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Release Date: September 1, 2012
Series: Aleksandr Talanov Series, Book 2
Publisher: Comfort Publishing
Author Website: www.jameshoustonturner.com
Pages: 321
Source: ARC From Publisher
Rating: Four flowers of love
Book
Blurb
Colonel Aleksandr
Talanov -- the “ice man” -- is married to a woman he wishes he could love. But
he can’t, and it's an ugly consequence of his training with the KGB. Even so,
no one should have to experience what Talanov experiences: the brutal murder of
his wife in front of his eyes.
Wracked with guilt and suspected of plotting her death, Talanov spirals downward on a path of self-destruction. He should have been killed, not her. He was the one whose violent past would not leave them alone. Months tick by and Talanov hits rock bottom on the mean streets of Los Angeles, where he meets a hooker named Larisa, who drugs and robs him.
But in the seedy world of prostitution and human trafficking ruled by the Russian mafia, this hooker made the big mistake of stealing the ice man’s wallet. In it was Talanov’s sole possession of value: his wedding photo. Talanov tracks Larisa down to get that photo because it reminds him of everything that should have been but never was, and never would be because an assassin’s bullet had mistakenly killed his wife.
Or was it a mistake?
The answer lies in Greco’s Game, a chess match played in 1619 that is famous for its Queen sacrifice and checkmate in only eight moves. In an unusual alliance, Talanov and Larisa team up to begin unravelling the mystery of what Talanov’s old KGB chess instructor regarded as the most brilliant example of how to trap and kill an opponent.
The question is: who was the target?
Wracked with guilt and suspected of plotting her death, Talanov spirals downward on a path of self-destruction. He should have been killed, not her. He was the one whose violent past would not leave them alone. Months tick by and Talanov hits rock bottom on the mean streets of Los Angeles, where he meets a hooker named Larisa, who drugs and robs him.
But in the seedy world of prostitution and human trafficking ruled by the Russian mafia, this hooker made the big mistake of stealing the ice man’s wallet. In it was Talanov’s sole possession of value: his wedding photo. Talanov tracks Larisa down to get that photo because it reminds him of everything that should have been but never was, and never would be because an assassin’s bullet had mistakenly killed his wife.
Or was it a mistake?
The answer lies in Greco’s Game, a chess match played in 1619 that is famous for its Queen sacrifice and checkmate in only eight moves. In an unusual alliance, Talanov and Larisa team up to begin unravelling the mystery of what Talanov’s old KGB chess instructor regarded as the most brilliant example of how to trap and kill an opponent.
The question is: who was the target?
My Thoughts
This is another
book by an author that I have never heard of that I need to get more familiar
with. When I first heard about this
book, I was a little skeptical about reading it because I had never cared to
read anything that involved prostitution or human trafficking because I don’t
like reading about the way the victims are treated. The thing that won me over was that it was
set in a world filled with mafia.
Translation: Murder, betrayal,
and lots of action.
The story started
off kind of slow and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be into it. But like most great books, once the story has
time to build and you have time to get familiar with the characters, you can’t
put the book down.
The plot was
good. It was full of action. It wasn’t predictable so it kept me turning
pages. I love it when a book keeps you
on the edge of your seat and you can’t wait to see what happens next. I loved the chemistry between “Larisa/Tash”
and Talanov. I saw it coming from the
first few pages and it did take a minute for it to actually happen, but it
worked.
Overall, I
enjoyed the story and the characters.
This is good book for crime drama or mystery suspense lovers.
Other Reviews Of This Book:
Other Books In This
Series
Department
Thirteen, Book #1
1 Talk to me!:
Thank you for your comments, Yvonne. It was a indeed a tightrope to not let the horrors of human trafficking turn my thriller into a chilling docudrama. I really appreciate you taking the time to read and review Greco's Game. Thank you so very much.
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