The Catch: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel

This is the 4th in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series that starts with The Informationist: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel (Vanessa Michael Munroe Novels). I strongly recommend that you read at least that first book and probably also The Doll: A Novel before reading this book.

Munroe is a dark and complex character and she often operates in gender bending roles in the books. Reading The Informationist will give you her background and explain how she acquired her physical skills and emotional issues. Reading The Doll will explain why she is in Djibouti without any contact with either the man she loves or her best friend.

The lack of any of the people Munroe cares about made this a harder book for me to read than any of the first three. I've gotten used to her having those other characters either with her or at least in contact with her.

The story line combines the Somali hijackings we've seen in the news and in the movies with Munroe's particular way of handling situations. It's a good story and I enjoyed it, but the lack of characters who have an emotional connection with Munroe made this one less than my favorite of the series so far.

I think this series is well worth reading if you like strong and complex female protagonists who don't need rescuing -- at least not from physical danger.

Vanessa Michael Munroe is a chameleon -- and deliberately so. When the reader encounters her at the beginning of this, the fourth book of her adventures, she is allowing those around her to believe that she is a young man of about 18, rather naive and inexperienced. Those of us who have read the previous three books in the series know differently -- we're aware that her androgynous exterior and low-key manner covers a multitude of secrets about her past and a tough-as-nails ability to confront pretty much any challenge that comes her way. Think Lisbeth Salander, cubed. So when Leo, the maritime security pro for whom Murnoe has found herself working, insists on her joining the team guarding a freighter that will travel from Djibouti around the Horn of Africa and through the dangerous waters off the Somali coast -- and then tries to cut her out of her share of the bonus for the illicit cargo she discovers they are really there to guard -- he doesn't know what he has taken on.

The irony is that the last thing that Munroe wants is more violence and trouble. Indeed, she's in Djibouti to keep her head down and stay away from the kind of blood-soaked gigs that have cost too many people close to her their lives. Her only path to redemption, she figures, is by staying away from those she loves and thus keeping them safe. This time, though, it seems as if trouble has come to find her, when in spite of the armed guards, their dilapidated freighter is boarded by pirates who seem, oddly, to be more interested in seizing its captain than in the ship or its cargo. When Munroe escapes over the side, the badly injured captain with her, the chase is on. Who is he and what are his secrets? And can Munroe somehow outwit both the mundane criminals -- the pirates -- and the masterminds financing it all, if, that is, she can even figure out who they are?

The result is a rollercoaster ride, and a compelling suspense novel that is, in my opinion, the best of the four novels featuring Munroe since the original book in which Taylor Stevens introduced her character. It's an intricate puzzle, one set in a corner of the world that the author clearly knows well and portrays vividly, without ever forfeiting a sense of suspense and urgency. Sure, it's a genre novel -- but it's a thumping good read. An excellent summer read.

The Catch is Taylor Stevens' fourth entry in her Vanessa Michael Munroe series.

Vanessa Michael Munroe is....well, she's deadly, with incredible physical skills and she's brilliant - she speaks many languages and easily assimilates into the situation or culture she finds herself in. She can read people and situations and think three moves ahead. For a living, she hunts people, finds information and fixes things. After her last case resulted in a horrific personal loss, Michael has retreated to the continent that seems to draw her back time and time again - Africa.

She's laying low, having taken a job with a small company that provides security for ships travelling the waters that Somalian pirates troll, providing information and greasing palms. When the owner pressures her to join the latest security job as a guard, she finds herself in the middle of a mess. The owner is lying, the hold is full of Russian guns, but it seems to be the captain that the pirates are after. And Michael's quiet retreat is no more.

Stevens has again crafted another intricately plotted thriller. Munroe is on her own this time, with no back-up. The action slowly builds through the first few chapters and then hits high gear for the rest of the book. The details of the settings and culture are vivid and detailed.

But, it is the character of Michael that is the real draw of this series. It's so much fun to have such a kick*** female character. The action scenes are great, but there's a deeper level to this character as well. She is the walking wounded and Stevens does a fantastic job depicting Munroe's inner emotional turmoil and her physical struggle to control herself. Each book out, we learn a little bit more about Munroe and her background. Having read of Stevens' background, I wonder how much of her own life has been woven into her books.

