I Always Wanted to be a Spy

Maggie Sloan #1

by Judith A. Barrett

Only a librarian with the soul of a spy could read the clues to stop a killerA heart-wrenching murder changes her life forever, and Maggie transforms from prey to predator. Will the librarian with the soul of a spy and the unusual support team stop the desperate serial killer or will she become the latest victim? It all comes down to kill or be killed.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Amazon, Mystery Thriller, Fiction

374 pages, ebook

First published February 4, 2019

About the author

Award-winning author Judith A. Barrett lives in rural Georgia with her patient husband, FarmerMan, and two spoiled farm dogs. When she's not writing, you'll find her outside gardening or with her husband and dogs.

Judith A. Barrett writes thriller, mystery, and survival science fiction series. Her unusual main characters are brilliant, talented, and down-to-earth folks who embrace solving difficult problems and righting wrongs.

Donut Lady Mystery Series
Sweet Deal Sealed, Book 1 Sweet Deal Sealed
Sweet Deal Concealed, Book 2 Sweet Deal Concealed
Sweet Deal Revealed, Book 3 Sweet Deal Revealed
Sweet Deal Appealed, Book 4 Sweet Deal Appealed
Sweet Secret Deal, Book 5 Sweet Secret Deal

Maggie Sloan Thriller Series
I Always Wanted to Be a Spy, Book 1 I Always Wanted to Be a Spy
Red Is the New Gray, Book 2 Red is the New Gray
Hidden by Fire, Book 3 Hidden by Fire
One Eye on the Killer, Book 4 One Eye on the Killer
See Beyond the Fog, Book 5

Grid Down Survival Series
Danger in the Clouds, Book 1 Danger in the Clouds
|Danger in the Wind, Book 2 Danger in the Wind
Danger on the Road, Book 3 Danger on the Road
Danger in the Field, Book 4 Danger in the Field

Riley Malloy Thriller Series
Tagged by Death, Book 1 Tagged by Death
Defy Death, Book 2 Defy Death


Check her website for more information about her books and to read her blog.
Judith A. Barrett website

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You can find her books on Amazon with your preference of ebook or paperback!
Judith A. Barrett Amazon Author Page

Reviews

[Allison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was lured by the title, but it was a bait and switch. Very little librarianship, entirely too much eye rolling, cinnamon rolls, invisible guardians and repetitive descriptions. I don’t know why I kept reading. The plot was so convoluted and obscure, I barely knew what the mystery was and didn’t much care when I found out.
I am doing you a favor when I warn you not to waste your time on this series. I wish someone had warned me.

[Ferne (Enthusiastic Reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Margaret (Maggie) Sloan is a fascinating character and readers have the delight of first introduction to Maggie at age 4. Maggie has extraordinary observational skills and memory retention. By 2nd grade she has convinced her Mother to buy her a laptop and is busy recording her "data" and as she ages she adds different databases or expands the categories in a database to collect all of the distinctive information for ease of later review or sifting and sorting. Maggie's college data includes "physical and social characteristics of other students, instructors, and my fellow bus riders." After graduation there's a job-search database. In her first position as a librarian, there's a library-patron database. That aspect of Maggie's life is interesting but an explosion at the library changes everything.

The concept of imaginary friends for an adult was a little far-fetched for me to accept at first but when I simply suspended my disbelief I found I enjoyed these secondary characters and primary friends of Maggie's tremendously not only for the protection they offered Maggie's peace of mind but due to the immense sense of humor that was brought out by all who accepted their presence in Maggie's life.

Without a doubt this novel's portrayal of a librarian is the most unusual that I've ever read and as a retired librarian it was great fun to read of a character so totally opposite from the staid stereotyping that has been given to librarians in films, television, and books (and sadly still continues but happily is ever so slowly changing).

I may not continue reading the series but I'm glad I spent at least a little time with Maggie. I wouldn't have wanted to miss meeting her among my reading adventures.

