No One to Trust

Lexi Carmichael Mystery #2

by Julie Moffett

SWFG: Single, White, Female, Geek.

That’s me, Lexi Carmichael, a reformed hacker who was gainfully employed by the National Security Agency. But a series of extraordinary events led me to leave government life behind for a fresh start with a brand-new company and an incredibly sexy boss, Finn Shaughnessy. It may not be kosher to have the hots for your boss, but he seems to have the hots for me, too. If only things didn’t get so complicated…

Darren Greening, a genius researcher from Flow Technologies (our first client!) is missing, and his bosses think I’m involved. And they aren’t the only ones—the man who nearly snapped my neck in the parking garage thinks so, too.

Now I’m caught in the middle of a complex and dangerous case. I’ll have to use all my geek skills and a little help from my friends to solve the mystery of Darren’s disappearance before Neck-Snapping-Man makes a return visit…

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Suspense

216 pages, ebook

First published June 13, 2011

About the author

Julie Moffett is the bestselling author of the long-running, geeky Lexi Carmichael Mystery Series that USA Today says: “…runs a riveting gamut from hilarious to deadly, and the perfectly paced action in between will have you hanging on to Lexi’s every word and breathless for her next geeked-out adventure.” Julie also writes the young adult White Knights spin-off series featuring a cool, teenage hacker girl. Julie's been publishing books for 25 years, but writing for a lot longer. She writes in the genres of mystery, young adult, historical romance and paranormal romance.

Julie has won numerous awards, including the Mystery & Mayhem Award for Best YA/New Adult Mystery, the HOLT Award for Best Novel with Romantic Elements, a HOLT Merit Award for Best Novel by a Virginia Author (twice!), the Award of Excellence, a PRISM Award for Best Romantic Time-Travel AND Best of the Best Paranormal Books, and an EPIC Award for Best Action/Adventure Novel. She has also garnered additional nominations for the Booksellers' Best Award, Daphne du Maurier Award, the Dante Rossetti Award, and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence.

Julie is a military brat (Air Force) and has traveled extensively. Her more exciting exploits include attending high school in Okinawa, Japan; backpacking around Europe and Scandinavia for several months; a year-long college graduate study in Warsaw, Poland; and a wonderful trip to Scotland and Ireland where she fell in love with castles, kilts and brogues.

Julie has a B.A. in Political Science and Russian Language from Colorado College, a M.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and an M.Ed from Liberty University. She has worked as a proposal writer, journalist, teacher, librarian and researcher. Julie speaks Russian and Polish and has two awesome sons.

Visit Julie's website at: https://www.juliemoffett.com/

Follow Julie on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JulieMoffett...

X: @JMoffettAuthor

Instagram: https://instagram.com/julie_moffett/

Reviews

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

No One to Trust by Julie Moffett
Lexi Carmichael series #2. Mystery.
Lexi is a self proclaimed geek. She recently switched from working at the NSA to a private security company. A missing client uses Lexi’s name in a note and the new firm gets involved in the investigation trying to find him. Lexi is surprised that her boss also seems to be interested in her for more than a working relationship. Lexi is just not experienced enough to know how to handle that.

A bit humorous as Lexi flips between uncertainty in her femininity but utterly confident in her computer skills. The dancing scenes are priceless!
A bit dated but still a good mystery series.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wee bit of eye-rolling shenanigans...

While I enjoyed No One to Trust, I have to admit that it wasn't as good as the first instalment. I really like the characters, the storyline kept me entertained and there were some funny moments.

Lexi is her usual geeky self but it skips to the next level (in cringeworthiness) when her best friend hires a stripper to teach her to get in touch with her 'Pussy Galore'. We still have an undisclosed hero and the romance that is present in this instalment, is still at the sweet stage. There are three blokes who could be classed as 'hero' category, but I'm still uncertain who I want to be the main squeeze.

The murder and mystery part of this story was interesting but seems so outdated now. Biotechnology that's considered new and unheard of, energy-efficient fuels that are considered new and cutting-edge, and robotics that's considered new and can fix everything. It's sometimes hard to even think that these things were new 10 years ago. They feel like they've been around forever. Here, a man is missing because of his 'new' and exciting concepts, and it's not clear if he's been taken or running for his life. Only Lexi Carmichael with her nerdy (and not so nerdy) mates can find the answers.

I enjoyed No One to Trust and my introduction to the Lexi Carmichael Mystery series and I may come back for more in the future.

[Rachel E. Carter]

Just as good as the first, but a bit shorter. Love how easy it is to get into this series.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second of this series I didn't like as well. At times the reading was too technical, there are funny scenes and a lot of romance and sex. Lexi Carmichael has left NSA and is employed in a new firm. Their first client is missing and has to name Lexi in a note he left behind. She has no idea who is as she be is. Slash and the twins make an appearance. Will Lexi find the missing client to save the lives? I recommend the book.

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very rarely do I enjoy a sequel more than its original counterpart, but in this case, I did. I really liked No One Lives Twice, but I loved this one.

Lexi is back and working for a different company now.. Her new boss happens to be the hot Irish guy she worked with and handcuffed in the first one. Also back in the game is Slash and Elvis.. both men with possible interests in Lexi..

But Lexi doesn't have self confidence. Enter slutty red dresses, a stripper, and a bikini wax.... All I can say about that is LMAO!!!

I think in this case, the humor totally outdid the mystery. The mystery: A computer whiz that can save the future of the world (too technical for me to explain as I don't really understand it myself) goes missing after his friend and partner is killed. In a cryptic note, he names Lexi as a source for help. Thus, Lexi is hired to find this guy and she has no idea her connection to him.

But like I said, the humor stole the show. I had three, THREE laugh out moments in which I literally roared with laughter so hard that I had to wipe tears from my face.

While at a dinner surrounded by nuns with a priest sitting right next to her, the priest pulls a bottle of steak sauce from under his outfit... Here's what happens:

"Without thinking, I did what I always did to a bottle- I shook it vigorously, not realizing the lid wasn't on tight. To my horror, it flew off the bottle with the force of a speeding bullet and hit the father just above his forehead. I gasped in shock as his hairpiece flew off and landed directly in the soup of the woman sitting next to him.."

And that's just a sample. Lexi also gets a bikini wax and well.. there's a strip club.

I loved this edition of Lexi's life and I can't wait for the next one. Def one I am going to re read.

[Tiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I requested this book from netGalley, not realizing it was book 2 of the Lexi Carmichael series. I immediately found book 1 and read through that one very quickly; totally loving it.

Book 2 was great! Lexi is a fantastic character: smart, nerdy, quick thinking and also more sexy than she knows. She's like the ugly duckling turning into the swan over time. Everyone around her knows how great a friend she is, and how beautiful...everyone but her. She views herself as rather plain, nerdy and stick-like with no curves. She's wrong, as she's managed in 2 books to attract 3 different men! Her mind is as great as her physical appearance.

Being asked to join the private sector and leaving the NSA was a big gamble for her, but one of the best decisions she could've made. She is coming into her own, and at such a young age, only in her mid-twenties right now. All her friends help her with her investigative troubles in this book too, just like in the first one. Elvis and Xavier are awesome again, and I can't help but wonder if Elvis is holding a torch for Lexi with some of the hints that he really likes her and vice versa.

Slash returns in this book, and does not disappoint. He is still just as much an enigma as he was in book 1, but at least we learn a little bit more about him. He really does like Lexi a lot, and seems to think he will eventually get to be her lover. I wonder if it will really happen, seeing as he is just that confident.

I like Finn and the connection that him and Lexi seem to have, it could be a really nice relationship between the two of them, but then where does that leave Slash and Elvis? I can't wait to read more in book 3! I am loving this series! Thanks to netGalley and Carina Press for allowing me to read and review this book for free!

[Paula Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you wanting a fun and light-hearted mystery to read ? Are you a fan of all those Spy TV Shows like The Mentalist, Covert Affairs ? Fancy yourself a female version of Frost from Rizzolli and Isles?.
Get ready for more Lexi Carmichael mayhem in Book #2 No One to Trust - Lexi is now working as a Private Investigator and her hacking skills are the best, though in this up and coming case , we see that it's Lexi's skill at Cryptology - a subject I've always wanted to try that will be of importance in solving the case. The team have been hired to find and locate Darren Green , all that he has left behind is a note written in Navajo - the note reads SOS Find Lexi Carmichael . Help GU. This startles Lexi as she has no idea who Darren Green is, the note part reminded me of a scene on Veronica Mars , when a dead guy turned up with her name written on his hand. As the novel goes along, we see Lexi trying to figure out who Darren is and the more she discovers, the weirder it gets as he seems to know all about her. We also read as Lexi tries to balance her working life with her personal life as she sets on a date with the hot Finn - though will the date be a success or will she find herself humiliated ?
Fans of James Bond will also enjoy this novel as it includes references to the film GoldFinger and Pussy Galore.
Another wonderful installment in the Lexi Carmichael Series and I look forward to seeing where Julie moves next with her character Lexi.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

As always, I'm grateful to Carina Press for the review copy of this e-book.

This is my first time reading Julie Moffett. She doesn't write urban fantasy or paranormal romance; instead, she writes chick lit mysteries and historical romances, two genres I read more occasionally. I wasn't entirely certain what to expect from No One To Trust but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. It's written with a fun, light tone that sort of reminds me of Sarah Strohmeyer's Bubbles books or Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, though there are fewer Stooge-esque moments in No One To Trust.

Lexi Carmichael is a cute and quirky protagonist. An ex-hacker who now works in the private sector, she's thrown into a whole new realm with this case, the first she tackles at her new place of employment. It's a nicely plotted missing persons case that requires Lexi's special talents. She's being romanced by her boss, Finn, which adds a nice subplot. Unfortunately, Finn, like most of the characters in the story, seem rather one dimensional. He's charming and delightfully Irish but that's about all he's got going on. This could be because I haven't read the first novel but I think each instalment in a series should have some character work. Nonetheless, I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fluffy chick lit mystery.

http://ireadgood.wordpress.com

[Jeanie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED No One to Trust! My friends have been recommending this series for a while and I really intended to get to it sooner. Why do we wait when people whose taste we trust recommend a book? I love the people I met in the book and enjoyed the well plotted mystery.

Lexi is on her first case for Finn's new security company and when a specialist in nano-technology disappears after his partner is killed, in what is declared an accident, the case reveals some real twists that challenge even his amazing team. The investors in his company turn to Finn and Lexi because the only clue to his disappearance is a message: SOS Lexi Carmichael UG. A message that puts her on the hot seat for her first assignment since leaving NSA. And then there is the relationship issue. I can so relate to her lack of social skills and luck. Hilarious but offering hope.

I won the book as part of a prize package during a launch party for another book. Once I finish the other books in the package, I will be reading the other books in this series. It is always exciting to find an author who writes exactly what I want to read.

[Leslie Nagel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am utterly charmed by this series. Lexi is a freshly funny heroine, with plenty of tricks up her sleeve. But she's also a self-proclaimed geek, meaning she constantly causes goofy accidents and misreads social situations, landing herself in hot water on a regular basis. Plots aren't super complex, but the stories are fast paced and engaging.

[Cass · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lexi has left NSA and is working for Finn Shaughnessy, a possible love interest. Since Lexi cannot help but find herself in the midst of trouble, it's no surprise that their first client hires Finn's firm to find a missing person who left a coded note with Lexi's name in it. I really enjoyed this installment in the Lexi Carmichael series. Lexi finds herself in dangerous situations but also some hilarious situations. She is taken far outside her geeky comfort zone. Lexi's romance with Finn seems to be heating up but Slash and Elvis are always there in the background coming to her rescue when needed. I highly recommend this series and can't wait to read the next book!

[Tamye Whitener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Read.

This book has it all: Lots of action, engaging characters, and steamy kisses. Lexi has no problem finding herself in some extremely embarrassing, yet comical situations. The scene outside the strip club with the priest is one, but not the Lexi'a most embarrassing.