The Catch has a satisfying ending, but the door is open for the next entry is this series....one I'll pick up for sure

Is stealing from thieves truly thievery? Does pirating from pirates constitute pirating?

This was my first Taylor Stevens novel and I honestly just could not get enough. The settings for this marvelous tale in Djibouti, Kenya (Mombasa) and Somalia were all what I would imagine eastern Africa to be - hot, muggy, sweaty, sticky, grimy, malodorous, rugged, and untrusting. The characters were true-to-life manipulators who snuggly fit into the setting and story line like complicated puzzle pieces. The story was filled with tension and excitement with a high dose of international intrigue. Vanessa Michael Munroe, a multi-lingual and dangerous woman, could effortlessly transform herself to a man-boy when it became to carry out the business at hand. She was tough as nails, yet vulnerable as any other mortal.

When I review any book, I consider my standards to be high. I know what I like when I see it and I can tell a waste-of-time by reading just a few introductory pages.
This book started strongly and ended up even stronger. I found it captivating and began to deliberately hold the reigns of my reading pace so I could savor and extend this story's impact. I was never disappointed, except when there came the time that there was no more to read.

This exceeded by expectations by leaps and bounds. It was the best story that I have read in months, and it will be one that I will, without any hesitation, recommend to anyone who wants to listen to me yap on. I have already reserved another Stevens' novels, the Informationist,; feel comfortable knowing there are a few more of Stevens' books out there, and comfortably confident that there will be more on the way in the near future. Taylor Stevens is a good writer, with creative talent and a bright future. I am tickled, delighted and grateful to have found her.

Solid 4 stars, no question!

I have enjoyed Taylor Stevens's Michael Munroe novels. Munroe is tough, deadly, smart, brilliant at learning languages, and compassionate. Her troubled past and inner demons elicit compassion for her. She doesn't go looking for trouble, but sometimes her friends, circumstances, and desire for revenge get her into perilous, no-win situations. Of course, she survives the peril and ultimately wins.

The Catch opens with Michael working with a private security firm in Djibouti. While providing security on a ship, Michael discovers that there are smuggled weapons on board, and she is the only member of the team left in the dark. Then when pirates board, she decides to escape with the captain of the ship. She hides the captain, tries to find out the real reason for the ship's hijacking, and plots to take the ship back.

Michael spends the bulk of the book trying to survive and stay hidden in Africa, keeping the captain alive but restrained while she tries to discover why he is being hunted. To be honest, I got sort of tired of her cat and mouse games, and found that I couldn't care less about the captain or his pursuers. Or anyone else, for that matter. One of the characters, anticipating the recapture of the ship, puts it well: "The anticipation is the worst, you know? Misery in the waiting."

The Catch has plenty going for it--interesting details about cargo ships, life in Africa, some cool fighting scenes--but not enough for it to measure up to Stevens's earlier books. Here's hoping for a rebound in the next one.

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

One of the most intriguing parts of this novel is a single black page. When I first glanced at it I thought it may be a border on a page that held a map of the area, but when I flipped to it and saw the inky paper staring at me I knew I had to begin reading. I loved this device - I wasn't sure if it was a split where the novel was going to change directions or possibly locations or if it was a marker of a death or event that couldn't be undone. I flipped the pages proceeding it with delight and dread wondering what it meant and what significant event it would mark. I won't spoil it by telling you its mission (what fun would that be?) but I will say that that black page had a tremendous impact on me as a reader and on the story as well. I was delighted to have a physical copy of the book because although I read on my Kindle and enjoy a variety of e-titles, this single black page added an amazing amount of suspense and anticipation to my reading experience.

This was a truly exciting read. Vanessa Michael Munroe is on the run from the demons of her life. While hiding out from her emotions and her past she is plunged into a gun smuggling operation, and when pirates board the ship she escapes and unwittingly takes the very thing the pirates were searching for with her in the form of the ship's captain. Munroe calls on her gift of language, the skills of espionage and all of the rage she's been desperate to quiet to help her restore her sanity and find the answers to this riddle on the African coast. She fights to stay alive and races to discover the connections to the captain, the crew, the guns and the politics that swirl her in a wave that's a thrill to ride as you read.