[bex · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 star

I liked the character. The feel is definitely more suspense/thriller than mystery, despite series title, as it is more about hiding and running from threats and getting trained to handle them than about figuring things out. The reason for the lower rating is that there is a turning point in the story that defied logic for me. That decision never made sense and my confusion about it undermined the rest of the book for me. It's a bit like the author pushed the story in a new direction that didn't match the buildup to that point--author needed a change of venue so they moved but it contradicted everything the characters had been building up to.

[Anca Antoci · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got The Librarian on a whim because who doesn't want to know what happens when the librarian has wanted to become a spy all her life?
I love how we get to know Maggie and her quirks developing through various stages of life. The more you know her, the more you root for her. Maggie's got a great eye for detail and a fantastic memory. She got her mother to buy her black clothes and a laptop by second grade and began collecting data. As she matured, she created and expanded databases, organizing the information into various categories for efficient future analysis. Maggie's college data contains information on the physical and social characteristics of her classmates, professors, and fellow bus passengers. As a new librarian, she creates a database of library patrons and keeps track of everyone. Maggie is indeed a fascinating character.
To be honest, I savored every moment of the story up until the explosion, when her life is upended. Then it all goes haywire, and it feels like you're reading a different book altogether. Maggie is forced to learn new skills and she's suddenly great at everything she does. If you like thrillers, give The Librarian a chance, but you'd better have good attention to details and a memory to match.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The protagonist, Maggie Sloan, always wanted to... well, you know the rest.
Spy has a little bit of everything. Comedy, romance, action, cooking, intrigue, friendships, mysteries and even a supernatural/fantasy element. I found the characters to be interesting and my favorite bits were the interactions between characters - you could tell how much they cared for each other.
I was a bit incredulous about the amount of risk law enforcement would put Maggie through to catch the bad guys. At some point, she should have been in witness protection. But then, there wouldn't have been a story now would there?

[Hollie Affkeck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow and barely worth the time

If you like endless discussion of daily mundane tasks between thin threads of the plot, this is your book. It’s clean, and decent but it takes forever to get to it.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first Maggie Sloan thriller begins when she is a small child who wants to grow up to be a spy. She wants to wear black - an unusual color choice for a young child - and have her hair dyed black too which her mother doesn't allow.

She grows up, gains a Library and Information Sciences degree, and begins hunting for a job. But Maggie is a bit of an odd duck being quite literal minded but very observant. With library jobs thin on the ground, Maggie finds herself applying for a wide variety of other positions including work as a bank teller.

When a library job opens up, Maggie, now in her grey phase, leaps at the chance to work in her own field. But she saw something, or heard something, in the interview process and now someone wants her dead.

She barely escapes dying in the explosion that ruins her library and kills her fellow librarian. She manages to work her way through rehab with the help of two imaginary companions - Palace Guard and Spike - and gains the attention of a police detective and his FBI Agent sister who befriend her.

When her police detective boyfriend is murdered, she and his sister are determined to find the killers who murdered him and want Maggie dead too.

The narration for this audiobook was Virtual Voice which made it an interesting listening experience. Mostly it sounded very human, but there were some things that didn't work quite as well. I think that some of the dialog should have been humorous but came out as a virtual deadpan.

This is the first book in a series.

[Glenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I made it to 49% but couldn’t read any more. I love neuro divergent books but this one didn’t get into the plot fast enough. If someone tells me to read the rest of it because it picks up significantly I will consider that.

[Thomas \Pawlak · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was hard to follow

The book had a lot of ridiculous parts and characters. I don’t want to spoil it for others but it was way too far fetched for me and it tended to jump around too much. I enjoy more realism. I wish I could say it was a completely enjoyable read but it wasn’t always easy to remember who a character was or what their purpose was. I did read it until the end.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read. I kept getting mixed up on who was who. So the plot seemed a little Tangled. That was probably just me. Nice to read a fun book without bad language or sexual behavior in from of closed doors

