Weakest Lynx

Lynx #1

by Fiona Quinn

Her education was unusual…

…and that might just give her a chance.

Can Lexi survive an assassin?

Lexi didn’t have a normal childhood; she was raised by the intelligence community. They saw her potential and now, with a target on her back, she needs to figure out who’s after her and why. And where did her mentor go?

If she was going to get answers…

…she would need some help.

Who could she trust?

At twenty, Lexi isn’t like most women her age. She can fight, has a brilliant mind, and an intuition that borders on psychic. She knows one man who would be perfect, but he can’t find out who she is and what she’s been taught.

It’s a delicate balance.

What’s her next move?

You’ll love this thrill ride of a story, because Lexi is a considerable woman up against an unstoppable foe. The stakes are real. You won’t want to put it down.

Get it now.

Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, Contemporary, Suspense, Mystery, Thriller

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2015

About the author

Fiona Quinn is a USA Today bestselling author, a Kindle Scout winner, and an Amazon All-Star.

Quinn writes action-adventure romance in her Iniquus World of books including Lynx, Strike Force, Uncommon Enemies, Kate Hamilton Mysteries, FBI Joint Task Force, Cerberus Tactical K9 Team Alpha, and Delta Force Echo series.

She writes urban fantasy as Fiona Angelica Quinn for her Elemental Witches Series.

And, just for fun, she writes the Badge Bunny Booze Mystery Collection with her dear friend Tina Glasneck under the pen name Quinn Glasneck.

Canadian born, Fiona Quinn is now rooted in the Old Dominion where she lives with her husband. There, she pops chocolates, devours books, and taps continuously on her laptop.

Reviews

[Rain · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do not understand. How does this book have a 4.40 star rating? What are these reviewers getting paid?? There’s reading for escapism, and then there’s utter ridiculousness.

Here are a list of the FMC’s accomplishments. My apologies if I missed a few.

19 years old
Married but still a virgin
Was trained as a teenager to be a super spy
Sex training but has never seen a penis
Speaks seven languages
Expert marksman
EMT
A mechanic
A cake decorator
An accomplished chef
Has magical calming/healing powers
Knows how to play the guitar and sing perfectly
Excellent home renovator
Martial arts expert
Is a shadow walker
Can fly a plane
Somehow, also a college student
Has a giant rack, a tiny body, and is gorgeous/sweet

There is zero romance in this romantic thriller. Two stars because somehow, I kept reading. Maybe to see if her husband would show up? Maybe to find out if she was an accomplished lion trainer, underwater welder, or NASA specialist? The answer is no to all those questions.

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weakest Lynx (Lynx #1) by Fiona Quinn is a book I found I really enjoyed. I like the fact that the agent "protecting" her doesn't know she is more than capable of protecting herself. Sure there is the romance angle but it is ,well, difficult since they are both married. I was drawn the the paranormal part, oh yeah! I like this crazy book, this girl is kick ass. She can do all sorts of stuff, she has been trained by the best. A Jane Bond, Bruce Lee together in one. A fun book. Some people don't like it because they don't let themselves "pretend" enough. That is what books are for!

[AlitaConejita · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about a 19yr old leonardo da vinci with the body of a victoria secret model (though it's not till book 3 when they explicitly state that she has 32 DDs to go with her size 2 frame - must of been hard pretending to be a boy in a loose hoodie as described in this book). Its a girl that has been trained as an EMT, a rescue pilot, a martial arts expert, a sex expert (but don't worry, she's still a virgin even though she is married [sarcasm intended] - it's all explained in the book :P), a spy (kinda - a genius 'puzzler'), a mechanic (?), a musician (well enough to make side money singing and playing guitar at a bar), a magician (maybe that's brought up in book 2?), a proficient speaker of 7 languages, and a great cook of multiple cuisines. I'm sure there are a few more things I've forgotten. Oh! she's psychic too. All this at the age of 19 - wow!
But don't worry, even though she is amazingly accomplished she is still tdtl. Once again, don't worry - she does live because she has a group of amazingly hot and talented guys to take care of her while still being in awe of her brilliance.
She needs these guys because even though she is amazingly talented at police/spy stuff, trained in physical combat and to work with combat dogs, and she's psychic she makes terrible decisions and can't figure out/keep away from her stalker. She is this girl that has grown up in a tight, but diverse community and is just such a darling, helpful girl loved by all she meets ... but has no real friends to talk with (maybe discuss her issues?), or people close enough to worry about her (her intro protector/father-figure doesn't even realize her whole apartment building burned down until 3 weeks after it happened when she goes to him for help on the stalker issue). All her "friends" are just tools really that provide her with skills and additional information when she finally remembers to ask one of them for something. The book is from her POV - so maybe she's just delusional and unaware of how people actually perceive her.

The mystery and story line were mediocre. I want to add to that with supporting details, but everything else in the book (and series) is overshadowed by the horribly perfect and implausible MC (who yet still needs the big,strong, sexy guys to save her) that I can't remember what else I wanted to say about the rest of the book. Oh, other than building a romance with a married woman (19yr old girl) might be somewhat realistic when her hubby isn't present for the whole book - but doesn't sit well with me. I was in no way surprised with how things ended up going with the husband. It's what I expected to happen and why I don't understand why they'd put her in that position (of being married but lusting after the other guy) at all. Especially since she is so amazing and perfect otherwise (was that supposed to be her character fault? it doesn't help with her like-ability at all).

[Bitches Be Critics · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bitches be Critics: Judging romance novels by feminist standards
www.bitchesbecritics.com

Preamble:

Sit tight, dear reader—Weakest Lynk isn’t the worst book I’ve ever read…but it’s close. It’s terrible. TERRIBLE. How this book went through beta readers and a professional editor (so the acknowledgements say anyway) and STILL came out this bad is a question I will ponder until the day I die.

It’s time for an old-fashioned rant.

The TL;DR summary: none of the characters resemble real human beings, there are no significant female characters in the story except the main characters who’s a total Mary Sue, the plot is disjointed and makes no sense, there’s implicit racism and sexism throughout the story, the writing is terrible, and there’s no romance.

I repeat: THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE NOVEL. The “romantic suspense” label on the cover is false advertising.

Things I liked:

Nothing. I didn’t even like when it ended because it was so unsatisfying, like “a pie crust without any filling” (which is an actual line from the book), or, if you will, like a bowl with nothing in it.

…Okay, given the savage beating I’m about to give Weakest Lynx, I’ll throw it a bone and give it kudos for not being outright misogynist. The hero doesn’t dominate the heroine because he loves her so much, or sexually assault her because he knows she secretly likes it, or stalk her because he can’t live without her, etc. So there’s that. Good job, book, I guess?

(I’d also like to point out that, as is true of all our reviews at BBeC, I’m judging the work, not the author – this is not a personal attack on Fiona Quinn. I’m sure she’s a very nice lady.)

Things I didn’t like:

Hoo boy.

Here’s the premise of the story: Lexi is a 19-year-old psychic and former secret agent (because a teenage white girl will of course blend seamlessly into the international terrorism scene). She’s newly married to a guy she knew for three weeks before he went off to Army Ranger school the day after their wedding (we never see or hear from him BTW; he spends the entire book “away” doing ambiguous Ranger things). On their wedding night, she starts receiving mysterious threatening notes. After months of these notes, the bad dude finally attacks her in her home. She’s then assigned a protection detail of a bunch of interchangeable Ken doll special agents from a shadowy government group called Iniquus who are “above the law” but totally not abusing their unchecked power. One special agent Ken doll named Striker takes particular interest in Lexi’s safety. Sparks fly, danger lurks.

First off, let’s talk about the whole concept of a secret government agency that’s above the law, which is a popular romantic suspense trope that really needs to die. Lexi is clearly meant to be a psychic version of Agent Sydney Bristow from the TV show Alias, who also works for an “above the law” secret government agency; also see La Femme Nikita (USA version) and Nikita (CW reboot)…I loved these shows BTW, so this book would’ve totally been my jam if the similarities were more than skin deep. The thing is, in both Alias and La Femme Nikita / Nikita, the secret agencies are actually evil, and Sydney and Nikita spend the entire series basically trying to take these agencies down. Even cheesy guilty pleasure TV shows know that powerful organizations with no accountability will, without fail, abuse their power eventually no matter what their original good intentions. Hell, just look at today’s political landscape for real-life proof of how easily uncheck power corrupts.

Alias peeps: Remember that time Sydney kicked Quentin Tarantino’s ass? Yeah, this show ROCKED HARD!

Now if it had turned out Iniquus was also secretly evil, that would have opened up some interesting story possibilities. But no. Instead, it’s made crystal clear Iniquus are The Good Guys and Other People are The Bad Guys, and The Good Guys must have no flaws because then we wouldn’t root for them, I guess.

Which brings me to the characters—or, “characters.”

The main character, Lexi, is a BIG TIME Mary Sue. In fact, I think she’s the most Mary Sue character I’ve ever read from a supposedly professional piece of work.

Here’s a quick rundown of Lexi’s skills:

– Is psychic…but not just a regular old psychic, she has a rare and powerful version of ESP that allows her to enter people’s minds, receive premonitions and deus ex machina instructions on how to resolve dangling plot points, and do some other stuff that’s not explained well until it’s convenient to the plot

– Is an intelligence operative trained since childhood by a spy master

– Knows “shadow walking,” which means basically making herself invisible

– Knows hand-to-hand combat; she can take down men twice her size

– Is a firearms expert

– Is a master detective; she picks up clues trained professionals with years of experience miss

– Has magical healing powers

– Has magical calming powers

– Works as an EMT

– Sings and plays the guitar

– Knows amazing magic tricks (slight-of-hand stuff, separate from her actual magic)

– Trained in the mystic ways of sex (but she doesn’t use these skills on the job, because that would compromise her purity; in fact, even though she’s married, she’s still never had sex)

– Can fly an airplane

– Is a master chef of several different cuisines, including Indian, Mexican, and Italian

– Is a master baker/master cake decorator

– Knows several languages

– Does search and rescue with her two trained Dobermans

I probably missed a few of her other abilities. Did I mention Lexi is nineteen? She’s also beautiful and charming. AND her parents are tragically dead. AND even though she’s married, she’s still somehow a virgin; she’s never even seen an adult male penis before (despite being trained in the ways of sex…? Guess she had the Trump University version of mystical sex training). AND Lexi uses her psychic abilities to basically solve a kidnapping & murder case single-handedly (that incidentally has nothing to do with her stalker plot). AND, toward the end of the story, she literally saves a lost cat on a whim because she’s just that goddamn pure of heart.

