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Gabriela Rose #1
The Recovery Agent
Lost something? Gabriela Rose knows how to get it back. As a recovery agent, she’s hired by individuals and companies seeking lost treasures, stolen heirlooms, or missing assets of any kind. She’s reliable, cool under pressure, and well trained in weapons of all types. But Gabriela’s latest job isn’t for some bamboozled billionaire, it’s for her own family, whose home is going to be wiped off the map if they can’t come up with a lot of money fast.
Inspired by an old family legend, Gabriela sets off for the jungles of Peru in pursuit of the Ring of Solomon and the lost treasure of Cortez. But this particular job comes with a huge problem attached to it—Gabriela’s ex-husband, Rafer. It’s Rafer who has the map that possibly points the way to the treasure, and he’s not about to let Gabriela find it without him.
Rafer is as relaxed as Gabriela is driven, and he has a lifetime’s experience getting under his ex-wife’s skin. But when they aren’t bickering about old times the two make a formidable team, and it’s going to take a team to defeat the vicious drug lord who has also been searching for the fabled ring. A drug lord who doesn’t mind leaving a large body count behind him to get it.
The Recovery Agent marks the start of an irresistible new series that will have you clamoring for more and cheering for the unstoppable Gabriela Rose on every page.
Inspired by an old family legend, Gabriela sets off for the jungles of Peru in pursuit of the Ring of Solomon and the lost treasure of Cortez. But this particular job comes with a huge problem attached to it—Gabriela’s ex-husband, Rafer. It’s Rafer who has the map that possibly points the way to the treasure, and he’s not about to let Gabriela find it without him.
Rafer is as relaxed as Gabriela is driven, and he has a lifetime’s experience getting under his ex-wife’s skin. But when they aren’t bickering about old times the two make a formidable team, and it’s going to take a team to defeat the vicious drug lord who has also been searching for the fabled ring. A drug lord who doesn’t mind leaving a large body count behind him to get it.
The Recovery Agent marks the start of an irresistible new series that will have you clamoring for more and cheering for the unstoppable Gabriela Rose on every page.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published March 22, 2022
7994 people are currently reading
51191 people want to read
About the author
Janet Evanovich
320 books40.6k followersJanet Evanovich is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum series, the Lizzy and Diesel series, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and Trouble Maker graphic novel, and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author, as well as the Fox and O'Hare series with co-author Lee Goldberg.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,823 reviews
April 22, 2022
So you like Stephanie Plum and you're wondering....🤔
Yup, it's Stephanie Plum...in the jungle!
First in the series, Gabriela Rose recovers stuff from insurance fraud, high-end theft, missing person, and sometimes, treasure!
Gabriela is based in New York but goes to her childhood coastal town Swoon, South Carolina to see her family after the whole town was wiped by a Cat 4 hurricane months ago. They need a large sum of money to rebuild. Grandma Franny tells her to retrieve a hidden chest with a treasure map at the family's home in St. Vincent, a home once lived by her ancestor the love of the infamous pirate Blackbeard. The problem? Gabriela gave that house to her ex-husband, Rafer Jones in the divorce! (Like...what??)
The Recovery Agent is a fun adventure through the Peruvian jungle with a treasure hunt theme. A bunch of bad guys and colorful sidekicks makes it worth a quick read in between darker or heavier novels. Lorelei King's narration is enjoyable to listen to as always.
Yup, it's Stephanie Plum...in the jungle!
First in the series, Gabriela Rose recovers stuff from insurance fraud, high-end theft, missing person, and sometimes, treasure!
Gabriela is based in New York but goes to her childhood coastal town Swoon, South Carolina to see her family after the whole town was wiped by a Cat 4 hurricane months ago. They need a large sum of money to rebuild. Grandma Franny tells her to retrieve a hidden chest with a treasure map at the family's home in St. Vincent, a home once lived by her ancestor the love of the infamous pirate Blackbeard. The problem? Gabriela gave that house to her ex-husband, Rafer Jones in the divorce! (Like...what??)
The Recovery Agent is a fun adventure through the Peruvian jungle with a treasure hunt theme. A bunch of bad guys and colorful sidekicks makes it worth a quick read in between darker or heavier novels. Lorelei King's narration is enjoyable to listen to as always.
March 30, 2022
Think Indiana Jones meets Stephanie Plum, and you'll understand what The Recovery Agent is all about. We first met Gabriela (the title above adds an extra "L" which is not how it is spelled in the book) Rose in Fortune and Glory: Tantalizing Twenty-Seven--she is all about lost treasure, investigating insurance fraud, and finding missing items of any sort. In this book, she is after the Ring of Solomon in order to help save her family's town that has been devastated by a hurricane. We meet her ex-husband, Rafer, who joins the hunt, as well as a plethora of "nice" criminal helpers and some not-so-nice people who want to foil her plans.
This is an enjoyable read, there's not a huge amount of substance or thinking involved, but that's what I've come to expect from an Evanovich book so I was not disappointed. There's a lot of chasing, globetrotting, and, yep, you guessed it, explosions of all varieties (and some involving vehicles). Gabriela isn't as ditzy as Stephanie, she knows how to use a gun and definitely does use one many times. The romantic tension between Gabriela and Rafer is fun, but because they grew up together and have a history it totally reminds me of Morelli and Stephanie. (And Gabriela has a mom that cooks dinner at six, a dad that watches a lot of television, and a Grandma who talks to a ghost named Annie.)
In general, this is a fun new series and I will continue with it for a while to see if it covers any fresh new ground or if we will have the introduction of a Ranger-like romantic foil...
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
This is an enjoyable read, there's not a huge amount of substance or thinking involved, but that's what I've come to expect from an Evanovich book so I was not disappointed. There's a lot of chasing, globetrotting, and, yep, you guessed it, explosions of all varieties (and some involving vehicles). Gabriela isn't as ditzy as Stephanie, she knows how to use a gun and definitely does use one many times. The romantic tension between Gabriela and Rafer is fun, but because they grew up together and have a history it totally reminds me of Morelli and Stephanie. (And Gabriela has a mom that cooks dinner at six, a dad that watches a lot of television, and a Grandma who talks to a ghost named Annie.)
In general, this is a fun new series and I will continue with it for a while to see if it covers any fresh new ground or if we will have the introduction of a Ranger-like romantic foil...
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
August 2, 2022
I adore the Stephanie Plum series, and was hoping this newest series from Janet Evanovich would hold the same magic. But sadly, it wasn’t to be.
Gabriella is a recovery agent, hired to locate lost treasures and valuables. Her latest job takes her much closer to home. She is heavily relying on her family folklore in order to recover a fortune that will save her ancestral home.
Sorry, but I just couldn’t warm up to Gabriella or her quest. I tried both digital and audio versions. And while I did enjoy the voice talent, I struggled with the storyline.
Lots of mixed reviews! Hope you have better luck!🤞
A buddy 🎧📚 with Susanne
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books
Gabriella is a recovery agent, hired to locate lost treasures and valuables. Her latest job takes her much closer to home. She is heavily relying on her family folklore in order to recover a fortune that will save her ancestral home.
Sorry, but I just couldn’t warm up to Gabriella or her quest. I tried both digital and audio versions. And while I did enjoy the voice talent, I struggled with the storyline.
Lots of mixed reviews! Hope you have better luck!🤞
A buddy 🎧📚 with Susanne
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books
February 7, 2022
This would have made a better cheesy action movie but it lacked everything a good book needs. The writing was like reading a step by step list of actions rather than a descriptive story. The characters were all essentially stereotypes with no depth. There was no nuance to anything. This was just terrible tbh.
April 1, 2022
A new adventure begins! I’ve shared a few times in this space that Stephanie Plum books are my comfort reads. I can pick one up, smile, laugh, and know I’ll be in for an easy, satisfying read. When I saw that the author, Janet Evanovich, had invented a new character-driven series featuring Gabriela Rose, a recovery agent, I could not have been more excited. What’s a recovery agent, you ask? Gabriela helps people looking for anything - missing assets, stolen treasures, you name it.
Her next job is helping her own family, so they can keep their house. She needs money, a lot of it, so she’s off to Peru seeking the Ring of Solomon and the lost treasure of Cortez. Gabriela’s ex, Rafer, has the treasure map, though, and he intends to go to Peru with her, much to her chagrin. These two could not be more opposite, and their witty banter keeps the story moving along.
You can’t help but love Gabriela and Rafee, too. The story is a little more serious than the zany Plum books, but along with that, comes authentic feeling relationship dynamics. A really fun bonus for me is that Gabriela is from South Carolina, where I attended grad school. I can’t wait for book two to see where the series travels next!
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Her next job is helping her own family, so they can keep their house. She needs money, a lot of it, so she’s off to Peru seeking the Ring of Solomon and the lost treasure of Cortez. Gabriela’s ex, Rafer, has the treasure map, though, and he intends to go to Peru with her, much to her chagrin. These two could not be more opposite, and their witty banter keeps the story moving along.
You can’t help but love Gabriela and Rafee, too. The story is a little more serious than the zany Plum books, but along with that, comes authentic feeling relationship dynamics. A really fun bonus for me is that Gabriela is from South Carolina, where I attended grad school. I can’t wait for book two to see where the series travels next!
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
March 6, 2022
Well, now......
Remember that absolutely iconic scene in Romancing the Stone when Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner are sloshing down through that endless mudslide in the steaming jungles of Columbia? So, this is not that.
Janet Evanovich presents the first edition in her new Gabriella Rose Series. Gabriella is an investigator of insurance fraud and a highly successful recovery agent of lost treasures. Gabriella has left her Soho condo in New York City to check on her family in the small fishing village of Swoon, South Carolina. Everything has been up-ended because of a devastating storm. It's gonna take millions to flip things back to what they once were.
But Grandma Fanny has a plan. Under the floor boards of the little house now owned by Gabriella's ex-husband, Rafer of the amazing good looks and instigating manner, are the heirlooms and map of a possible treasure. There's also a journal that boasts of the Ring of Solomon and the lost treasure of Cortez located in the jungles of Peru.
Are you feeling that Romancing the Stone vibe yet? Yes and no. Evanovich has a heavy background in light-hearted reads that take her fans into humorous situations with a little thriller tone. The Recovery Agent is just that with not a lot of heavy lifting. There's plenty of cutting banter and sexual tension between Gabriella and Rafer. The chase through the jungle and the deadly pursuit by El Dragon seems to be on speed dial. But heaven help me, I'll be checking out #2 when it gets here. Sometimes we just need a giant mudslide to sweep us off our feet and into a bit of full-blown fantasy. The Recovery Agent is escapism with a few muddy fingerprints here and there. Atta girl, Evanovich.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Simon & Schuster and to Janet Evanovich for the opportunity.
Remember that absolutely iconic scene in Romancing the Stone when Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner are sloshing down through that endless mudslide in the steaming jungles of Columbia? So, this is not that.
Janet Evanovich presents the first edition in her new Gabriella Rose Series. Gabriella is an investigator of insurance fraud and a highly successful recovery agent of lost treasures. Gabriella has left her Soho condo in New York City to check on her family in the small fishing village of Swoon, South Carolina. Everything has been up-ended because of a devastating storm. It's gonna take millions to flip things back to what they once were.
But Grandma Fanny has a plan. Under the floor boards of the little house now owned by Gabriella's ex-husband, Rafer of the amazing good looks and instigating manner, are the heirlooms and map of a possible treasure. There's also a journal that boasts of the Ring of Solomon and the lost treasure of Cortez located in the jungles of Peru.
Are you feeling that Romancing the Stone vibe yet? Yes and no. Evanovich has a heavy background in light-hearted reads that take her fans into humorous situations with a little thriller tone. The Recovery Agent is just that with not a lot of heavy lifting. There's plenty of cutting banter and sexual tension between Gabriella and Rafer. The chase through the jungle and the deadly pursuit by El Dragon seems to be on speed dial. But heaven help me, I'll be checking out #2 when it gets here. Sometimes we just need a giant mudslide to sweep us off our feet and into a bit of full-blown fantasy. The Recovery Agent is escapism with a few muddy fingerprints here and there. Atta girl, Evanovich.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Simon & Schuster and to Janet Evanovich for the opportunity.
August 15, 2022
DO NOT READ THIS BOOK....oh my GOD do not!!! Let me explain...
When I saw this book I was excited to get into it! I have always loved Lara Croft and Indiana Jones and this seemed like another adventure, treasure hunting type story that would fill me with joy and historical knowledge. Except this book did NONE OF THAT.
I don't even know where to start when explaining how awful this book was, but let's start with the writing. I really hope for Janet Evanovich's sake that this book was ghostwritten because the dialogue and writing is subpar at best. The main characters seems to like to talk more about drinking coffee and weird sex jokes with each other than they did the adventure at hand. The main story is about discovering a treasure and yet the writing makes it sound like everything is so common place.
In one scene, our main character and her crew discover an ancient "lost" city of some sort...a place they claim nobody has seen in hundreds of years, maybe more! I would like to bring in an exact quote from the book for you now where the author describes this new ancient place...UNSEEN by anyone in hundreds of years:
"Gabriela switched her headlamp on and took the lead. The tunnel floor and walls were smooth natural stone. After five minutes of walking the smooth stone turned to hand chiseled. After ten minutes the tunnel forked".
THAT'S IT? You're telling me this is an ancient site and the ONLY thing you can describe about it is the smooth stone walls? What were on them? What did the place look like? You're telling me everyone there just walked through an ancient site and had NOTHING ELSE TO DESCRIBE? A place that seemingly is so important got two sentences of description, meanwhile they spend many manyyyyy lines talking about the main lady (Gabriela) and how nice her tits look... PUHLEASEEEEEEE!!!!!
If I didn't know any better I would have thought this was a joke book. It is poorly written, the story is very very lackluster, and the interactions between characters made me want to gag. I am so sad for anyone reading this, and I am especially sad for anyone who thought this was worth 5 stars, mainly because it means they've never read an actual 5 star book.
DO NOT READ THIS!!!! DO NOT!!!! If you're looking for adventure I would suggest watching Dora the Explorer over this because at least there's a good storyline in that show! If I was stranded on an island and only given this text to read, I would gouge my own eyes out and weep for the future of literature. YUCK!!!!!
When I saw this book I was excited to get into it! I have always loved Lara Croft and Indiana Jones and this seemed like another adventure, treasure hunting type story that would fill me with joy and historical knowledge. Except this book did NONE OF THAT.
I don't even know where to start when explaining how awful this book was, but let's start with the writing. I really hope for Janet Evanovich's sake that this book was ghostwritten because the dialogue and writing is subpar at best. The main characters seems to like to talk more about drinking coffee and weird sex jokes with each other than they did the adventure at hand. The main story is about discovering a treasure and yet the writing makes it sound like everything is so common place.
In one scene, our main character and her crew discover an ancient "lost" city of some sort...a place they claim nobody has seen in hundreds of years, maybe more! I would like to bring in an exact quote from the book for you now where the author describes this new ancient place...UNSEEN by anyone in hundreds of years:
"Gabriela switched her headlamp on and took the lead. The tunnel floor and walls were smooth natural stone. After five minutes of walking the smooth stone turned to hand chiseled. After ten minutes the tunnel forked".
THAT'S IT? You're telling me this is an ancient site and the ONLY thing you can describe about it is the smooth stone walls? What were on them? What did the place look like? You're telling me everyone there just walked through an ancient site and had NOTHING ELSE TO DESCRIBE? A place that seemingly is so important got two sentences of description, meanwhile they spend many manyyyyy lines talking about the main lady (Gabriela) and how nice her tits look... PUHLEASEEEEEEE!!!!!
If I didn't know any better I would have thought this was a joke book. It is poorly written, the story is very very lackluster, and the interactions between characters made me want to gag. I am so sad for anyone reading this, and I am especially sad for anyone who thought this was worth 5 stars, mainly because it means they've never read an actual 5 star book.
DO NOT READ THIS!!!! DO NOT!!!! If you're looking for adventure I would suggest watching Dora the Explorer over this because at least there's a good storyline in that show! If I was stranded on an island and only given this text to read, I would gouge my own eyes out and weep for the future of literature. YUCK!!!!!
April 30, 2022
If you liked the jungle setting and adventurous journey in The Big Kahuna, you'll enjoy this too.
Unfortunately, for me, this type of action and adventure storyline plays out better as a movie.
Unfortunately, for me, this type of action and adventure storyline plays out better as a movie.
January 23, 2025
I was really looking forward to this new series, but…the moment I started reading it I thought, “what am I walking in to here?!”
