The Informationist by Taylor Stevens review

The Informationist by Taylor Stevens (Vanessa Michael Munroe #1)

from the library


Synopsis from Goodreads
“Stevens’s blazingly brilliant debut introduces a great new action heroine, Vanessa Michael Munroe, who doesn’t have to kick over a hornet’s nest to get attention, though her feral, take-no-prisoners attitude reflects the fire of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander….Thriller fans will eagerly await the sequel to this high-octane page-turner.” —Publishers Weekly, starred, boxed review

Vanessa “Michael” Munroe deals in information—expensive information—working for corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. Born to missionary parents in lawless central Africa, Munroe took up with an infamous gunrunner and his mercenary crew when she was just fourteen. As his protégé, she earned the respect of the jungle's most dangerous men, cultivating her own reputation for years until something sent her running. After almost a decade building a new life and lucrative career from her home base in Dallas, she's never looked back.

Until now.

        A Texas oil billionaire has hired her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago. It’s not her usual line of work, but she can’t resist the challenge. Pulled deep into the mystery of the missing girl, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood, betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead. If she has any hope of escaping the jungle and the demons that drive her, she must come face-to-face with the past that she’s tried for so long to forget.

Gripping, ingenious, and impeccably paced, The Informationist marks the arrival or a thrilling new talent.


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Wow. This book was so powerful, so gripping, for a while after finishing it I felt jittery.


I've seen the reviews on Goodreads and they are very opposite. You either love it or don't understand what was all the fuss about.


Vanessa, oh, Vanessa! She is a through and through kick ass chick. Ruthless, brilliant, scarred and fighting her own demons. She is a strategist and a tactician, can speak 22 languages and snatch the information out of the air currents. Literally. She is also extremely dangerous and psychotic.


Vanessa is a chameleon and often can be mistaken for her male image - Michael, and that's how she prefers to deal with her clients. Most of them know her as Michael and pay her huge money for her analysis of situation and her information.


 Miss Munroe is offered a $5, 000, 000 contract to find a daughter of an oil magnate, the girl who disappeared in Africa 4 years ago, or find out for sure if she is dead. Numerous investigators tried to do it over the years with no result. Vanessa's hire is the last attempt.


Along with a partner Vanessa now goes back to a place where she left legends and superstitions about herself, the place where her demons were better off left undisturbed. 
This book gives you a rare view of African continent, its politics, way of life and vicious brutality.


I'm asking myself "Is this what I missed out with not reading Steig Larsson? Is Vanessa really like Lisbeth Salander?" If she is, I MUST read The Millennium Trilogy.


Vanessa is not the heroine you want to miss. I am very much looking forward to a book #2 The Innocent which comes out 27/12/2011

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Какая потрясающая книга! Тэйлор Стивенс сравнивают со Стигом Ларссеном и его Лизбет Саландер. Я не читала его книги, но если Лизбет также хороша как Ванесса, то я их ДОЛЖНА прочесть.

У меня нет слов насчёт этой книги. Ванесса просто брутальна, безумно опасна как гадюка, психована и гениальна.

Она прирождённый стратег и тактик, говорит на 22 языках и специализируется в анализе и доставке информации, которую просто выхватывает из воздуха, для глобальных организаций и корпораций.

Когда нефтяной магнат просит её найти его дочь, исчезнувшую в Африке 4 года назад или хотя бы удостовериться в её смерти, против воли Ванесса заинтригована, расценивает 5-ти миллионный контракт как вызов, и на него соглашается.

С навязанным ей партнёром она возвращается на континент, где выросла, где о ней остались легенды и где затаились её демоны. Очень жестокая книга, дающий уникальный взгляд на то, что творится в Африке, на её безумные режимы, изменчивую политику и невыносимую кровавую жестокость.

Не для слабых духом. Но рекомендую чрезвычайно!

10/10