I kept waiting for the reveal that she was secretly an A-list movie star, and that unbeknownst to her, she was also next in line for the British Throne.

In fact, establishing Lexi as a goddess among women was about 90% of the book. Nearly every chapter followed this formula: Lexi worries about her stalker/worries about her hubby/reminisces about her past; other people do stuff for her/solve her problems for her; she reveals she has some amazing ability; people tell her how amazeballs she is. Repeat. THAT’S THE BOOK.


You’d think all these quirks and skills would make her an interesting character, but you’d be wrong! She’s actually pretty boring, and who she is below her Mary Sue surface is never explained—probably because it doesn’t exist. For instance: why did she marry her husband despite only knowing him for three weeks? Why was she waiting until marriage to have sex even though she had a sex teacher? Why doesn’t she have any friends even though she’s lived in the same neighborhood her entire life? We’re told that when her spy master mentor left to parts unknown, she suddenly decided she didn’t want the spy life anymore. Why? She must not have been that into it if it was that easy for her to give it up. What does she want to do with her life instead? She mentions she’s going to college several times, but we’re never told what she’s studying. At least we knew Sydney Bristow was studying English!

Lexi is supposed to be the ultimate self-sufficient kick-ass woman, but somehow other people (all men) still do everything for her. Her father figure tells her which house to buy. He investigates her stalker and enlists her neighbors to clean the house and remodel it for her. He installs a security system for her to protect her from the stalker. When the security fails and her stalker attacks her, her neighbors run over and save her. Father Figure calls on the Iniquus Bro Force to take her to a safe house, where they cycle through treating her like a child, a damsel in distress, their mother, or on one disturbing occasion a porn star. Then they literally hold her down while they catch her stalker for her.

All that shit Lexi can do, and she STILL lacks agency.

UGH.

Anyway, the Iniquus Bro Force is no better. They all have distinctive looks and maybe one defining quirk but indistinguishable personalities, hence the Ken doll moniker (“That one’s got rippling abs, blonde hair, and blue eyes! That one’s got rippling abs, brown hair, and green eyes! That one’s got rippling abs and a Hispanic accent! That one’s got rippling abs and tells jokes!” etc.). They also have stupid names like “Deep,” “Trip Wire,” and “Striker.”

“We’re here to protect you, Lexi.” – Iniquus Bro Force:

Lexi’s spy master mentor, who’s also a member of Iniquus but not on the Bro Force, is named—I kid you not—Spyder McGraw. I giggled every time I read that name, which was several hundred times throughout the novel.

It’s safe to assume nobody in the story resembles a real human being. As a result, I had zero investment in anything that happened to them.

ON TOP of all that bullshit, this book had some disturbing racist undertones in a few places. Lexi uses the term “All-American” to describe a couple cute white kids, while she describes her mentor Spyder McGraw—a black man and also American (how could he not be with that name?)—as “exotic.” When she “accidentally” gets an eyeful of Striker’s big white penis, she’s shocked it’s “so big” because she’d been told by her mystic sex teacher that “white men had smaller penises”…the implication being black men have larger penises because they’re sexual beasts or something, which the author probably thought was a compliment to people of color but was actually the rationale for many lynchings back in the days of Jim Crow and is grossly racist. And wouldn’t you know, this mystical sex teacher is a hooker who, of course, has an “exotic” (i.e. non-white) name—because it’s not like a white lady would be a hooker, come on!

So you might be wondering—if I hated this book with a passion, why did I keep reading? I’ve DNF’d books for a lot less. Well, the cover copy made it clear Lexi’s romantic interest was Striker, so when it’s revealed in the first couple pages she’s married to another guy, I needed to know how that was going to work. Would she cheat on her husband? Would it turn out she wasn’t really married? Was it a marriage of convenience? Would he turn out to be a bad guy? Was he the stalker?

There weren’t a lot of ways it could go that would make Lexi look good, but the cover said “romantic suspense,” so I knew something had to give…

spoiler for lame ending...

…My top guess was that her hubby was the stalker because he had to be in the story for some reason, right? Like, he had a split personality or tricked her into marrying him to get revenge or something like that. But then it’s revealed nearly 70% of the way through the book that her stalker is…DRUM ROLL…some random guy who’s never been mentioned before. Um, okay. Bro Force easily captures him, he goes to jail, gets out of jail, attacks Lexi one last time, she shoots him, he runs away, then we’re told in passing that he died of his injuries. WOW THAT WAS INTENSE.