[Karen Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie Sloan is a librarian, which could be a boring job, but not the way Maggie does it. She has always wanted to be a spy, and puts her observation skills to work to gather information from anyone or anywhere. She gets to know all the library regulars, and adds them to her databases with a description, her observations, and deductions about each of them. She is funny and irreverent, and the novel feels lighthearted at first. Then she discovers a body among the stacks, and begins receiving strange notes, followed soon by a massive explosion. All the library patrons had been evacuated after Maggie received another note which she interpreted as “Rabbit, Run.” Maggie herself was severely injured by the blast. After emerging from a coma, she is happy to see her friends Taylor and Mr. Morgan. She also is pleased to meet the detective in charge of investigating the murder and the blast, but disconcerted by how much she blushes while talking to him.
She sets off on a lengthy and strenuous rehabilitation, determined to progress as fast as possible, and her strength of will propels her to gain coordination and mobility. Her imagination also calls up visions of a former coach, Spike, who urges her to excel. She also invokes a memory of a Buckingham Palace Guard as an example of standing straight and true. Then Spike and Palace Guard become her familiar invisible companions, guides and protectors during the months of excruciating rehabilitation and beyond.
The detective, Parker, who still makes her blush, introduces her to his sister Kate who is former CIA. With these high powered friends and invisible coaches, Maggie’s agile brain and excellent memory help keep her safe from additional attacks and explosions.
She learns many new skills — cooking and baking, cleaning guns, hand-to-hand fighting, and expert shooting skills among them. Along the way her skills and observations help her identify who has been trying to murder her.
The novel turns pretty quickly from frivolous to serious, as Maggie and all her helpers move to new locations to stay safe. And Maggie homes in on the probable murderer and examines who might be his boss. Maggie’s new strengths, skills, and fierce determination lead her into acts of great bravery. The book is well written, and first in a series about Maggie (the spy.)

[Barbara Hackel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hooked me in. When a 4 year old wants all black clothes, you know the book is sure to be different from your run-of-the-mill spy books! Different and intriguing. Maggie must be upper level Mensa material. Her ability to collect, organize, retain, and recall random data is nothing short of amazing. When random interviews have failed to produce a job, she is suddenly offered a library position (yes, she is qualified) and learns a new level of satisfaction and content. In her current "gray" phase, Maggie becomes close with patrons and the other (Head) librarian. She also has two BF-Taylor who has been her friend since 5th grade, and Mr. Morgan who is an 80 year old neighbor. Life is good and she keeps expanding parameters. When crime introduces a detective into her life, slowly he becomes her boyfriend, and his FBI sister a trusted friend. So much happens in this lengthy book, but you will have to read it for yourself. I laughed. I cried. I read until 3 AM on a work night. I couldn't stop until it was done. Read it and be prepared to be impressed by Maggie. To laugh at her naivety. To cry. To admire her tenacity. To cry. To be amazed. Thankfully there is another book in the series waiting to be devoured! Loved this book.

[Sara Rothery · Rating 2 out of 5]

What have I just read?
Honestly, I've never read anything so wrongly titled. o.k Maggie was a librarian for about 5 mins. Wanting to be a spy she is the strangest of people. having a lovely mother who wants great at parenting and later vanished into the world of love she vanished from the book also.
then there are the invisible men, spike and palace guard. why put what reason is anyone's guess but the dog can see them too and everyone is like oh right yeah, nothing strange about having imaginary friends at 30.
A lot of explosions occur, gun fights and learning how to fight.... then there's the food. I'm unsure Judith Barrett has a good disorder but someone may wish to check on her.... steak, grill, salad, wild salad, cinnamon rolls, bacon rolls and coffee, ice tea.... constant throughout.
you could half the book with some good editing.
The romance was killed off suddenly, that could have been good but no we will morn for like 3 lines. As for ending apart from introducing a new character 2/3 of the way through which was an obvious baddy. The obvious character was the evil. It had an air of Scooby Doo about it.
sorry I won't be continuing with the series.

[Karyn Huenemann · Rating 2 out of 5]

My copy of this is entitled The Librarian, but it’s the same plot… I can tell by the other reviews.

I initially really liked the freshness of meeting Maggie as a young child: it solidified the characteristics that would be essential in her future personality and drive the plot at times.