This felt like a poorly written B movie, and that was only the first few pages.
The characters were uninteresting, people you have seen before, and didn’t want to meet again, and well…
Needless to say, I was uninterested in continuing.
Would it have gotten better? I don’t know.
If it couldn’t capture my interest from the beginning, why go further?
This book is on the hotlist at the library, bestseller list, too. Probably because it is Janet Evanovich.
But, seriously, I’m not sure it is worth one’s time. It’s up to you.
This felt like a poorly written B movie, and that was only the first few pages.
The characters were uninteresting, people you have seen before, and didn’t want to meet again, and well…
Needless to say, I was uninterested in continuing.
Would it have gotten better? I don’t know.
If it couldn’t capture my interest from the beginning, why go further?
This book is on the hotlist at the library, bestseller list, too. Probably because it is Janet Evanovich.
But, seriously, I’m not sure it is worth one’s time. It’s up to you.
February 25, 2022
I've been an avid fan of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series for almost two decades. Although the last few were showing signs of struggle, I eagerly anticipated the author's new series, Gabriella Rose. The Recovery Agent is its debut book, and while there are some similarities, it's also quite different and good on its own account. Gabriella hunts and retrieves missing antiquities or artifacts, and this time, she kicks off her search in Ecuador. When that one humorously fails, she's pulled into a more personal treasure hunt that takes her back to her hometown and then all over South America again.
I enjoyed the character development and overall plot components of this installment. Gabriella's relationship with her ex-husband is amusing and he's highly reminiscent of a combo between Ranger and Morelli from the Plum series. I like him, and I definitely see the possibilities of them getting back together. The history of the missing treasure was fascinating, easily holding my attention. I was a bit let down by Gabriella's connection to her family. I wanted more from that part of the storyline, even in this first book. I'm sure it will come together. She ultimately comes across a little too cautious and standoffish, which can be good for a personality trait but not as the protagonist.
I'll read the second one... it's not as outright silly/funny as Plum, but it's also got a bit more substance to the relationship and story side. Looking forward to seeing where this one goes.
I enjoyed the character development and overall plot components of this installment. Gabriella's relationship with her ex-husband is amusing and he's highly reminiscent of a combo between Ranger and Morelli from the Plum series. I like him, and I definitely see the possibilities of them getting back together. The history of the missing treasure was fascinating, easily holding my attention. I was a bit let down by Gabriella's connection to her family. I wanted more from that part of the storyline, even in this first book. I'm sure it will come together. She ultimately comes across a little too cautious and standoffish, which can be good for a personality trait but not as the protagonist.
I'll read the second one... it's not as outright silly/funny as Plum, but it's also got a bit more substance to the relationship and story side. Looking forward to seeing where this one goes.
October 13, 2024
The Recovery Agent (Book one of the new Gabriella Rose series) struck me as being too similar to Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. It is cute and comical, however, I was hoping for something completely fresh and different.
Gabriella has a lot in common with Stephanie. Both are headstrong, independent women with a hot guys pursuing them. Gabriella also has a feisty grandmother and parents - who all sound like they could be doppelgängers from Stephanie's family. Gabriella does have a completely different occupation from Stephanie. Unfortunately, it just was not enough to wow me.
Narrator Lorelei King is phenomenal. She never fails to bring a smile to my face every time I hear her perform.
Gabriella has a lot in common with Stephanie. Both are headstrong, independent women with a hot guys pursuing them. Gabriella also has a feisty grandmother and parents - who all sound like they could be doppelgängers from Stephanie's family. Gabriella does have a completely different occupation from Stephanie. Unfortunately, it just was not enough to wow me.
Narrator Lorelei King is phenomenal. She never fails to bring a smile to my face every time I hear her perform.
October 1, 2024
2.5 rounded up because there’s another fun grandma character!!
As to be expected from an Evanovich book, there’s chaos, crazy villains, explosives, and great feature characters.
However, unlike other series, it was super light on characterization. And lots of jumps from A to Z with no explanation, segues or transitions — once or twice, okay. Over and over again and I gotta wonder, why take the lazy way? I want to know how they got there. Too easy and it becomes a tad silly.
Bottom line— would I recommend it? Only if you love Stephanie Plum as much in book 26 as book 1.
Me? I think one and done works for me.
(Reviewed 5/29/22)
As to be expected from an Evanovich book, there’s chaos, crazy villains, explosives, and great feature characters.
However, unlike other series, it was super light on characterization. And lots of jumps from A to Z with no explanation, segues or transitions — once or twice, okay. Over and over again and I gotta wonder, why take the lazy way? I want to know how they got there. Too easy and it becomes a tad silly.
Bottom line— would I recommend it? Only if you love Stephanie Plum as much in book 26 as book 1.
Me? I think one and done works for me.
(Reviewed 5/29/22)
March 22, 2022
The Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich is the first in a new adventurous mystery series Gabriela Rose. The story in The Recovery Agent is being compared to things like Indiana Jones or Romancing the Stone which is a fair comparison.
Gabriela Rose is a recovery agent, someone that is hired to find lost treasures of any kind whatever the reasoning whether it’s lost or stolen or even insurance theft Gabriela tracks things down. When Gabriela returns from finishing her latest mission to visit her family she finds that they need her services too. The family believes there is a treasure out there that will help save their small town from developers.
Janet Evanovich is a huge author that I haven’t had much opportunity to read myself so seeing that The Recovery Agent was a new series I had to hop right in. The thing I found with this new series is it was a lot of over the top action which really I kept thinking this would probably make a great movie but for me isn’t my favorite to read. The story was solid with a lot of laughs along the way so if action and adventure is up your alley you may enjoy this one a lot more than I did myself.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
Gabriela Rose is a recovery agent, someone that is hired to find lost treasures of any kind whatever the reasoning whether it’s lost or stolen or even insurance theft Gabriela tracks things down. When Gabriela returns from finishing her latest mission to visit her family she finds that they need her services too. The family believes there is a treasure out there that will help save their small town from developers.
Janet Evanovich is a huge author that I haven’t had much opportunity to read myself so seeing that The Recovery Agent was a new series I had to hop right in. The thing I found with this new series is it was a lot of over the top action which really I kept thinking this would probably make a great movie but for me isn’t my favorite to read. The story was solid with a lot of laughs along the way so if action and adventure is up your alley you may enjoy this one a lot more than I did myself.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
December 27, 2024
UPDATE
I did a thing and instead listened to it in audio and it’s actually better. I love Lorelei King and she did an amazing job. One day soon I will read again and do highlights. What a great book when will book two come out?
Original Review
I became a Janet Evanovich fan last year on October 1,2021. I was driving my friend home from Walmart and I said pick any audiobook anything just make sure it has a crazy title. He picked book 26 in the Stephanie Plum series. I finished it that day and went on to reading the entire series out of order. I literally read 26-13 in 2 weeks. I was hooked then I read 1-12 and I decided this is my new favorite author.
I instantly because completely obsessed with her brand of comedy and action. It’s rare that you find the best of both worlds in a series and this one delivered with that classic Evanovich charm. I am desperate to see where this series goes but I know I will continue to love it.
Our main character is a recovery agent and she is a total bad (momma shut your mouth). She is quirky and doesn’t take no for an answer and even when she’s just a little bit afraid she takes care of business. Of course I would recommend this book to a friend. We all have it on preorder because I am addicted to highlighting. I hope that anyone else who gives this a shot enjoys it as much as I did.
Special thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC all opinions are my own.
Happy reading everyone 🥰😍😘😍
I did a thing and instead listened to it in audio and it’s actually better. I love Lorelei King and she did an amazing job. One day soon I will read again and do highlights. What a great book when will book two come out?
Original Review
I became a Janet Evanovich fan last year on October 1,2021. I was driving my friend home from Walmart and I said pick any audiobook anything just make sure it has a crazy title. He picked book 26 in the Stephanie Plum series. I finished it that day and went on to reading the entire series out of order. I literally read 26-13 in 2 weeks. I was hooked then I read 1-12 and I decided this is my new favorite author.
I instantly because completely obsessed with her brand of comedy and action. It’s rare that you find the best of both worlds in a series and this one delivered with that classic Evanovich charm. I am desperate to see where this series goes but I know I will continue to love it.