“But what about hubby, dammit??” I screamed at my Kindle. “This better be fucking good…” I also threatened the inanimate object as I forced myself to keep reading. Well, after Lexi spends the entire book moaning over how much she misses her husband as she makes googly eyes at Striker, hubby fucking dies at the end in an infuriating violation of the “show, don’t tell” rule. We’re told he’s been killed in The War doing Something Brave. That’s it. (…The author knows the US is fighting more than one war right now, right? Right??) Lexi is devastated of course, even though she acknowledges she barely knew him and is pretty much having an emotional affair with Striker by that point. At least now she’s a virgin bride-widow, and therefore extra-super noble and pure. Months of appropriate mourning are skimmed over in a couple paragraphs, she kisses Striker under the mistletoe at Christmas in the very last paragraph of the book, THE END.

WHAT THE FUCK?? WHERE IS THE ROMANCE I WAS PROMISED??

Why even include the husband in this story at all if his sole purpose is to keep romance out of the romance novel????

I’m not a big fan of cheating in fiction (or in real life, if that isn’t obvious), but I can still enjoy a story with cheating and sympathize with the cheaters if I understand why the cheating is happening, and if it makes sense for the story and the character arc—Anna Karenina, for example. This story doesn’t even try to walk that line. Lexi sleeps in Striker’s bed (no sex tho—she just climbs in with him like a scared little toddler), shares intimate details of herself with him, stares at his naked body and penis (like a toddler), and exchanges googly eyes and sensual touches with him. But instead of exploring her attraction to him and what that might mean about herself, and whether maybe she’s not really in love with her husband and only married him because she was desperate for the illusion of a normal life—you know, like someone who had some self-awareness and depth might do—it’s all blown off or underplayed because having serious thoughts about stepping out on your husband would be—gasp!—a CHARACTER FLAW, and we can’t have that.

Yes, if Lexi had cheated on her husband she would have become unlikeable, but she also would have become a HUMAN BEING and one thousand times more interesting. Instead, I got a slow slog to nowhere with Spy Barbie and Special Agent Ken Doll (…Striker’s the one with brown hair, green eyes, and rippling abs).

I don’t care if there’s romance in the next two goddamn books. I’m not reading those. This one needed to stand alone to earn its romance title, and it didn’t. I mean, you don’t see novels billed as fantasy stories with no fantasy elements in them!

Petticoat or Pantsuit?

PETTICOAT

Lexi is a perfect snowflake of a human being, about eight thousand times better at everything than everybody, and STILL the manly-men around her end up solving all her problems while treating her like a child/mother/porn star despite insisting they think she’s “mature” and “independent.” She also tells herself to act “girly” and “like a fluffy bunny” to create an illusion of weakness that will throw off her enemies…because stereotypically female traits equal weakness.

That’s some sexist shit right there.

Now I’ll wrap this sucker up because I want to get on with my life. I’ll say this as my final thought: Even though Weakest Lynx is packed full of some of the worst romance novel clichés—Mary Sue heroine, bad writing, paper-thin characters, sexist stereotypes, no significant females other than the heroine, flimsy plot totally disconnected from reality and constructed for maximum googly-eye action between hero and heroine, etc.—but contains no romance, it still has a nearly 5-star rating on Amazon with hundreds of reviews. I don’t know what this means for the romance genre, but I find it disturbing and disheartening.

Bitches Be Critics: Judging Romance Novels By Feminist Standards
www.bitchesbecritics.com

[Katyana · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 30%

It just felt all over the place, honestly. It was a bit jarring because it felt like I was missing a book before this - I literally popped on GR twice to check.

And then we have Lexi pinging from thing to thing like a hyperactive child, and she seems to know and be skilled at literally everything. Psychic superspy trained since pre-teen age, she cooks, she sings, she heals, she is a deadshot, she is a detective, home-renovator, estate cleaner, and if you give this woman a screaming baby it will immediately calm (no joke, y'all, that was literally a scene).

I couldn't get my bearings, I don't know what's going on, and I just didn't even want to pick this back up, so I'm bailing out.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (6/18/2019)! 🎁

[Marguerite (M) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: There might be a few spoilers in this review.

This book was low-key exhausting but I guess I'm feeling generous. It felt like reading the first novel of Seraphine Thomas all over again; every new chapter, I was wondering why I was still there.

+ The book is 300 pages long but feels like a thousand. So many things happen in those pages, yet it feels like the story never advances. There is a stalker, there are kidnappings, there is a missing mentor, Lexi's husband is deployed, there might be a serial killer, there is ESP stuff, and she's even flipping a house and cleaning up a hoarder's.
+ The whole character of Lexi is too much. She isn't annoying or obnoxious but she is too perfect. The girl is twenty, an orphan, attending online college classes, newly-wed, still a virgin, a cook, a singer, a spy, and a bit of a PI. She's buying a house, she knows Reiki, she's a bit of a psychic, and she's the victim of a stalker. She also can fight, she can hack, she can shoot, she has a plethora of different skills because she was unschooled and learned from multiple mentors everything she could. And of course, she's beautiful.