I can't wait to see what happens next.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lexi has moved into the private sector with Finn as her boss. It seems like the first case has a lot of clues that all point to Lexi, but unfortunately, she doesn’t have any recollection of the missing client, Darren. Things start to fall together when Lexi realizes who Darren’s murdered partner was and how she knew him (only Lexi would be in this situation). Lexi’s bestie Basia is determined to help Lexi find her feminine, sexy side – these interactions maybe my favorite part of the book! Watching Lexi cluelessly navigate the dating world is priceless!

[A.K. Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after reading No One Lives Twice. If you're thinking about reading No One to Trust first, this probably isn't the review for you.

That being said, one of the things I loved best about this book was the growth of the characters. Yes, the comedy had me grinning from ear to ear from the moment I read the first line. The page-turning action kept me up late at night, promising myself sleep after just one more chapter... But it is the characters that hold this book (and this series) together the most.

In this book, Slash is his badass self. Just the right amount of dangerous and reliable.

Elvis is still stalwart, loyal, and too chicken to admit his feelings to Lexi. But this book shows a lot more depth in his twin's character, Xavier, through interactions with/about Lexi's best friend Basia.

In the first book, although it centered around Basia, she was offstage until the end of the book. No One to Trust shows Basia in her element as Lexi's best friend. And I love her! She is spunky, confident, and willing to do anything to help her friend, even if it means urging Lexi outside her comfort zone.

Finn also gained depth through certain vulnerabilities as the book progressed. I loved seeing the gentler side of him, the side that shows exactly how much he adores Lexi, to the point that it rattles him. Although their dates are disastrous in the most hilarious ways, I love their interactions together.

Being the point of view character, Lexi gains the most depth in this book. I love how she is pushed outside her comfort zone -- which, as an aside, happens to be the same as my comfort zone -- and although she isn't as confident as I'm sure she will one day become, she does it. She muddles through. She collects new, wacky experiences. Reading about it is incredible fun.

As you can probably tell from the glowing review, I highly recommend this book, and this series!

[Jellybean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 in the Lexi Carmichael series.

I was a bit disappointed with the length of the book at only 199 pages. That's not really a "Book" its more a short story to me. But, it seems the first book of the series is the only somewhat full length book. Oh well, I cant change it so moving on..

The series is very much a "Fuzzy chick lit/Cozy mystery" where bad things only happen to the bad guys and the good guys always trump and are good for quick fun reads.

It started off pretty slow and boring, but it picked up the last 1/3 of the book.
The whole cast is great and I enjoy reading everyone's part and there is no one I dislike or find boring. Slash, Lexi, The Twins, Finn.. Everyone. ((I leave Basia out since even though she is back, she doesn't really play much of a part.)) Lexi is slowly growing into the woman she should be and is therefor a little more fun to read since you're in her head 100% of the time.

[Lynn Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounded up becaus I'm hopeful.
Sections of this book really annoyed me. In fact, I'm not sure it even deserves a 3 other than I'm still planning to read the next book with hopes the exasperating parts are over. The same things bothered me about this one as bothered me a bit in the prequel. For a supposed "best friend" Basia spends too much time and effort trying to complete change Lexi. I can understand wanting to improve yourself and how you deal with relationships and your self confidence but I feel like her friends "help" is about saying who Lexi is is bad and she needs to be someone else, which is rediculous. Her friend shouldn't be trying to change Lexi just help her be herself and be confident in that. I also feel like the supposed feminist message is being sabotaged by the very women preaching it. Instead of be you be confident and own it they are preaching be somebody else men are too stupid to like anyone for anything but their body etc. On top of that all the sections of the book that focused on Lexi's "improvement" were completely unnecessary for the story. It wasn't just a sub plot. It was entirely irrelevant. You could cut all those scenes and still have a complete (and good, better actually) novella. It's like they were added after, in order to get a word count. I plan to attempt the next book in the series because I find the cozy mystery aspects entertaining and I am hoping she is done with the bad "friend" Basia side plot. (FYI, Basia is billed as a good friend and is set to appear in the following books. I'm just hoping she's used up the "improvement" plot line steamrolled by Basia.)