Our main character is a recovery agent and she is a total bad (momma shut your mouth). She is quirky and doesn’t take no for an answer and even when she’s just a little bit afraid she takes care of business. Of course I would recommend this book to a friend. We all have it on preorder because I am addicted to highlighting. I hope that anyone else who gives this a shot enjoys it as much as I did.
Special thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC all opinions are my own.
Happy reading everyone 🥰😍😘😍
March 21, 2022
Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The mysterious and very talented Gabriela Rose from Fortune and Glory gets her own book, hopefully series. She is a very interesting Indiana Jones/Laura Croft type character. If this book is anything alone those lines, I'm in love! While not as much action as I would have liked, this book more than met my expectations and I enjoyed it immensely. The one think I really liked was the attention paid to historical and geographic details. The research really paid off and make the story so much better. There was witty bander, but I would have liked to see more. The second chance romance between Gabriela and Rafer was beginning to bud, but these two have a lot to work through. After seven years apart, they are almost two different people. This book just doesn't have the snap, crackle or pop I was expecting. It is not a Laura Croft or an Indiana Jones or Romancing the Stone, but it is entertaining and that is what I look for in any book I read.
Gabriela Rose has made a very good living at recovering items that people have lost or been stolen from them. Sometimes she is successful, sometimes the panther eats the object. Oh, well, maybe next time. When she receives a call from her family about the dire situation in her hometown, she decides to pay a visit. It is a lot worse than she imagined and when her grandmother, Fanny, tells her that the ghost Annie has a hidden treasure under her cottage on St. John that will lead her to a priceless artifact, the Ring of Solomon, Gabriela is more than a little skeptical. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and Gabriela sets off for St, John and hopefully she can avoid her ex-husband Rafer who now lives in the property.
Well, so much for hopes. With a sketchy map and Rafer in tow they set off for Peru and the lost treasure of Cortez. With two locals to guide them they begin the harrowing trek into the jungle and encounter a crazy drug lord who is searching for the Ring of Solomon too. But he wants it in order to control a demon army for his lord Supay.
And, that is just the beginning of this dangerous adventure.
4 1/2-Stars
The mysterious and very talented Gabriela Rose from Fortune and Glory gets her own book, hopefully series. She is a very interesting Indiana Jones/Laura Croft type character. If this book is anything alone those lines, I'm in love! While not as much action as I would have liked, this book more than met my expectations and I enjoyed it immensely. The one think I really liked was the attention paid to historical and geographic details. The research really paid off and make the story so much better. There was witty bander, but I would have liked to see more. The second chance romance between Gabriela and Rafer was beginning to bud, but these two have a lot to work through. After seven years apart, they are almost two different people. This book just doesn't have the snap, crackle or pop I was expecting. It is not a Laura Croft or an Indiana Jones or Romancing the Stone, but it is entertaining and that is what I look for in any book I read.
Gabriela Rose has made a very good living at recovering items that people have lost or been stolen from them. Sometimes she is successful, sometimes the panther eats the object. Oh, well, maybe next time. When she receives a call from her family about the dire situation in her hometown, she decides to pay a visit. It is a lot worse than she imagined and when her grandmother, Fanny, tells her that the ghost Annie has a hidden treasure under her cottage on St. John that will lead her to a priceless artifact, the Ring of Solomon, Gabriela is more than a little skeptical. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and Gabriela sets off for St, John and hopefully she can avoid her ex-husband Rafer who now lives in the property.
Well, so much for hopes. With a sketchy map and Rafer in tow they set off for Peru and the lost treasure of Cortez. With two locals to guide them they begin the harrowing trek into the jungle and encounter a crazy drug lord who is searching for the Ring of Solomon too. But he wants it in order to control a demon army for his lord Supay.
And, that is just the beginning of this dangerous adventure.
4 1/2-Stars
November 24, 2022
5 Stars for The Recovery Agent (audiobook) by Janet Evanovich read by Lorelei King.
This is a wonderful new series. The characters are great and the adventure is nail biting. And to top it off, Lorelei King does the narration. What more can you ask for?
And if that’s not enough there is a short excerpt from the next Stephanie Plum story. This made my day.
This is a wonderful new series. The characters are great and the adventure is nail biting. And to top it off, Lorelei King does the narration. What more can you ask for?
And if that’s not enough there is a short excerpt from the next Stephanie Plum story. This made my day.
March 16, 2022
Meet Gabriela Rose. She is good at finding things that are lost. There is one item on her list in this new release from Janet Evanovich -- it's a ring from Bible times called the Solomon Seal. If Gabriela could find that ring and sell it to the highest bidder, she just might be able to help save her hometown from the disaster it has become after a hurricane. Her ex-husband Rafer insists on coming along on the hunt and their bantering adds a light tone to what could be a darker book. They travel to Peru, NYC, Costa Rica, and California in their diligent search. Their skills complement each other and they work well as a team for the most part. Along the way there are scary snakes, quirky sidekicks, devilish bad guys, and lots of close calls. Gabriela is big risk-taker and she has some serious skills. You won't find her leaving her gun in the cookie jar or forgetting to charge her stun gun. The more firepower, the better. Looking forward to seeing how this new series develops. Janet Evanovich is the queen of quirky.
Thank you to Atria and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Atria and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
January 29, 2022
A very typical Janet Evanovich book; light, quick, easy fun read that you don’t have to think too much over, it keeps you interested, there’s a good cast of side characters, and a good deal of humor involved. The main character in this new series is Gabriela Rose, who is a recovery agent hired to find missing assets and treasures, and with the help of her ex-husband, they go on a mission to recover a lost treasure because they need money to help save there small South Carolina town which is struggling and needs to be rebuilt.
It’s not gonna win a Pulitzer, and I love that Janet embraces that...in her interviews she says that her books are just meant to provide someone entertainment for a few hours. And we appreciate that!
Thanks to Atria for the arc.
It’s not gonna win a Pulitzer, and I love that Janet embraces that...in her interviews she says that her books are just meant to provide someone entertainment for a few hours. And we appreciate that!
Thanks to Atria for the arc.
February 17, 2022
**I received an ARC of this book for review through Goodreads Giveaways**
What I was wanting out of this story was something that was Lara Croft meets Indiana Jones, following in the footsteps of The Mummy (1999). It is possible that my expectations were just far too high from the start. For ease of understanding, I have split this review into two sections:
The good:
1. The idea of this story started in a great place. As you can see from my description of what I thought this book was going to be, it had a lot of potential at the inception point.
2. Quick, easy read if that kind of thing is your style.
3. You literally have to work for nothing. Everything is directly on-page from start to finish.
The bad:
1. This is a classic example of telling over showing. Descriptions are overused (every new outfit change, location, or pit stop became an overly detailed, painful experience) and yet I have no idea what our characters really felt about most things.
2. The beginning felt like it was aiming for that classic Indiana Jones opening, but fell short in a cheesy and unfulfilling way. It made the heroine come off as inept more than anything else--which is not the kind of confidence you want in an adventure novel.
3. The dialogue felt forced
4. The plot felt very all over the place? And instead of them solving the mystery of the treasure and going on a real adventure ( a lá The Goonies or National Treasure) they just bopped around as clues and next locations fell into their lap. It very much made the story feel unrealistic and anticlimactic in terms of mystery and adventure.
5. The glaring lack of emotion or feeling about anything in general. People die and we literally get a "Crap. Someone died," and that's it. Since the characters don't care about anything, I as a reader also did not care. The romance had the same issue
6. The pacing was weird? The scenes kind of slipped by and slowed down randomly.
7. Even though there were tons of descriptions about every single location we visited (which was way more than we needed) there was no depth to any of these locations or sense of atmosphere, which really made the story suffer.
8. The random scenes from the villain's POV? There were only 3 and they just felt very out of place. Not to mention that the villain himself felt like a cartoonish caricature of a bad guy rather than someone with real stakes, beliefs, and wants.
Overall, I was disappointed. I expected a lot more from the story and the characters, and was supremely let down by the writing itself. Though this isn't the worst thing I've ever read, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
~~If an Indiana Jones x Lara Croft x The Mummy adventure is what you're after, I would recommend The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier instead. It checks the boxes of mystery, stakes, history, adventure, and romance from start to finish.~~
What I was wanting out of this story was something that was Lara Croft meets Indiana Jones, following in the footsteps of The Mummy (1999). It is possible that my expectations were just far too high from the start. For ease of understanding, I have split this review into two sections:
The good:
1. The idea of this story started in a great place. As you can see from my description of what I thought this book was going to be, it had a lot of potential at the inception point.