From the all-over-the-place plot and the over-buffed heroine, there is obviously way too much going on. It starts pretty basically -despite the feeling I missed a whole book or introduction- with the heroine having a poet-loving stalker but splits into hundreds of directions.
Soon, we learn that Lexi is a psychic and "know stuff", but it never seems to be helpful until the 80% hit mark. But Lexi is also overly trained and kind of a genius in about everything, yet she's a victim at least two-thirds of the book; of a stalker, of an attack, but also of being alone and not making the smartest decisions. She gets the "heebie-jeebies" but never acts on it or tries to protect herself more than with an alarm system, and I personally think that Lexi could have been the perfect horror-movie heroine.

I wanted to like this series. There are a few books out and the side characters are pretty cool and get their own stories later. But I'm afraid the dementor-like next installment will suck even more life out of me.

> 20 years old heroine
> First person POV
> romance
> Multiple installments + series of standalone about the other characters

Trigger warning:
Stalker, bloody attack, kidnapping, PTSD, and stuff. No cheating despite what people might think!

[Rick Soper · Rating 5 out of 5]

The brightness of a hero shines it's greatest when it is confronted with the deepest darkness. This book is filled with heroes that you want to applaud for, and villains who will inhabit your worst nightmares. Fiona Quinn does an incredible job of breaking the mold of a thriller. Her main character, Lexi Sabado, is young, beautiful, intelligent and skilled far beyond her years. Lexi grew up un-schooled learning a vast and varied eduction from a host of teachers who've given her one of the most unique skill sets you'll ever read about. But for all her ingenuity the Stalker is too horrible to handle on her own. Fiona Quinn builds the character of Lexi up slowly. She lets Lexi's inherent goodness shine through in her every action. She lets you see how everyone around Lexi is drawn to her, likes her, and wants to help her. Which makes the constant pressure of the Stalker so much more evil because you just can't understand how anyone could ever want to hurt Lexi. Quinn writes the Stalker with such menace and strangulating pressure that you feel like cold clawed fingers are wrapping around your stomach and squeezing it into a burning knot as you read. Joining Lexi against the Stalker is the team from Iniquus, led by Stryker, who are all heroes of the highest caliber that remind you the best of the best that the military can produce. The Iniquus team would be awesome to read about all by themselves, but you put them in the relationship of protecting Lexi and you find yourself jumping up while reading and cheering. This book is filled with highs, lows, and scenes that are so intense and emotionally devastating that they will sit in your head long after you finish it. This is a great book and I could not recommend it higher! I've found a new favorite author to follow, and I can't wait to pick up her next book!

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am worn out. Smooth worn out. I felt like I just ran a marathon in 4 inch heels with two dogs chasing me WHILE I tried to solve a puzzle. What in the hell has been happening? How is this girl 20 years old and done absolutely everything you can possibly ever do in your entire life. Do you know how much work and hours you have to log to get your pilot's license? I mean it's not like going to take a driver's test and they toss you the keys at the end of the session. Physically, mentally, emotionally this girl would not have had time to do all the things she's an expert at. Either that, or I'm the laziest person I know. Maybe I should have been practicing Reiki, shadow walking, martial arts, training my dogs, shooting, volunteer police work, volunteer EMT work, becoming an expert cook in four different cultures, working as a mechanic, and doing my weird psychic training all this time. Maybe then I'd feel accomplished. Oh and I can't forget going to college, she just finishes those classes up while she's recovering in the hospital every time.

I'm sorry but this was just entirely unbelievable. BUT EVEN STILL, I did enjoy it a little :D. I mean the plot was completely unrealistic in parts, and not that bad in others and I really did enjoy some of her interaction with Striker. Some of it. I won't be reading the rest because I can already tell it's more of the same, running, shooting, puzzle solving, getting hurt, being hospitalized, saving the day stuff that never stops. I mean a real person can't get hurt that much hon, or they'd be dead. It's got to spaced out with actual other real life stuff. But anyway I did read it to the end and the girl had some uniqueness to her and only a little bit of snowflake so I could handle that. I found her funny.

[Lilo Abernathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's official, I'm a Quinn Fangirl. This book has been on my reading list for a while, but I had to get through publishing my latest in my series and I had a couple of books ahead of this. I finally got to it just the week before my 'break between writing books' ended. And boy am I glad I did. By the third chapter this story grabbed me with iron hooks and sucked me into a powerful vortex and a week later I emerged having read every single one of Ms. Quinn's books. I couldn't stop. I wouldn't stop. I hoped fervently she wrote under a pseudonym so I could find more books, but no dice. Yeah, it was like that. One more point before I'm on to the review. This book isn't a paranormal shifter novel and has absolutely nothing to do with a Lynx cat. Instead, it is ohh so much better . . .

Lexi is orphaned a year before the story takes place and a fire forces her out of an apartment building where she's lived as part of a close-knit community all her life. She's been unschooled. By that, the author means she hasn't gone to traditional school, but has instead been tutored by and has apprenticed with many people. Some of these people she calls her Grandma's. They're six elderly women of different ethnic backgrounds who teach her different languages and cultures. Other tutors are more specialized, such as her training to fly airplanes, her martial arts training by Master Wang, or her training by Spyder, a special undercover operative of a group called Iniquus.