The low rating is for the weak handling of the male characters, especially love interests, despite my really liking the women and their relationships. The balance is too far off. SPOILER When Parker is killed off, it’s almost as if he leaves no emotional hole in Maggie’s life, except for the couple of times we are explicitly reminded: there’s no actual emotion in their relationship nor in her sorrow. I suppose that’s okay, though, because it leaves open a door for a new love interest in “Larry,” that we can see will develop more slowly through the series. I anticipate this to be predictable but not satisfying; I won’t be reading the next book.

[Roy Murry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ALWAYS WANTED

TO BE A SPY

A Maggie Sloan Thriller

JUDITH A. BARRETT



Review by Author Roy Murry



Maggie is a strange but incredible individual. A Librarian who wants to be a spy. Her ability to observe and clarifying a situation is out of the box for an average person.

She sees something and has an immediate recall. Maggie's personality has a wit the reader will enjoy as her supporting characters, including her imaginary sidekicks.

An event at the library she is working puts Maggie and her friends through multi-whirlwind thrilling deadly encounters with an unknown enemy. Consolidated effort brings this adventure to a dreadful gunfight ending.

Ms. Barrett's story has its peaks and lulls, but the peaks outweigh the lulls. The characters and interwoven thrilling events make this a worthwhile read, a series starter.

Thrillers will be thrilled.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author, and based on this one, I'm not sure if I will continue reading her books. The person this story was about had an extremely good memory for details and for remembering things, that made her very adept at solving puzzling issues. Where it kind of went off the rails for me was because there were so much detail and characters in it that it was hard to keep track of who was who and what they were doing. Also, there were plot problems, such as Maggie dropping her dog off at the vet and groomer, then telling the dog that he would get used to a new owner and playmates. There was no reason for this in the storyline, and then suddenly, the dog was back in the story with no saying what transpired to have him back. I don't know if this was an editing error or the writing. It made the book a slow read and I fell asleep reading it more than once.

[Lori Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a 5+ stars story!

An absolutely charming, heart warming, kick butt girls mystery! I could not put it down and loved ever minute of it. Maggie may not be a spy yet, but she is sure off to a good start. The book ended much different than I had imagined it would when I started. It's a fun story that involves some rather high level criminals who end up at the wrong end of Maggie, the librarians gun. The characters are a bunch of what appears to be average citizens and Maggie's imaginary friends. Oh, I almost forgot Lucy the dog. A great read or anyone. Just a great clean thriller. No sex, vulgarity, and only a couple mentions of blood, although a few people do get killed it doesn't dwell on the event. I loved it and definitely recommend it!

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maggie Sloan #1, kindle free, 2.5 stars.
This book seemed to have all the right ingredients to be great. Maggie had wanted to be a spy since she was a child, but is a librarian as her career. A murder takes place in the library and it’s her chance to try to solve it. Great characters, but possibly an early book for this author bc transitions, character introduction, plot lines and flow need some work. There’s some odd imaginative stuff that I still don’t quite get. What dropped it to 2.5 stars for me was one of the deaths that I thought didn’t fit at all for where the story was going. The author lost me there and I really didn’t even care about the end.

[Lynn McClelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be Careful What You Wish For

From the time she was a little girl, Maggie wanted to be a spy. When it came time to go on to college, she couldn't come up with a plan to reach her goal. Instead she looked to her love of reading and studied library science.

After graduation, she found job possibilities were few. She had several interviews and landed a job at the local library, returning books to the shelves. Little did she know that bizarre events would take place there that would turn her life upside down. In the end she was able to use some of her natural spy instincts to save herself and weed out the bad guys.

[cathy m freeze · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an unusual character!

I could not stop reading Maggie's story. Loved the character interactions, very much loved her spiritual guides, and cried with her when she lost someone close to her --shell shocked me, truth to tell, that did.

The mystery was super twisty and intriguing. The only reason for 4stars rather than5 has to do with the antics of her imaginary friends--they got a little over the top as the story progressed, for me. That and, dammit, I hated losing who she lost. Really hated that.

