Janice Weber

Hum.....How to describe this book. James Bond (007) meets Charlie's Angel (singular) doesn't quite cut it but it gives you a general idea of what you are in for which is: tawdry meaningless sex, uber chic espionage and a cast of characters that are, sadly, probably more representative of the real Washington DC power hungry elite than I ever care to know or confirm. The parts of the book set in Belize are atmospheric when it comes to describing the shanty town look of some of the town, the overpowering effect of the temperature/humidity and the untamed nature of the jungle with incessant sounds and spiders that our secret agent describes as looking like fuzzy golf balls with six legs. Anyone who has traveled to the tropics can appreciate this description:

"The old headache roared back the instant I stepped onto the tarmac. Already my brain was screaming for water. My clothing wilted halfway to the terminal and breeze only thickened a film of sweat.

Filled with cutting lines like "She's a psychiatrist. Can't afford to leave her patients alone too long or they might get better." and a secret agent/concert violinist who is equally comfortable attending $10,000 charity benefit events wearing $500,000 in jewels as she is flying helicopters, breaking into high security buildings and willingly going over a waterfall in just her undergarments, this book was, surprisingly, more entertaining than I was expecting. I still haven't figured out if this story is meant to be a bit of a spoof on the spy/espionage genre, but it does have all of the elements to propel the story forward at a good clip, filled with back-stabbing intrigue that made for some entertaining reading.

Overall, not your typical spy novel but then, I wasn't in the mood for typical. According to Wikipedia, "Weber's books are noted for their bawdy, dark humor and their female protagonists." [Hot Ticket] appears to be the second book focused on secret agent Leslie Frost, the first book being [Frost the Fiddler]. I didn't feel as though I was missing anything when I read [Hot Ticket] so it is possible that these books can be read as stand alone novels.… (mehr)