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as exciting as the first book. I like the main characters and overall plot. Too much blasphemy and sexual references to be considered a cozy mystery, in my opinion. I know it is probably "tame" compared to a lot of books out there, it just not what I'm used to in the books I usually read.

[Crista McHugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

LMAO!! I hope to god there's a 3rd book coming because I devoured the first 2 books in 2 days. It made my inner geek glow. :-)

[Jeff J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second Lexie Carmichael book rolls back the thriller in favor of romance. While at times her machinations and entanglements are laugh outloud funny this isn’t a genre I enjoy.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

*This is probably the fluffiest espionage series ever*


On the one hand, the Lexi Carmichael series does meet my expectations. It’s fluffy brain candy. It’s romance with a dash of mystery. It’s short and entertaining. It’s easy to read and easy to forget.

I read the first book in the series a while ago. And while I was entertained for the most part, there were enough things that annoyed me that I was not in any rush to continue on right away. Fast forward to over two years later when I saw No One to Trust still sitting on my TBR list and decided some fluffy spy action was exactly what my exhausted, unfocused brain could use. And as with the first book, it did mostly meet my expectations. But those expectations were embarrassingly low.

The story was fairly fast-paced. And considering this is only a novella, there wasn’t room for much plot. After all, Lexi needed ample time to flirt and feel conflicted about the three (sort of four actually) men who are panting after her. I get frustrated enough with love triangles, but the overabundance of love interests made it impossible for me to focus on (or really care about) any of the romantic parts. I do like my romance to not feel like the heroine has short term memory loss and can only be interested in whichever bag of testosterone is currently in front of her. And I’m starting to get the sneaking suspicion that this series will end up like the Stephanie Plum series where the author leaves the characters in a constant love triangle just to avoid alienating fans who are rooting for opposing men.

If the number of men obsessed with Lexi doesn’t give it away, she’s smart and gorgeous but utterly in denial about her looks – to the point where one has to wonder about her supposed genius level intelligence. There was a part where she said, “I’m no Miss America—just your basic tall, skinny girl.” Yet everyone else kept saying how hot she was. Not only did Lexi remain stubbornly oblivious to her looks, she continued to have an extremely toxic self-image. While her body shaming was not nearly as prevalent as in the first book, it was still definitely there. Despite being underweight, she constantly says things along the lines of “I really shouldn’t be eating this, or I’ll get fat,” or “I can only drink diet soda.” It was so toxic.

Moffett also exhibited the same lack of fact checking about pretty much everything in this book. Whether it was technology, martial arts, or just general information, these books seriously lack even basic google searches. And it was too hard to believe Lexi was actually the supposed genius when she kept saying so much incorrect stuff.

Bringing up a big pet peeve of mine: as with the first book, Moffett refused to use the Oxford comma. And since she likes to list things in threes frequently, it was glaringly obvious and obnoxious as hell. Most grammar stuff I try to ignore (other than my favorite rant on how first person, present tense novels are substandard), but the fact that the Oxford comma is NOT OPTIONAL is a hill I will die on. And then haunt till the end of days.

Ok, so this review is pretty negative. And I do stand by those complaints. But I also have to mention again that this book is exactly what it advertises to be: a light mystery about a hot mess with multiple guys panting after her. So if that’s your thing, then you’ll probably enjoy this series.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 2 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 2 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 2 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 2 Stars

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this book. I fell in love with the characters in the 1st book and had high expectations for this one. Unfortunately I felt let down in many ways. Here's why:
1. The dialogue! I get that Lexi is this genius hacker and ultimate geek girl but the dialogue seemed to ramble using large words (which yes I understand!) But I'm also reading a chick lit because I want something light, entertaining and fun. Not something complex! Here are just a few examples.
"development of cognizant, selfreplicating machines is inevitable, scientists need to fully understand the technology to ensure a benign application"
"self-replicating molecular machines that would be able to reproduce"
Just a little too wordy and complicated for my liking. Also it was a little far fetched what this scientific research could lead to.

