the key word I would use to describe it is “compelling.” It has interesting, complex characters and a plot that twists and turns like an Ozark mountain road, from page one to the end. The reader never knows what is coming next. There is plenty of treachery and betrayal, and there is absolutely no predictability as to who will win out – although one has a sense that the central character Vanessa “Michael” Munroe will somehow survive it all.

I like Vanessa. She is a fighter and a survivor. She has plenty of positive attributes: talented, tough, intelligent, tenacious, beautiful, and deadly – my kind of woman. She also has plenty of flaws, demons and issues that haunt her from her past. She is far from perfect. At times she is on a quest to live life on the edge with no sense of caution, and at other times fights with a super-human determination to survive deadly situations by either outsmarting or outfighting her opponent. She is just the sort of person I would want as a friend, never an enemy.

In this novel, Vanessa is retained by a wealthy Houston businessman to find his daughter, who has been missing for several years in Africa. The grieving father needs to know what became of his daughter, and Vanessa, although reluctant at first to take the assignment, eventually agrees, but on her terms and also naturally well-paid for her efforts. Once arriving in Africa Vanessa finds herself almost immediately embroiled in a dangerous, life-threatening environment, endangering her life and those around her. Without giving away the plot, let me say, although she survives, those around her may not be so lucky.

I tell my students if a person reads only ten pages a day, one could read a book a month. And you could do that with The Informationist, because it is only 307 pages. But, I dare you to try. The cover should have a reader’s advisory that says: “Don’t start reading this book unless you have time to finish it.” Did I say this book is compelling? It may be a cliche to say this, but this book is almost impossible to put down. I found myself reading late into the night, trying to find a stopping point, but the plot moves at such a fast pace and one chapter bleeds into another in such a way that it really does compel the reader to keep going. Ten pages a day? Are you kidding me? One hundred is more like it. Some people have read through the book in one sitting; I can’t do that. I’m a slow reader, mostly because I want to enjoy each and every word in this novel – and sometimes go back and re-read a section because my inner voice says, “She did what?”

Come on. Read this book. Start with ten pages a day. I dare you.(less)

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About Taylor Stevens

TAYLOR STEVENS is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of The Informationist, The Innocent and The Doll. Featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe, the series has received critical acclaim and the books are published in twenty languages. The Informationist has been optioned for film by James Cameron's production company, Lightstorm Entertainment.

Born in New York State, and into the Child...more

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The Innocent (Vanessa Michael Munroe, #2)

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Quotes from The Informationist

“The aloneness. The invisible walls. Always the outsider looking in. Different. Unusual. I despise their world and the superficiality of it all and yet still want to be a part of it. I wonder sometimes how much simpler a life of naïveté and unawareness would be. I have on occasion found people I could trust with who I really am, and when that happens, I walk away....

It’s safer that way-- for them, for me. It’s far easier to bear personal pain than the responsibility of someone else’s. I feel safe around people as tough as I am, but they don’t come along that often.” — 6 people liked it

“She felt invisible shackles snaking around her wrists and ankles, took a deep breath and said..............” — 1 person liked it

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The Informationist (Vanessa Michael Munroe #1)

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