2. Quick, easy read if that kind of thing is your style.
3. You literally have to work for nothing. Everything is directly on-page from start to finish.
The bad:
1. This is a classic example of telling over showing. Descriptions are overused (every new outfit change, location, or pit stop became an overly detailed, painful experience) and yet I have no idea what our characters really felt about most things.
2. The beginning felt like it was aiming for that classic Indiana Jones opening, but fell short in a cheesy and unfulfilling way. It made the heroine come off as inept more than anything else--which is not the kind of confidence you want in an adventure novel.
3. The dialogue felt forced
4. The plot felt very all over the place? And instead of them solving the mystery of the treasure and going on a real adventure ( a lá The Goonies or National Treasure) they just bopped around as clues and next locations fell into their lap. It very much made the story feel unrealistic and anticlimactic in terms of mystery and adventure.
5. The glaring lack of emotion or feeling about anything in general. People die and we literally get a "Crap. Someone died," and that's it. Since the characters don't care about anything, I as a reader also did not care. The romance had the same issue
6. The pacing was weird? The scenes kind of slipped by and slowed down randomly.
7. Even though there were tons of descriptions about every single location we visited (which was way more than we needed) there was no depth to any of these locations or sense of atmosphere, which really made the story suffer.
8. The random scenes from the villain's POV? There were only 3 and they just felt very out of place. Not to mention that the villain himself felt like a cartoonish caricature of a bad guy rather than someone with real stakes, beliefs, and wants.
Overall, I was disappointed. I expected a lot more from the story and the characters, and was supremely let down by the writing itself. Though this isn't the worst thing I've ever read, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
~~If an Indiana Jones x Lara Croft x The Mummy adventure is what you're after, I would recommend The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier instead. It checks the boxes of mystery, stakes, history, adventure, and romance from start to finish.~~
January 19, 2022
Gabriella Rose is a recovery agent and she knows how to find things. So when her grandmother tasks her with recovering the long lost Seal of Solomon because the ghost of Gabriella's relative (who had Blackbeard's child, natch) told her to in order to save their coastal South Carolina town that was devastated by a hurricane, she goes. Her ex husband is along for the ride and they gather help along the way. But soon they're seeking a drug-growing cult leader and their lives are on the line.
Y'all. I had no idea this book was even a thing, but we got an ARC at work yesterday, so I figured I'd give it a go. It wasn't much for me. It was...okay. But it felt like it was trying to be Stephanie Plum is she were Indiana Jones and, you know, competent. But this wasn't really all that funny. The Lula-type sass was spread out over several different characters, but it was tepid, at best. Yeah, I won't be following up with this series. I'm sure many will like it...I just am not one of them.
Y'all. I had no idea this book was even a thing, but we got an ARC at work yesterday, so I figured I'd give it a go. It wasn't much for me. It was...okay. But it felt like it was trying to be Stephanie Plum is she were Indiana Jones and, you know, competent. But this wasn't really all that funny. The Lula-type sass was spread out over several different characters, but it was tepid, at best. Yeah, I won't be following up with this series. I'm sure many will like it...I just am not one of them.
January 19, 2022
I know I'm not the only one to have grown a bit weary of the overall silliness of the author's popular Stephanie Plum, her wacked-out family and friends and inability to decide between two hunky guys (at her age, she should be well beyond acting like a lovestruck eighth-grader). This new series doesn't fall far from that mold in terms of either quirky characters or plot, but it's far enough to make me a believer.
Yes, recovery agent Gabriela Rose is feisty - a good thing - and still pretending to fend off the advances of a hunky man (but this time it's just one, her ex-husband Rafer - a guy she's been best friends with since elementary school and with whom she's still in lust). Gabriela's grandma in storm-ravaged Scoon, South Carolina, regularly gets messages from a spirit named Annie, but at least she's not chasing ambulances and crashing wakes like Stephanie's Grandma Mazur. Gone, (happily, IMHO), is the equivalent of Stephanie's ridiculously off-the-wall cohort Lulu (she of the wild hairdos, skanky clothes and penchant for fried chicken). But one of the things I loved about the other series, the humorous lines that never failed to make me chuckle, thankfully have been carried over and sprinkled liberally herein.
As for the plot, that storm that damaged the small community didn't miss Gabriela's family home. But do or say what she might, she can't convince her relatives to cut their losses and move elsewhere. What they need, they say, is enough money to rebuild - $15 million ought to do it, they say. To get it, Gabriela's grandma begs her to go to Barbados, where she'll find maps belonging to the pirate Blackbeard (from whom Gabriela is descended, or so the story goes). How does grannie know of this treasure? She got it straight from her usual source - Annie.
Gabriela, it should be noted, lives in relative poshness in SOHO, is an expert in martial arts and a gourmet cook. Her job of recovering stolen heirlooms, lost treasures and such has taken her to some faraway places, but nothing quite like she encounters this time out. Once she decides that granny/Annie might be onto something, she makes a first stop at the house she once owned but gave to Rafer in the divorce. Wonder of wonders, she finds a treasure chest in the floorboards, exactly as Annie had predicted. No money, though; rather, the find is a very old journal from a well-known explorer who describes his quest to find the Treasure of Lima, notably the Seal of Solomon. That, in turn, is believed to have been held by Spanish conquistador Pizarro, who stashed it somewhere in the Incan city of Paititi.
Gabriela decides to head for the jungle, but Rafer - eyeing an opportunity to get both rich and lucky - insists on tagging along. Without too much fussing, she agrees, and off they go into what can only be called a wild adventure that nearly gets them both killed. And it is here that I'll stop; telling more would give away too much. What I will say is that those who have enjoyed Stephanie Plum should enjoy this series as well - or even agreeing with me that it's better. I'll also say thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get in on the ground floor with a pre-release copy. Already, I'm looking forward to the next installment!
Yes, recovery agent Gabriela Rose is feisty - a good thing - and still pretending to fend off the advances of a hunky man (but this time it's just one, her ex-husband Rafer - a guy she's been best friends with since elementary school and with whom she's still in lust). Gabriela's grandma in storm-ravaged Scoon, South Carolina, regularly gets messages from a spirit named Annie, but at least she's not chasing ambulances and crashing wakes like Stephanie's Grandma Mazur. Gone, (happily, IMHO), is the equivalent of Stephanie's ridiculously off-the-wall cohort Lulu (she of the wild hairdos, skanky clothes and penchant for fried chicken). But one of the things I loved about the other series, the humorous lines that never failed to make me chuckle, thankfully have been carried over and sprinkled liberally herein.
As for the plot, that storm that damaged the small community didn't miss Gabriela's family home. But do or say what she might, she can't convince her relatives to cut their losses and move elsewhere. What they need, they say, is enough money to rebuild - $15 million ought to do it, they say. To get it, Gabriela's grandma begs her to go to Barbados, where she'll find maps belonging to the pirate Blackbeard (from whom Gabriela is descended, or so the story goes). How does grannie know of this treasure? She got it straight from her usual source - Annie.
Gabriela, it should be noted, lives in relative poshness in SOHO, is an expert in martial arts and a gourmet cook. Her job of recovering stolen heirlooms, lost treasures and such has taken her to some faraway places, but nothing quite like she encounters this time out. Once she decides that granny/Annie might be onto something, she makes a first stop at the house she once owned but gave to Rafer in the divorce. Wonder of wonders, she finds a treasure chest in the floorboards, exactly as Annie had predicted. No money, though; rather, the find is a very old journal from a well-known explorer who describes his quest to find the Treasure of Lima, notably the Seal of Solomon. That, in turn, is believed to have been held by Spanish conquistador Pizarro, who stashed it somewhere in the Incan city of Paititi.
Gabriela decides to head for the jungle, but Rafer - eyeing an opportunity to get both rich and lucky - insists on tagging along. Without too much fussing, she agrees, and off they go into what can only be called a wild adventure that nearly gets them both killed. And it is here that I'll stop; telling more would give away too much. What I will say is that those who have enjoyed Stephanie Plum should enjoy this series as well - or even agreeing with me that it's better. I'll also say thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get in on the ground floor with a pre-release copy. Already, I'm looking forward to the next installment!
March 16, 2022
A forced proximity trope with your ex-husband? Traipsing through the jungle to find hidden treasure? A tension-filled action-packed story of Gabriella Rose? Say no more.