2. The cattiness between Lexi and a rival for Finn's affection/attention bothered me. I get that Lexi says what is on her mind and doesnt understand social protocol but this fight scene felt like I was in high school not watching two 25ish women in a professional environment. It just seemed out of character. Another off character thing that bothered me is how we are reminded that Lexi had a photographic memory yet it doesnt ever seem to get used. For crying out loud she went to the library and had to write down the books reference #. Why? She went right to finding the books wouldn't a person with photographic memory be able to remember the book reference # from mere minutes before?!?

3. The love triangle. This started to feel way 5o much like a Stephanie Plum novel. Except 3 guys are falling for our leading lady. The dark mysterious man who keeps popping into her bedroom, the clean cut good guy and now add to the mix a best friend geek. To be honest I dont like Lexi and Finn together. The cant ever seem to be together! Something goes wrong EVERY time. It feels like the universe (or author) does not want these 2 together and I agree. Plus one of the best romantic scenes in this book happened with Lexi and Elvis. It was just a cute scene were she says she felt comfortable and safe with her head against him. I think in the long run these 2 will end up together and I'm glad.

I gave this 3 stars because I still love the characters and feel hopeful that the series will be as good as the 1st book. I guess time will tell.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were a couple of early Lexi Carmichael books I missed and, well, here I am. Catching up (after the fact) on the chaotic, oft-times dangerous situations Lexi gets herself into. And when I say chaotic, let it be known I'm referring to being caught nekkid in her boss's apartment (in what is actually a mostly innocent, yet highly odd set of circumstances). Oh, Lexi. Never change.

So. Lexi gets dragged into a search for a missing person. It's a little more complicated than that, really, but that's the heart of it. Unraveling the clues as to how and why she's been singled out as the point person on this sends the ex-hacker down a few rabbit holes. Oh, and she's kinda sorta dating her boss. In a weird, roundabout way. But not really at the same time.

Look, Lexi's complicated. No, that's not right. Lexi is extremely straightforward and that tends to trip her up at times. Which is hilarious and how that nekkid in her boss's apartment thing sort of happened.

Regardless, Lexi follows clues, skirts danger, and tries to navigate the wilds of social interactions. I'm kinda digging this look back!

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Alan Snow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have just finished reading the second Lexi Carmichael mystery “No One to trust” which I personally found quite disappointing, particularly after the first Lexi Carmichael book, No One Lives Twice.

The storyline built onto the plot from Book 1 and the same partners in crime came to the fore and to Lexi’s aid.

The problem I had was that there were two plots occurring simultaneously (nothing wrong with that), one was the mystery plot which was reasonably well put together but the other was the ongoing sexual frustrations that Lexi seems to be continually experiencing that overshadowed what I believed was to be the main theme.

It was particularly frustrating that nothing seemed to be happening until about ¾ through the book – and then everything happened.

There were some rather bizarre sections such as when Lexi became a stand-in stripper which seemed to have no part in the book.

I do however like the style that Julie Moffett uses where the book is written in the first person and the plot is seen through Lexi’s eyes. She does that well and you can almost experience the feelings that she is encountering.

[Terry Bourbon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one. The main character kind of reminds me of Janet Evanovitch's Stephanie Plum. This one has a more serious framework, but Lexi has a streak of unluckiness, which is very humorous. She also finds herself in romantic triangles, just like Stephanie. I will have to read more of these.