[KAREN SOLBRIG · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Judith Barrett mystery. For some reason I was easily confused by the story. I think it is because the prose keeps you moving along quickly, so it is easy to miss tiny events that are a big part of the story. I finally reread the first half of the book to find the thread that I missed. Once I did that, I could follow the story. It's a unique story which comes together well at the end. No loose threads left over. Enjoyable, fast paced, once the end came . . . well, read it and find out! I can't wait to start the next book, "Red is the New Gray.''

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first began this book I didn't think I would like it. At my age when I start such books I just close them and forget them. I kept going and this turned out to be a very interesting story with many twists and turns to figure out the least expected culprit. The main characters are 2 young women not long out of college. If you begin wanting to be a spy in your preschool age and continue to do what you think will prepare you. But when someone is trying to kill you and you haven't the faintest reason why, life can get interesting. Highly recommend.

[Macjest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gotta love a kid who already wants to be a spy at age 4. Kind of reminds me of Miss Congeniality where the main character is reading Nancy Drew out on the playground. What does this main character do when she grows up? She becomes a librarian. Along the way she sees something she shouldn’t and all the material she’s been reading starts to pay off. However, there are two characters in this book that might turn people off. She sees imaginary guys. I found it stretched credulity a bit, but once you accept things, the guys do play an important part and makes the story a lot of fun.

[Peter McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriller with a kooky hero

Maggie Sloan is the Librarian. As a kid she wanted to be a spy so she has excellent observational skills. When there is a murder in the library, Maggie is tipped into an exciting story of attempted murders and killings. At the same time, there are many pages where nothing happens as Maggie hones her skills and builds her resilience. Her humour sustains her but the energy of the novel dissipates and it only really gets going in the last half of the novel. I liked the novel but it could have done with some filleting.

[sheila gorton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightfully descriptive read!

I needed something non taxing, whilst recovering from a chest infection. A lovely easy read, which I could dip in and out of. Some parts of the plot were a little confusing, but I just continued on. What REALLY kept me hooked, was the descriptive writing. I just loved how the scenery and countryside were portrayed. Then there was the cooking and the food! Described so well, it made me wonder why I didn’t cook more! “Shall I knock up a pan of brownies?” I mused! It certainly helped me get my appetite back, thank you!

[Jennifer Delany · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was too confusing to me. It seemed like the writer was always hungry, as there are far too many descriptions of food. Not a good book to read if you are dieting, it's like reading a cook book.
Next, I couldn't get over the imaginary people the character talks to in the book. Not only does she talk to them, they seem 100% real to her. The book started out interesting and then just got too confusing to follow. It had promise, but it went off the rails with fake characters and a badly written story.

[Randy Tramp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maggie Sloan, librarian, and self-taught spy threatens to expose a complex criminal scheme. A murder changes her life, transforming Maggie from prey to predator. Can she stop the kingpin or will she be a victim?

I picked up this book because the book I'm writing is similar to Maggie Sloan-a strong female who fights evil.

I loved the imaginary characters. Made for a unique read. Action filled each scene. Great read.

[Keith Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, quirky & very good read

With a well set stage, Maggie emerged as a natural. A trained librarian, which is a role for a spy (as they need similar skills). Lots of false trails, yet the heroine comes through, sorts it out, and brings the story to a satisfying conclusion. Having two imaginary friends (who seem quite real) is an interesting twist!
Sad that Parker needed to be removed from the story....

[Lois Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Always Wanted To Be a Spy

I almost quit reading after a couple of chapters, but I'm glad I didn't. I always enjoy some comedy, and this book had me laughing quite a bit. There are some imaginary characters who become quite important to the story. There are some places where it is difficult to follow what is going on. I could usually figure it out by rereading, but a couple of times, I finally just skipped it, which was never a problem.

[Sienna S'Zell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wacky fun interesting read! Maggie, the main character, appears to be a high-functioning super-intelligent person on the autism spectrum, which reveals amazing traits that help her uncover and solve a major life-threatening criminal enterprise. I love the characters in this story, lots of loving and confusion, centered in a library but more about organizing one's life than about reading books. Good read!