The Recovery Agent is Janet Evanovich's new series starring Gabriella Rose, a lost treasure finder of sorts. When Gabriella needs to go to Ecuador to find her next missing treasure, there is on one better suited to help her than her ex-husband. The two must work together while they face not only the dangers of the jungle, but the dangers of the other treasure hunters.
If you are a fan of the Stephanie Plum series, looking for a fun read with romance and a good plot, or need a book for a rainy day, try out The Recovery Agent.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Atria Books for the ARC!
The Recovery Agent is Janet Evanovich's new series starring Gabriella Rose, a lost treasure finder of sorts. When Gabriella needs to go to Ecuador to find her next missing treasure, there is on one better suited to help her than her ex-husband. The two must work together while they face not only the dangers of the jungle, but the dangers of the other treasure hunters.
If you are a fan of the Stephanie Plum series, looking for a fun read with romance and a good plot, or need a book for a rainy day, try out The Recovery Agent.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Atria Books for the ARC!
March 18, 2024
The main character ventures through the jungles with her ex-husband in search of the lost treasure of pirates. Can such a story be boring? Apparently yes, if the author is Janet Evanovich.
Evanovich wrote this book as if its audience were teenagers. While I appreciate a fast pace in my books, especially in stories of this genre, but in this case that's overkill. There's scarcely a paragraph where something isn't happening, the action is chasing. There is no time for anything, especially for developing the characters' personalities. One riddle is chasing another, and each adventure follows the heels of the previous one.
The characters display unexpected knowledge of history, zoology, botany and geography. Not to mention the skills that allow them to survive any adversity. And the handwritten diaries and documents from the sixteenth century, buried in a chest underneath the house, are in such good condition that not only can you read them like modern books, but also easily carry them with you on a trip through the jungle and rafting on a wild river. Just saying ...
But I could easily forgive the lack of realism in this story; after all, that's not what it's about, if only this book were interesting. Unfortunately, for me, it looks like the author had a great idea, then she wrote a few scenes, prepared some more or less funny dialogues, and then weakly stitched it all into a whole. Reading this book, I couldn't help feeling that I was reading the sequel to The Big Kahuna. As with that book, the whole story was a bunch of random scenes and gags. And just like with Kahuna, I wasn't quite sure what the main characters were actually going for.
Gabriela, the main character of this story, is someone between Stephanie Plum and Kate O'Hara from the series about Kate and Nick. But less like a combination of these two characters, and more like both in one body. Depending on the situation, one or the other side of Gabriela's personality is revealed. It was a bit schizophrenic. Although now that I think about it, I think it would be most accurate to say that Gabriela is Stephanie with Kate's skills. The way she thinks definitely reminds me of Stephanie.
It is a very short book, but I am surprised myself that I managed to read it to the end. Many times I thought I wouldn't do it. I was so bored with this story that I intentionally read it at least once before going to bed to make it easier and faster to fall asleep. It worked!
If you're not a die-hard Janet Evanovich fan, then skip this story. It is terribly boring.
Evanovich wrote this book as if its audience were teenagers. While I appreciate a fast pace in my books, especially in stories of this genre, but in this case that's overkill. There's scarcely a paragraph where something isn't happening, the action is chasing. There is no time for anything, especially for developing the characters' personalities. One riddle is chasing another, and each adventure follows the heels of the previous one.
The characters display unexpected knowledge of history, zoology, botany and geography. Not to mention the skills that allow them to survive any adversity. And the handwritten diaries and documents from the sixteenth century, buried in a chest underneath the house, are in such good condition that not only can you read them like modern books, but also easily carry them with you on a trip through the jungle and rafting on a wild river. Just saying ...
But I could easily forgive the lack of realism in this story; after all, that's not what it's about, if only this book were interesting. Unfortunately, for me, it looks like the author had a great idea, then she wrote a few scenes, prepared some more or less funny dialogues, and then weakly stitched it all into a whole. Reading this book, I couldn't help feeling that I was reading the sequel to The Big Kahuna. As with that book, the whole story was a bunch of random scenes and gags. And just like with Kahuna, I wasn't quite sure what the main characters were actually going for.
Gabriela, the main character of this story, is someone between Stephanie Plum and Kate O'Hara from the series about Kate and Nick. But less like a combination of these two characters, and more like both in one body. Depending on the situation, one or the other side of Gabriela's personality is revealed. It was a bit schizophrenic. Although now that I think about it, I think it would be most accurate to say that Gabriela is Stephanie with Kate's skills. The way she thinks definitely reminds me of Stephanie.
It is a very short book, but I am surprised myself that I managed to read it to the end. Many times I thought I wouldn't do it. I was so bored with this story that I intentionally read it at least once before going to bed to make it easier and faster to fall asleep. It worked!
If you're not a die-hard Janet Evanovich fan, then skip this story. It is terribly boring.
February 5, 2022
Dumb. Before the first chapter was over, I could tell this was another waste of time. Evanovich used to write a good and funny story. Now they are just plain dumb.
This is a new adventure, with new dumb people and dumb plots. Can you tell this book annoyed me? I only read 10% but it was not getting any better. The newest character is Gabriela who is a recovery agent (hmmm.... sound so similar to Stephanie the bounty hunter's role in her other series?) She has to recover the treasure map from the home of her ex, Rafer, who insists on coming along. These two losers are meant for each other.
Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion, but I won't be reading any more of her books. There are too many good books out there to waste time on ones like this.
This is a new adventure, with new dumb people and dumb plots. Can you tell this book annoyed me? I only read 10% but it was not getting any better. The newest character is Gabriela who is a recovery agent (hmmm.... sound so similar to Stephanie the bounty hunter's role in her other series?) She has to recover the treasure map from the home of her ex, Rafer, who insists on coming along. These two losers are meant for each other.
Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion, but I won't be reading any more of her books. There are too many good books out there to waste time on ones like this.
October 31, 2022
A super new series! Action-packed, adventurous, witty, and fabulous characters.
A long-time massive fan of the bestselling author, Janet Evanovich, the queen of humor, women sleuths, and crime fiction, is back with a dynamic wild adventure roller coaster ride with the introduction of her new hit series, Gabriela Rose #1 —THE RECOVERY AGENT!
If you read Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight you were introduced to the new Gabriela Rose, which left fans anxiously awaiting this new series. It exceeds all expectations and then some. Wow, is this fun!
In addition, included in THE RECOVERY AGENT, you get a sneak preview of Going Rogue: Rise and Shine Twenty Nine Nov 1st. It is yummy - it looks like Connie, the office manager, is missing. I love the Plum series and have read all of them. You will love Gabriela too!
OK, let's talk about this WILD ADVENTURE! Gabriela Rose is nothing like Stephanie Plum. She is a highly skilled recovery agent. Don't feel disloyal. You can like both.
She is a sophisticated, intelligent, chic, accomplished recovery agent. She is not a bounty hunter like Stephanie for a bail bondsman. She is a highly skilled Insurance Fraud Investigator with an international reputation for excellence in the field. As an independent contractor, she has the luxury of accepting worldwide jobs not related to insurance depending on pay and fun. She chooses.
She is quite the globe-trotter, has a posh So Ho New York condo with designer furnishings and clothes, a beauty, and a gourmet cook. Single and happy. Plus, she can roll up her sleeves in the jungles of South America with her mad skills and a wonderful personality.
A possible descendant of the infamous Blackbeard, she is fascinated by the 17th and 18th-century pirates and the lost city. It is her 30th birthday, and now she has a chance to pursue this adventure when her mother calls about the cat 4-storm which blew over Scoon, SC, with severe damage —a little coastal town where Gabriela grew up.
Most of the residents were not insured as her parents, and the town needed dire assistance. The federal funding did not come through as anticipated. Her father's fishing charter is gone, where Gabriela worked as a mate on the boat through college until she moved to New York. The town has no income.
When she flies into the small town near Charleston, her Grandma Fanny has the answer. They need $15 Million to clean up the town and the wharf and she says the ghost, Annie says she knows where Gabriela can find it.
Her Great Auntie Margareet's house on St Vincent Island has a secret room and there was supposed to be a chest with maps and a diary/journals to lead her to the treasure. Her aunt moved from the Caribbean to S.C. and passed the tiny house to her when she died. Evidently, Gabriela was a descendant of Blackbeard and Annie.
