Short & Sweet Review: Vendetta by Iris Johansen

Title: Vendetta

Author: Iris Johansen

Series: Catherine Ling, #5

Published: October 2018, St. Martin’s Press

Format: Hardcover, 404 pages

Source: Library

Summary: 

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen comes a new explosive, compelling thriller.

With
his dying breath, Carl Venable, head of the CIA task force on terrorism
and Jude Brandon’s final link to terrorist ringleader Max Huber, gives
Brandon a mandate: to keep his daughter, Rachel, safe at any cost. But
Rachel Venable has a shocking, twisted past of her own, one that comes
rushing back after her medical clinic in Guyana is attacked by Huber—the
same man who murdered her father and kept her imprisoned for months.
Brandon and Catherine Ling, Rachel’s longtime ally and fierce protector,
are determined to keep Rachel out of danger, but she knows that it’s
impossible to stay hidden when Max Huber wants you dead.

As
Rachel and Brandon race against the clock to bring Huber down before he
can orchestrate a nuclear explosion that will lay waste to the west
coast, they also fight a growing attraction to each other – an
attraction that could prove just as dangerous as Huber himself. In this
gripping, fast-paced novel full of dark secrets and tangled lies, one
thing is clear: everyone has a vendetta, no one will rest until they get
their revenge.


***Short & Sweet Reviews are
short, quick reviews. These will mainly be used for series books where I
have already done full reviews on some of the earlier books or for
books that I feel will suffice with a quick review. These will not be
used for review requests or blog tours.

My thoughts: This was an interesting installment in the Catherine Ling series as I felt that Catherine really played a secondary role to overall story rather than being in the spotlight as she usually is. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book, but I found it weird that Rachel and Brandon were front and center. Perhaps Iris is getting ready to start a new series with these characters? It wouldn’t be the first time…after all, Catherine was first introduced in the Eve Duncan series.

This book is one of those books where the action starts on page one and really never lets up until the very end. I loved that not only is Catherine involved, though as I already mentioned, it’s more on the periphery, so is Hu Chang and Cameron. I love Cameron and his mental abilities. I also love the chemistry between Catherine and Cameron. 

This was a very intense book and I will definitely be curious as to what happens next with these characters. There’s a reason I read Iris Johansen’s books in order of publication date, going in and out of the different series. She brings her different characters in and out of the series, so it’s not uncommon for Eve to appear in these books or for Catherine to appear in the Eve books and everything moves forward…so to me, it makes sense to read them as they come out so as to not miss anything character-development wise. I’m such a stickler for not wanting to miss anything what way. Anyone else?

Books in this Series: 

  1. Chasing the Night (Eve Duncan, #11)
  2. What Doesn’t Kill You
  3. Live to See Tomorrow 
  4. Your Last Breath 
  5. Vendetta
Share: