I started this, not realizing it was part of a series. Typically, this causes confusion. That was not the case! I was instantly a part of Munroe's world and always knew what I needed to know to stay engrossed in the book.
Now it's time to go grab the first book and see how it all started!

The Catch by Taylor Stevens is the fourth book to feature the unusual character of Vanessa Michael Munroe.

Regrouping after the events of [b:The Doll|15998316|The Doll (Vanessa Michael Munroe, #3)|Taylor Stevens|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1367256877s/15998316.jpg|21758755], Munroe has been biding her time in Djibouti, Africa, working as an interpreter for a small private security company as 'Michael'. When Munroe's boss accepts a job on a freighter bound for Kenya, Leo, jealous of Michael's closeness with his wife Amber and oblivious to Michael's real gender and talents, insists she accompanies the team. Part way through the voyage, the ship is attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia but Munroe escapes with the injured freighter captain in tow. It quickly becomes obvious that the pirate's target was not the cargo, which included a secret cache of weapons, but the captain, and to save the crew Munroe must negotiate the shadowy world of piracy, Hawala and corruption.

Munroe is such an intriguing character, a borderline sociopath capable of lethal violence with finely honed instincts, she is also highly intelligent, resourceful and has a prodigious talent for languages, skills which she makes good use of in The Catch.

The story of The Catch is perhaps more cerebral than in previous installments. Gathering information and planning strategy is more important than Munroe's physical prowess as she scrambles to understand the motives of the pirates while nursing debilitating injuries inflicted by a vicious group of hired thugs.

The weakness for me in this story is in the motive Taylor ascribes to Munroe for saving the ship and its crew. I just wasn't convinced Munroe's attachment to Amber was strong enough to risk so much for her, even given Munroe's unique sense of justice and loyalty.

Though The Catch could be read as a standalone, familiarity with the unique character of Munroe lends a richness that enhances the story. As someone familiar with the series I was satisfied with this installment and I am eager to discover what Munroe's next move will be.

While not my favorite of Taylor's books, I did enjoy it and as always I'm impressed by the high quality of the writing.

Taylor Stevens’s The Catch: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel centers around ‘Michael’, a fascinating character. I’ve now read the first book in the series (The Informationist), although I started with a later volume: The Mask. The books stand pretty well on their own, which is extremely helpful.

Michael has an unusual ability: she can pick up languages over surprisingly short periods of time, and she’s very good at assimilating herself into a variety of cultures. I love how this shapes the plots and her own machinations. She walks a razor’s edge as she sets up deal after deal in order to accomplish her goal: which, in this case, is to rescue some of the crew of a boat that’s been hijacked. In this book we see how she deals with injury, as well as the death of a person whom she sees as ‘hers’. I love living in her head–it’s a fascinating place to be.

The Catch has plenty of tension, suspense, and heart-stopping moments. My only negative in this one is that the back-and-forth between Michael and a person she’s trying to get information out of goes on for long enough to be repetitive and boring. It derails the pacing of the book for a bit.

I heartily recommend not just The Catch, but also the series as a whole. I enjoy both the action and the wild machinations.


For a longer review, visit my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2015/08/review-the-catch-taylor-stevens/

I still love this series so much