Lexi also has some special psychic and supernatural abilities. She can perform Reiki, which is a method of healing using energy transformation, she has psychic 'knowings', she can perform simple searches for lost things, and most startling of all, she can go 'beyond the veil'. I'm not going to tell you what that is, but let me just say, it is freaking cool. It happens during the most shocking climax of the book.

Spyder recognizes that Lexi is a genius operative in the making as a young teen between her unorthodox education, her martial arts training and her supernatural abilities. She becomes his secret weapon and puzzles out complex crime scenarios to find the truth.

All of this so far is background and as you can see, it's very rich. The story really starts the day after Lexi's wedding. It opens with Lexi on her way to speak with her friend, a father figure, to tell him about a threatening note she received on her wedding day. She's near tears and scared out of her mind because her husband left for service in Afghanistan that morning and she's alone. She didn't tell her husband about the threatening letter because she didn't want him focusing on her when his life was at stake on his own mission. She's never been the victim of a crime like this, or involved in dangerous situations before. She's only lent her mind to puzzle out the crimes against other people.

The person she really needs to speak with is Spyder, but he's been undercover for about a year and a half after the last big case she puzzled out. She hasn't heard from him and though he suggested she go to a man named Striker if she has problems, she is independent enough not to want to get their help. Since she's been working directly in secret with Spyder, she doesn't even think they will believe her. Well, after more threatening notes she realizes she's being stalked by a crazed serial killer.

I can't really tell you more without giving away major plot points. The story covers some brutal scenes and holds a strong thread of romance. This is a phenomenal story. We have a serial killer, a team of hunky special operatives, supernatural powers, a genius heroine, and romance. What more can you possibly want?

You can want the next two books in the series and more that the author hasn't even written yet. And you will. You will want it bad . . .

[BookWormAli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost quit this book before I even read it, and instead I ended up gut-wrenched and crying.

Lets just start with the beginning, Lexi is a seriously educated and gifted person. Not only has she been trained for Intelligence and fighting but she has some major ESP voodoo going on as well. And a seriously messed up stalker, who keeps messing with her happy days. With her husband (yes she is married to someone other than a MC... Lexi and the MC Striker never cross overt lines and actually become good friends, but I almost put this book down because I don't do cheating! However Ms. Quinn builds their relationship subtly and always with the fact that Lexi loves her husband and would never think to cross that boundary. In fact their is no actual romance between them until after Angel passes away and event that is a hint of what could come overseas she feels very exposed.

After moving and restoring her house the stalker finally makes a move and Lexi gets hurt. A team from the agency Lexi helped out covertly comes to protect her while she recovers. Can Lexi and the team put all the puzzles together before the Stalker gets her and can she help the Team solve their open cases without revealing her secret association with them? If she does what dynamics would change?

I loved this, I loved the world building the depth of Lexis' character and her upbringing. she was so intriguing and diverse that she really was the "surprise party" I liked that Striker never crossed lines while protecting her but gained her trust and had her back even checking on Angel after her nightmares. He helped her rebuild herself twice and never looked for repayment. The other team members are just as intriguing and I cant wait to see where this series takes us.

[Rose Montague · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beyond amazing. I would compare it to the best of Kay Hooper or a David Baldacci with a paranormal flair. Then you have Lexi as a heroine with smarts and who kicks tail as well. I started this book, set it aside to eat lunch, then finished it late this afternoon. I could not put it down and had to wait to catch my breath to write this review. I eagerly await the next book in what promises to be a great series.

[⋆˙⟡ Lara ⋆𐙚♡ (in a gr slump) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read! But why did I think the stalker was gonna be the love interest lol

[Cc]

Lexi can do everything, 20 years old and she's mastered everything?!!! Give me a break! Just not my kind of main character.

[Amy Caudill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lexi Sobado has lived an interesting life. Only twenty, she is a Kung Fu master and has trained with police officers, spy masters, and master chefs. She can shoot a bullseye, beat trained operatives on an obstacle course, and still appear as sweet and innocent as the girl next door. She also has gifts that insure her life will never be the “normal” she craves.

Lexi is great at solving puzzles. Her mentor, Spyder McGraw, a legend at the shadowy government agency Iniquus, trained her in secret to find connections no one else can. But when Lexi is being hunted by a cruel, obsessive man she calls Stalker, Spyder is off on a secret mission and Lexi must turn to others for help. She has attracted the attention of a very dangerous psychopathic drug addict who has already murdered six girls, and Lexi is his latest chosen victim.

While this story is definitely a thriller with a heroine who has paranormal abilities, I found myself caught up more by the lead character’s backstory than the plot itself. For all Lexi’s gifts, she is honestly trying to create an ordinary life. She spends her time, when she’s not being stalked or helping the Iniquus team sent to protect her, getting to know her neighbors and turning a fixer upper into a home to share with her husband Angel when he returns from Afghanistan.

