The Catch, by Taylor Stevens

I have enjoyed Taylor Stevens's Michael Munroe novels.  Munroe is tough, deadly, smart, brilliant at learning languages, and compassionate.  Her troubled past and inner demons elicit compassion for her.  She doesn't go looking for trouble, but sometimes her friends, circumstances, and desire for revenge get her into perilous, no-win situations.  Of course, she survives the peril and ultimately wins.

The Catch opens with Michael working with a private security firm in Djibouti.  While providing security on a ship, Michael discovers that there are smuggled weapons on board, and she is the only member of the team left in the dark.  Then when pirates board, she decides to escape with the captain of the ship.  She hides the captain, tries to find out the real reason for the ship's hijacking, and plots to take the ship back.

Michael spends the bulk of the book trying to survive and stay hidden in Africa, keeping the captain alive but restrained while she tries to discover why he is being hunted.  To be honest, I got sort of tired of her cat and mouse games, and found that I couldn't care less about the captain or his pursuers.  Or anyone else, for that matter.  One of the characters, anticipating the recapture of the ship, puts it well: "The anticipation is the worst, you know? Misery in the waiting."

The Catch has plenty going for it--interesting details about cargo ships, life in Africa, some cool fighting scenes--but not enough for it to measure up to Stevens's earlier books.  Here's hoping for a rebound in the next one.


Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!