Big Problem: She gave her ex-husband Rafer the house in the divorce settlement, who owns a dive shop. She has not seen him in seven years. He is laid back and she is intense. They divorced before their second anniversary.
She grew up with him from kindergarten. Sexy and hot (a mix of Joe Morelli and Ranger from the Plum series), but Rafer was a slob and lacked ambition, plus he drank too much and called her Gabs.
When she goes to the cottage, thinking she can find everything under one of the floorboards without him knowing, of course, Rafer walks in and wants part of the action since this legally is his house, and these are his journals.
She finds lost treasures and people. She deals with insurance fraud and high-end theft but has a little time between cases, so she decides to go for it. There is Sir Drake's journal and the Treasure of Lima. Particularly the Seal of Solomon. She can find the ring on her own, but Rafer wants to help since his family lives in Scoon as well.
Needless to say, she is not happy that he insists on going with her on this adventure. She does not need him holding her back. Her office is called G.R. McDuck in NY, her comic book hero, and her personal office assistant and sole employee—Marcella Lott who also gets caught up in the crossfires.
Let the FUN and GAMES begin!
At first, I thought Rafer would be dead weight, but surprisingly he has travel guide connections and lets Gabriela take the lead. They are hilarious together. He is all talk, sexy and charming wherever they go, and offers assistance. Gabriela does not want to go there again with him on the personal side even though it was fun. Plus he is tempting but they have a job to do. Their banter is too good!
Soon they are in South America and meet their guide Pepe among other characters. It is non-stop action, thrills, danger, and a wild adventure. Of course, there are others who want the ring and the treasure. Who will win the treasure?
The two of them find themselves from the Caribbean, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, New York City, and California wine country, chasing a ring said to have magical properties while pursuing a crazed cult leader who's on their trail.
No one can spin a wild tale like Janet Evanovich! Rip-roaring fun! A huge fan, she is my hero. This is going to be a fabulous series and cannot wait for the next adventure! I like her parents being from the South so we get a different take than from the Plum New Jersey, but we still have the parents, the granny, the office assistant, and the sexy ex. As always, great character development and non-stop action. Evanovich and Plum fans will devour as well as new fans. I love Gabs and Rafer.
I love Lorelei King, the narrator for the Plum series, and was delighted she was narrating THE RECOVERY AGENT. As always, an award-winning and highly entertaining performance. She is an auto pre-order with every book she narrates.
Fans of Indiana Jones and the new movie The Lost City will delight! Highly recommend. We all could use some laughs.
Thank you to Atria Books for a print and e-book ARC and Simon & Schuster Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC.
Blog Review Posted: @ www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Pub Date: Mar 22, 2022
Check out my fun #AuthorElevatorSeries Interview with Janet, Plum trivia and FORTUNE AND GLORY (2019).
A long-time massive fan of the bestselling author, Janet Evanovich, the queen of humor, women sleuths, and crime fiction, is back with a dynamic wild adventure roller coaster ride with the introduction of her new hit series, Gabriela Rose #1 —THE RECOVERY AGENT!
If you read Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight you were introduced to the new Gabriela Rose, which left fans anxiously awaiting this new series. It exceeds all expectations and then some. Wow, is this fun!
In addition, included in THE RECOVERY AGENT, you get a sneak preview of Going Rogue: Rise and Shine Twenty Nine Nov 1st. It is yummy - it looks like Connie, the office manager, is missing. I love the Plum series and have read all of them. You will love Gabriela too!
OK, let's talk about this WILD ADVENTURE! Gabriela Rose is nothing like Stephanie Plum. She is a highly skilled recovery agent. Don't feel disloyal. You can like both.
She is a sophisticated, intelligent, chic, accomplished recovery agent. She is not a bounty hunter like Stephanie for a bail bondsman. She is a highly skilled Insurance Fraud Investigator with an international reputation for excellence in the field. As an independent contractor, she has the luxury of accepting worldwide jobs not related to insurance depending on pay and fun. She chooses.
She is quite the globe-trotter, has a posh So Ho New York condo with designer furnishings and clothes, a beauty, and a gourmet cook. Single and happy. Plus, she can roll up her sleeves in the jungles of South America with her mad skills and a wonderful personality.
A possible descendant of the infamous Blackbeard, she is fascinated by the 17th and 18th-century pirates and the lost city. It is her 30th birthday, and now she has a chance to pursue this adventure when her mother calls about the cat 4-storm which blew over Scoon, SC, with severe damage —a little coastal town where Gabriela grew up.
Most of the residents were not insured as her parents, and the town needed dire assistance. The federal funding did not come through as anticipated. Her father's fishing charter is gone, where Gabriela worked as a mate on the boat through college until she moved to New York. The town has no income.
When she flies into the small town near Charleston, her Grandma Fanny has the answer. They need $15 Million to clean up the town and the wharf and she says the ghost, Annie says she knows where Gabriela can find it.
Her Great Auntie Margareet's house on St Vincent Island has a secret room and there was supposed to be a chest with maps and a diary/journals to lead her to the treasure. Her aunt moved from the Caribbean to S.C. and passed the tiny house to her when she died. Evidently, Gabriela was a descendant of Blackbeard and Annie.
Big Problem: She gave her ex-husband Rafer the house in the divorce settlement, who owns a dive shop. She has not seen him in seven years. He is laid back and she is intense. They divorced before their second anniversary.
She grew up with him from kindergarten. Sexy and hot (a mix of Joe Morelli and Ranger from the Plum series), but Rafer was a slob and lacked ambition, plus he drank too much and called her Gabs.
When she goes to the cottage, thinking she can find everything under one of the floorboards without him knowing, of course, Rafer walks in and wants part of the action since this legally is his house, and these are his journals.
She finds lost treasures and people. She deals with insurance fraud and high-end theft but has a little time between cases, so she decides to go for it. There is Sir Drake's journal and the Treasure of Lima. Particularly the Seal of Solomon. She can find the ring on her own, but Rafer wants to help since his family lives in Scoon as well.
Needless to say, she is not happy that he insists on going with her on this adventure. She does not need him holding her back. Her office is called G.R. McDuck in NY, her comic book hero, and her personal office assistant and sole employee—Marcella Lott who also gets caught up in the crossfires.
Let the FUN and GAMES begin!
At first, I thought Rafer would be dead weight, but surprisingly he has travel guide connections and lets Gabriela take the lead. They are hilarious together. He is all talk, sexy and charming wherever they go, and offers assistance. Gabriela does not want to go there again with him on the personal side even though it was fun. Plus he is tempting but they have a job to do. Their banter is too good!
Soon they are in South America and meet their guide Pepe among other characters. It is non-stop action, thrills, danger, and a wild adventure. Of course, there are others who want the ring and the treasure. Who will win the treasure?
The two of them find themselves from the Caribbean, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, New York City, and California wine country, chasing a ring said to have magical properties while pursuing a crazed cult leader who's on their trail.
No one can spin a wild tale like Janet Evanovich! Rip-roaring fun! A huge fan, she is my hero. This is going to be a fabulous series and cannot wait for the next adventure! I like her parents being from the South so we get a different take than from the Plum New Jersey, but we still have the parents, the granny, the office assistant, and the sexy ex. As always, great character development and non-stop action. Evanovich and Plum fans will devour as well as new fans. I love Gabs and Rafer.
I love Lorelei King, the narrator for the Plum series, and was delighted she was narrating THE RECOVERY AGENT. As always, an award-winning and highly entertaining performance. She is an auto pre-order with every book she narrates.
Fans of Indiana Jones and the new movie The Lost City will delight! Highly recommend. We all could use some laughs.
Thank you to Atria Books for a print and e-book ARC and Simon & Schuster Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC.
Blog Review Posted: @ www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Pub Date: Mar 22, 2022
Check out my fun #AuthorElevatorSeries Interview with Janet, Plum trivia and FORTUNE AND GLORY (2019).
July 1, 2025
Gabriella Rose finds stuff. Expensive, rare, valuable stuff. Her business takes her all over the world, from Manhattan to the jungles of South America. Oh yeah, it’s dangerous, and the panthers that nearly eat her are just the beginning. But she’s smart, tough, and resourceful.
In this inaugural encounter, Gabriella is asked to seek the Seal of Solomon, engraved into a ring, and rumored to be somewhere in Peru. A map that belonged to a relative shows her the way, but she’s locked into the task with her good-for-nothing ex, Rafer. They head off for the ring, but they also find a psychotic cult leader standing in their way.
