The Innocent, by Taylor Stevens

In The Informationist, Taylor Stevens introduced Michael Munroe, the super-woman agent/private investigator/gun-for-hire who specializes in getting information.  After the gut-wrenching ending of that book, Michael decided to take a break from her high-octane activities, enjoy her millions in fees from the sleazy billionaire who hired her, and shack up with the Moroccan with whom she had a fling before her adventures in Africa.

But she's getting restless, and her old friend Logan (who appears in The Informationist) has come calling with a new assignment.  Logan was once a part of a communal cult, and wants Michael's help to get a 14-year-old girl out of the cult's compound in Argentina.  She agrees to do it, not for the money, but for love of Logan, and, the more she learns about the cult, for the sake of justice.  Using her skills of stealth, observation, charm, bribery, disguise, multi-liguism and vicious knife-fighting, she infiltrates the cult and discovers the deeper truths of what goes on behind their gates.

The most interesting thing about this story is that Stevens was, until her early 20s, part of a cult movement called The Children of God, later called The Family.  A brief review of internet information about The Children of God indicates that the Chosen, the cult in The Innocent, is modeled after the Children of God, including their isolation from the outside world, communal living, sending the children into the streets to beg for funds, and authoritative leadership.  Sadly, Stevens's depiction of the cult member's sex with children within the group, and prostituting the children to people outside the group, was all too real in The Children of God.  I can imagine that Stevens, as a child or teen trapped in this group, would have loved for a knife-wielding, justice-seeking liberator of young ladies to come to her rescue.

Disturbing cult realism aside, Stevens continues the unbelievable story telling she began with The Informationist.  Michael has a chameleon-like ability in language and appearance, she uses her fighting and killing abilities to best men twice her size, and has an uncanny sense of being in the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) place at the right time.  Her quest is certainly aided by some unlikely coincidences, and the plot spirals into unanticipated regions.  All that said, The Innocent is still entertaining escapist story telling, perfect listening for my dull commute.  I will look forward to the next Vanessa Michael Munroe adventure.

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