Lexi’s desire to have a normal life helps make her character more appealing, more vulnerable, than the mysterious and gifted psychic undercover operative who is her alter ego, Alex. Fiona Quinn managed to instill her heroine with a multi-faceted personality, while still writing a story that will appeal to both spy enthusiasts and paranormal romance fans.

I award this novel five stars and would recommend it to a large body of readers.

[Hollie Smurthwaite · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5

What I liked about this novel: badass female character, lots of action, cool psychic stuff, high stakes, great tension, fun male team characters.

What I didn't like about this novel: too perfect heroine (she had a ridiculous amount of talents and they came up at random, when needed), and a plot that felt random and confusing with not enough parts relating to the others. The husband seemed like a complete waste of character. And the story went through gymnastics to make the heroine married and a virgin.

Early on, I had to check that this was book 1. It read more like book 2 in a series that you need to read in order to really understand what was happening. There were also a few shades of racism that are always uncool, like perpetuating the stereotype that white men have smaller penises and using the term "gypped."

Also, I read this on recommendation of a friend, so I didn't read the description ahead of time, and I was kind of hoping she was a lynx shifter. LOL.

[Shakuita Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cat and Mouse

What a wonderful thriller of a twisted cat and mouse game. Right away I was intrigued from the very first page. Quinn weaves an amazing story and makes you fall in love with every character. The build up wasn't too slow or too fast. I couldn't read fast enough however to find out what was just below the surface. Lexi's men are fierce and protective and you can tell they all compliment each other. I'm ready for the next tale in this series. I must admit the title is what intrigued me as I thought it was a paranormal but there is a bit of psychic scenes. I'm really glad I was able to vote for this one on Kindle Scout. It's a true gem and the author has earned a spot on my always read list.

[Steve Gannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "Weakest Lynx," author Fiona Quinn introduces us to a unique protagonist with an unusual skill set. Lexi Sobado is young, smart, tough, caring, and funny. Among other things, she is also an accomplished martial-arts fighter, an expert marksman, and she has a few surprising and singular paranormal abilities as well. When Lexi is stalked by a sadistic killer who has her in his crosshairs, Lexi must use all her talents to survive in this tale that accelerates from start to finish, ending in a breathtaking climax.

Quinn has crafted a winner with "Weakest Lynx," and I look forward to the next "Lynx" installment. Read it. You won't be disappointed!

[Colleen Fauchelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I entered a competition where you could win 30 crime E-Books and I won. Which was a good start to my 50th year on this earth. So this is just the start of some good reading.

I felt this story was to jumpy for the first 40%. It also felt like book 2 because of the way it started - like I had missed something. Over the 40% mark the story settled down and I enjoyed it. It does go into the mystical stuff at one stage. Some people believe in that thing but not me.

I did like the main character she was crazy brave and she goes through a lot in this story. She is very giving and caring to the people around her.
I loved the kitchen Grandma's so cool

[Tulay · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Fiona Quinn book.

Interesting way Lexi was schooled. ESP subject line was different and interesting. Will read more from this series. But I need to correct one sentence and educate editors and author about Turkish. Jadda doesn't mean grandmother in Turkish. Mother=Anne, Father=Baba, and Mother's mother= Anneanne, Father's mother=Babaanne.
Also alarm system was removed, what alarm she was setting? I do read very carefully and even write book report on the books I read.

[The Behrg · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Fionna Quinn's debut novel she has done what many authors only dream of one day doing - created a protagonist wholly unique, surprising, and believable. Lexi is someone you wish you knew; from her background and fascinating education to her psychic abilities to her innocent charm, it's no surprise that this is just the first of what will surely become a successful series. Kudos to Quinn for giving us another strong female protagonist who's not a victim but a role model.

[Polly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lexi Sobado is the perfect heroine. Though young, barely out of her teens, she’s tough and soft, compassionate and fierce. She can save a kitty and take down a killer on the same day—in the same hour, actually. She’s psychic too. Fiona Quinn has a winner with The Missing Lynx. Plenty of suspense and action, plus, there’s a nice almost-romantic element, which I assume carries through the rest of the series. The Missing Lynx was a Kindle Scout winner, and I can see why. Five stars all the way.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first glance Weakest Lynx would appear to be a paramilitary thriller but it is so much more. Lexi Sobado is an intriguing character that has lived a lifetime in a very short time. I loved her strength and determination. This book is non-stop action. The only thing I didn’t like is that I can’t pronounce Iniquus and it drove me to distraction. I’ve purchased the rest of the series (to date) and plan on binge reading.

[Kamryn Short · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was way too much minute detail in the first like ⅓ of the book. Once it picked up around 45% of the way through, it was good. Didn't have me on the edge of my seat, but I did finish listening to the audio book.

[Melissa]

after years of hearing stories about Striker from her mentor, Spyder, Lexi has to trust him and his Inquis team to protect her from her stalker. She finds a new home and a new purpose, but will she lose it all to a psychopath? Fiona had me laughing, crying, scared, fighting, hoping with this book. Seriously, the bathroom scene with Striker and Lexi made me laugh out loud!! Definitely worth getting right now!

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Daniel Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the first-person POV of the book. The main character Lexi Sobado is skilled in many different areas, but thanks to understanding her thoughts and concerns, I never perceived her as overskilled. She is a realistic person who already faced many challenges in her young life. Behind the facade she holds up for valid reasons, she is a fragile person and Fiona Quinn makes an awesome job to display her doubts and weaknesses as well - very well balanced character!

Lexi's skills are very well researched and explained and I never doubted that Fiona Quinn knows what she is writing about. Whatever happens to Lexi (and whatever she's doing) makes perfect sense - especially having in mind the effects of physical and psychological wounds - and I felt for her continuously, wanting to know what's happening next.

I have to confess that I was a bit hesitant about Lexi's "supernatural gift", but again Fiona Quinn makes a great job to keep that skill level within its limits and also show disadvantages of it.

The story makes perfect sense to me and I couldn't put the book aside until late at night/early morning - "Just one more chapter...". I finished it in three days, only to be distracted by the absolutely necessary real-life obligations like work or sleep. "Addictive" is a very suitable description for this book! I forgot the world around me during reading, which is one of the main features of a great story in my opinion!

Lastly I want to commend the cover: It caught my attention, but did not reveal too much about the character's appearance. Thanks for that! I don't like it if my mind is put on a pre-defined path without having the liberty to draw its own picture.

I simply loved the book, it is for sure worth its money and I will definitely go for the entire series. Well-deserved 5 stars!

[Katie Mettner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lexi Sobado is the kind of protagonist you can't help but love. She's tough, yet vulnerable, smart, yet innocent, trusting of the ones she loves, and fiercely distrusting of the rest of the world. When you first meet Lexi you know within a few pages that it will be a long winding road to discover all the facets of her personality. Some might call her a child prodigy, her education lacking the traditional route and aimed towards real life applications, and it has made her into the woman she is at just 20 years old. She's newly married, to a man who left her the next day for Iraq. She's lost enough people in her life to be careful with her heart, but when she lost her heart to Angel she trusted he would come back to her.

Setting Lexi as a woman aside, and opening up Lexi as a well trained secret operative faced with a stalker, is much more difficult to break down. Lexi has psychic flashes, among other skills, that tell her when and where the stalker will strike next. She smells him, hears him and breaths with him, but she cannot see him. When she is put under protection by the mysterious Iniquus group she becomes the weakest lynx, in more ways than one. She's faced with many obstacles as an operative, but also as a woman. She finds herself drawn to Striker, the man charged with protecting her. She's married, but as a woman who hasn't seen her husband in months, she begins to wonder what she might be missing.

I must stop here before I give away any spoilers, but the whole book is a thrill ride of mystery, deceit, learning to trust in the physic abilities of those with the gift, and little by little letting Lexi Sobado into your heart.

I give Weakest Lynx five cups of beautiful, phantom, smoking hot coffee....

[Lisa Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARS don't begin to cover it!

There are good books, and there are great books. It’s always deliciously wonderful to come across a story so captivating that it becomes a bit of an addiction. Fiona Quinn’s Weakest Lynx is just such a treasure, a gem among the gems, where the characters spring off the page and straight into your heart.

As the novel’s heroine, Lexi Sobado, deals with a twisted stalker, the many layers of this remarkable young woman are revealed. The more I discovered about Ms. Quinn’s multi-faceted psychic, the more I found myself thinking she could give Wonder Woman a run for her money. And I wasn’t wrong. Lexi does that and more, and without the benefit of bullet deflecting bracelets. She’s gutsy, gifted, and gorgeous. Plus, she deserves a medal of valor for dealing with Hoarder Central.

Lexi faces challenges and ordeals that would have even the toughest of warriors buckling under the pressure, but she weathers them with grace, perseverance, courage, and a strength of character far beyond her years.

There are so many memorable moments in this story; moments that will make you smile, and moments that will have your heart bleeding in grief and pain right along with Lexi. I'll treasure them all, and I know I’ll be reading Weakest Lynx again in the not too distant future, just to relive the experience. And I’m already eagerly anticipating the next Lexi Sobado adventure.

[Darcia Helle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written, multi-faceted story that brings us action, suspense, mystery, romance, and family drama, all with a paranormal undercurrent. The author certainly has a gift for storytelling. I felt like I was there in the midst of the action, breathing their air and feeling their emotions.

The plot moves at a steady pace, building momentum as we near the climax. Quinn tackles the topic of stalkers, showing us how absolute the effects can be on the victim's life. Sadly, most stalker victims do not have the resources afforded to our heroine.

The characters are well developed and unique. While I really liked Lexi, she was also my stumbling point. She is simply too perfect. At just 20-years-old, she is a fabulous cook, a superior fighter, can out shoot most anyone, performs magic tricks with ease, is a beautiful and petite size 2, can put puzzle pieces together to solve most any crime, and all this without using her additional, paranormal skills. She felt, at times, more superhero than human. Also, I found certain issues with her marriage too convenient and not quite convincing. I don't want to give details here, so I'll just say that the true romance would have worked better on its own.

Aside from my grumbling, this story absolutely held my interest. I'm looking forward to reading the next in this series.