We first meet Gabriela in Fortune and Glory: Tantalizing Twenty-Seven. I recommend reading it first, as it contrasts the two Evanovich heroines. Steph is clumsy, funny, lucky, and a little flirty, but getting there as bounty hunter. Gabs (oops, she hates that) is already there: less emotional, accomplished, organized, and doesn’t have to worry about her next paycheck. But they both like peanut butter.
So, these novels are driven more by plot. Fewer funny side characters. Less sexy banter. Not as many donuts. Rafer’s ok, and the family is ok. Then again, I’m comparing them to all those Plum characters I love. Not fair. Maybe they’ll grow on me.
That said, what a great adventure! We go around the world, dodging bullets, diving for treasure, leaping chasms. She finds and loses treasure left and right. We’re living in a Tomb Raider game! The bad guys were a fun element. I was genuinely scared a few times. The story is action packed and super-swift. I read it in a day!
One thing: it's the first third-person Evanovich novel I’ve ever read! Mostly Gabriella, but sometimes Rafer, and sometimes the bad guys. Threw me off a bit, but I got used to it.
Hey, it’s not Steph, but it’s still fun. Lots of cool settings, swashbuckling scenes, ancient artifacts. I’ll sign up for the next one!
In this inaugural encounter, Gabriella is asked to seek the Seal of Solomon, engraved into a ring, and rumored to be somewhere in Peru. A map that belonged to a relative shows her the way, but she’s locked into the task with her good-for-nothing ex, Rafer. They head off for the ring, but they also find a psychotic cult leader standing in their way.
We first meet Gabriela in Fortune and Glory: Tantalizing Twenty-Seven. I recommend reading it first, as it contrasts the two Evanovich heroines. Steph is clumsy, funny, lucky, and a little flirty, but getting there as bounty hunter. Gabs (oops, she hates that) is already there: less emotional, accomplished, organized, and doesn’t have to worry about her next paycheck. But they both like peanut butter.
So, these novels are driven more by plot. Fewer funny side characters. Less sexy banter. Not as many donuts. Rafer’s ok, and the family is ok. Then again, I’m comparing them to all those Plum characters I love. Not fair. Maybe they’ll grow on me.
That said, what a great adventure! We go around the world, dodging bullets, diving for treasure, leaping chasms. She finds and loses treasure left and right. We’re living in a Tomb Raider game! The bad guys were a fun element. I was genuinely scared a few times. The story is action packed and super-swift. I read it in a day!
One thing: it's the first third-person Evanovich novel I’ve ever read! Mostly Gabriella, but sometimes Rafer, and sometimes the bad guys. Threw me off a bit, but I got used to it.
Hey, it’s not Steph, but it’s still fun. Lots of cool settings, swashbuckling scenes, ancient artifacts. I’ll sign up for the next one!
April 19, 2022
Evanovich introduces a new series featuring Gabriela Rose, a recovery agent. A former fan of her Stephanie Plum series, I was leery of reading this one. [The Plum series had lost its charm for me.] The fantastical plot does seem borrowed from a Lara Croft tale, but Evanovich’s characters are typically quirky and fun to root for.
The plot begins with Gabriela’s grandmother listening to Annie the ghost detailing where Blackbeard’s treasure map may be found that could lead to finding the Ring of Solomon. This immensely valuable artifact could then be used to fund infrastructure repair needed in Scoon, S.C.; severely damaged by a recent hurricane. And where is this chest containing the map? It is in great aunt Margaret’s house in Saint Vincent—the ancestral home that Gabriela gave to her ex-husband in their divorce settlement. Rafer Jones, the ex-husband, demands to be included in the quest. [Of course, he does.] Thankfully, he provides excellent comic relief with his banter.
As for the ‘Lara Croft-type plot—there are drug cartels, a creepy cult led by a psychopath, Incan legends, and snakes (lots of them). There is also a whirlwind of travel destinations from the Caribbean, to Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, New York City, and even California wine country.
A fun, rollicking tale, but not sure I will continue with the series.
The plot begins with Gabriela’s grandmother listening to Annie the ghost detailing where Blackbeard’s treasure map may be found that could lead to finding the Ring of Solomon. This immensely valuable artifact could then be used to fund infrastructure repair needed in Scoon, S.C.; severely damaged by a recent hurricane. And where is this chest containing the map? It is in great aunt Margaret’s house in Saint Vincent—the ancestral home that Gabriela gave to her ex-husband in their divorce settlement. Rafer Jones, the ex-husband, demands to be included in the quest. [Of course, he does.] Thankfully, he provides excellent comic relief with his banter.
As for the ‘Lara Croft-type plot—there are drug cartels, a creepy cult led by a psychopath, Incan legends, and snakes (lots of them). There is also a whirlwind of travel destinations from the Caribbean, to Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, New York City, and even California wine country.
A fun, rollicking tale, but not sure I will continue with the series.
January 30, 2023
An agent/detective who recovers lost goods and people. Sounds good, right? But, the book... gets the story and the plot points all wrong.
I was so excited about this one!
✔️The premise,
✔️The cover,
✔️Janet Evanovich's writing and banter,
And more!
But, the following points made this boring:
⚫Lack of adventure, comedy, and romance: Basically, lacked Janet Evanovich's charm. Idk what happened with this one.
⚫ Wrong Plot Points: I feel the story could've improved a lot if chapter placement and more interesting adventure story plots were added and executed.
⚫ Boring side characters: Her novels have the best side characters but they weren't either interesting or funny in The recovery agent
I'll read the second in the series to see if the story or the character writing improves.
I was so excited about this one!
✔️The premise,
✔️The cover,
✔️Janet Evanovich's writing and banter,
And more!
But, the following points made this boring:
⚫Lack of adventure, comedy, and romance: Basically, lacked Janet Evanovich's charm. Idk what happened with this one.
⚫ Wrong Plot Points: I feel the story could've improved a lot if chapter placement and more interesting adventure story plots were added and executed.
⚫ Boring side characters: Her novels have the best side characters but they weren't either interesting or funny in The recovery agent
I'll read the second in the series to see if the story or the character writing improves.
February 21, 2022
Recovery agent Gabriela Rose’ family home is in danger of being torn down, so Gabriella, intrigued by a family legend, heads to Peru in search of the Ring of Solomon. Gabrielle ends up having to team up with her ex-husband, Rafer, to find the treasure. They must work together to find the ring before a ruthless drug lord finds it first.
If you are fan of the Stephanie Plum series, you will enjoy this book. Gabriela Rose is very different than Stephanie, but the humor is there. Gabs, as Rafer calls her, is strong and determined. She is fearless and doesn’t let obstacles get in the way of her ultimate goal.
The one thing I like about starting a new series is the introduction of new characters. This book has a ton of characters and they are all well written. Gabriela and Rafer have an interesting relationship and there is still an attraction between them. The guides they use in Peru help them out throughout the book and they are a lively bunch. The descriptions of the Peruvian terrain are vivid and action is undeniable. There is also a lot of history about the Incas and the Ring of Solomon. I found all of the information interesting. The bad guy worships Supay and I ended up doing research myself to learn more.
I think this series is going to be another favorite of mine from this author and I look forward to the next book.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
If you are fan of the Stephanie Plum series, you will enjoy this book. Gabriela Rose is very different than Stephanie, but the humor is there. Gabs, as Rafer calls her, is strong and determined. She is fearless and doesn’t let obstacles get in the way of her ultimate goal.
The one thing I like about starting a new series is the introduction of new characters. This book has a ton of characters and they are all well written. Gabriela and Rafer have an interesting relationship and there is still an attraction between them. The guides they use in Peru help them out throughout the book and they are a lively bunch. The descriptions of the Peruvian terrain are vivid and action is undeniable. There is also a lot of history about the Incas and the Ring of Solomon. I found all of the information interesting. The bad guy worships Supay and I ended up doing research myself to learn more.
I think this series is going to be another favorite of mine from this author and I look forward to the next book.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
March 25, 2022
I loved this book! Reminded me of Raiders of the Lost Ark when it came to recovering an item from biblical times and Romancing the Stone when it came to the slowly rekindling romance between Gabriela Rose and her ex-husband Rafer. I really look forward to the next book in this series. I have a full video review on my YouTube channel, Robin Loves Reading and All the Things, at https://youtu.be/Aicyz5yOC-s.
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