The plot is that Lexi was a hacker that was working for the NSA (probably fully explained in the first book). Then she gets hired by a private sector company that deals in computer security. This book entails the first case the new company gets hired for. It was really well done until the end. The end involved a little too much explanation from Slash, a friend of hers that still works for the government. Most of the book is great, the plot is easy to follow, some of the technical stuff is explained well, and athe pace really works. Then the end came, and wrapped up too fast, but with pages and pages of explanations. Perhaps the book should have been a little longer to let the explanations play out more naturally. I recommend to anyone that likes intrigue, cyber crime, and romance.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So the first book, I felt like was some serious mindless reading. I wasn't so sure if I loved any of the characters as so much of it was written in cliches. But it was an easy read and the storyline was enjoyable so I thought I'd continue the series. I liked the second installment much better. It reads very much like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. Except Lexi Carmichael is very intelligent book-wise (or digital-wise in this instance) than she is life-wise. And instead of a love triangle she's in a love quadrangle although at this point she doesn't really know the third one is interested in her yet but the readers can pick up on it. She's fun, intelligent and clumsy. It's annoying how self-deprecating she is especially when these men are blatantly telling her she is beautiful. But I love how confident she is when going to head to toe in a battle of the brains.

So unfortunately for me I will probably spend the rest of my free time now, binge reading through this series. :D

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting series.... Entertaining...

That’s me, Lexi Carmichael, a reformed hacker who was gainfully employed by the National Security Agency. But a series of extraordinary events led me to leave government life behind for a fresh start with a brand-new company and an incredibly sexy boss, Finn Shaughnessy. It may not be kosher to have the hots for your boss, but he seems to have the hots for me, too. If only things didn’t get so complicated…

Darren Greening, a genius researcher from Flow Technologies (our first client!) is missing, and his bosses think I’m involved. And they aren’t the only ones—the man who nearly snapped my neck in the parking garage thinks so, too.

Now I’m caught in the middle of a complex and dangerous case. I’ll have to use all my geek skills and a little help from my friends to solve the mystery of Darren’s disappearance before Neck-Snapping-Man makes a return visit…

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun, zany (mis)adventure w/ Lexi Carmichael. Lexi is called into a meeting w/ X-Corp’s first client, a nanotechnology firm whose brain trust has gone missing. A cryptic note from the missing person mentions Lexi by name, and she must did over her link to him in order to find him … before other, more malicious parties do.

Written w/ wit and humor, the action was steady. This installment had a little more romance (I’m more interested in the spy vs. spy, action thriller, and humor side of the story). Most of the romantic elements ended in humor due to Lexi’s klutziness. But there were also elements that ventured well into the realm of the risqué. They weren’t smutty, but this installment definitely was not as squeaky-clean and family friendly (so to speak) as the first.

Overall, it was a fun, escapist romp. I recommend it to anyone wanting a quick, light, humorous, action-oriented read … with a larger romance element this time around.

[Sophie ARGINTARU · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voici au moins une série qui... avance ! Désormais, ayant goûté à l'Aventure avec un grand "A", notre héroïne malgré elle a décidé de changer de vie. Elle a quitté la NSA pour rentrer dans une société naissante de cybersécurité. Voilà, côté coeur, c'est difficile et gênant de sortir avec le patron, surtout quand le mystérieux Slash rode autour d'elle... côté boulot, la première enquête va la cibler "dangereusement" directement.

On retrouve ici ce qui a fait la réussite du premier tome, une enquête assez solide et intéressante, quiproquos, tentatives de meurtres, courses poursuites, mère hystérique et démoniaque... mais aussi des amis fidèles, un rythme alerte, des rebondissements, une héroïne socialement déficiente, mais drôle et fûtée, le héros bad boy contre le héros fils idéal. L'humour est de plus en plus présent dans la série. Très sympathique divertissement qu'on lira sur la plage !

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lexi lands her first case with the new company she works for.
Just not in the way it was intended. She appears to be directly connected to a young genius that has gone missing, and she can't remember meeting him.

Pro's: Well written, lots of humor, strong characters, and a solid story and mystery.

Con's: I hate romantic triangles. While Julie Moffet hasn't crossed the line with one yet. So far, in the books I've read, there has been one main romantic interest, with another hanging around in the background. I tend to be loyal to the characters I like, and Julie has a way of making you like these characters and rooting for them. So, while there's no actual triangle involved. I keep dreading there will be.

I will keep reading this series as I do enjoy it and the many laughs it brings. But if a triangle does happen, I'll probably be done with it.