I received this from Blogging for Books to review, and I can't wait to read the earlier books in this series. I would definitely recommend it and suggest you buy the physical book for the thrill of the black page!

If you would like to check out my review on my blog for more info and some cool things about the author, please do! http://thefinestdandelion.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-catch-novel-by-taylor-stevens.html

The story opens on a freighter that's transporting a dubious cargo through waters frequented by Somali pirates. Michael Monroe, is a member of the armed escort charged with fending off hijackers.

If you've read the earlier books, you know that Michael is a woman – a completely successful cross-dresser with lethal fighting skills. On the one hand she gets a terrific adrenaline rush from killing, and on the other hand she's constantly struggling against her blood lust. It's a good idea to read the earlier books for the amazing story of the events that shaped Monroe's unique skill set and her tormented psychology.

Besides her lightning speed and handiness with a knife, Monroe also has the advantage of being a natural linguist. She can pick up a language in a matter of weeks. She can go anywhere and survive.

The pirate attack on the ship is just the beginning of an adventure that involves nonstop perils on land and sea. The author knows equatorial Africa from personal experience, and she describes the living conditions, the people, the climate and the way things work with a sure hand.

Monroe is one of my favorite lethal female superheroes. The Catch is a hard book to put down.

I have been waiting for the further exploits of Vanessa Michael Munroe with great anticipation, and I am here to report that Taylor Stevens fourth Munroe novel didn't just meet but exceeded my great anticipation! The millstone around Michael's neck is the anguish she suffers believing (not totally without foundation) that her karma is going to get everyone near and dear to her killed if she remains around them, and consequently she is in self-enforced exile as The Catch begins. She has domiciled herself in the tiny East African republic of Djibouti, on the Red Sea, and here she has contracted her talents as a fixer to a small maritime security firm. It is make-work for her, but it has served to start healing some of the psychic wounds that haunt her and give her a chance to be useful, not fatal. The fates are not through with her, however, and she finds herself swept up into a shipboard security detail, heading out through the pirate-infested waters of coastal Somalia. It only gets worse from there...

Without giving away the story, Michael finds herself in a situation that taxes her considerable tactical skills, her physical and emotional health, and her sense of self, to the point of...sorry, that would be telling.

Once again, Taylor Stevens takes her top-level story telling skills and ratchets the complexity, the drama, the stakes, up another notch in another riveting thriller featuring the uniquely talented Michael Munroe! Highly recommended!!!

The Catch
By: Taylor Steven
Pages: 358. Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Copy Courtesy of Goodreads First Reads
Reviewed by: tk

Vanessa "Michael" Monroe is a linguist, expert in hand-to-hand weapons, strategist, and a woman of passion. Vanessa is part of a team of armed transit guards that are hired to protect , and defend a ship if attacked by pirates. Once aboard the "Favorita" she discovers that she is the only one of the team that information of the cargo, and pay is being withheld.
Cheated, and betrayed by people she trusted is only the beginning of this intense adventure. From pirates, being left for dead, murder, corruption, and a chance she may not live to see home again, Vanessa struggles to avenge all that have betrayed her.

This story has it all. Adventure, thrilling plot twists, intense situations, and a bit of romance to round it out. A must read if one or all interest you. You can feel your heartbeating faster at the intensity, and tears flowing at the betrayal that Michael feels. You can't put it down. A thrilling read. 5/5

My Thoughts

In this, book four of the series, Vanessa Michael Munroe works to save the lives of her fellow mates after their ship has been hijacked. Vanessa is able to escape with the ship’s captain. It seems the pirates are more interested in the captain than the ship and it’s contents. Vanessa plans to use the captain as a bargaining chip. Will her plan work?

Vanessa has her own demons to struggle with. She uses her street smarts to maneuver thru the murky underworld of pirating. The references to Vanessa’s past only made me want to go back and read the first three books in the series.

I’m jumping into this series at book four, but this in no way hindered my enjoyment of this smartly written novel. The authors writing is sharp and descriptive. I liked that this female lead character can take care of herself. There was a good level of suspense as Vanessa tries to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

I’d like to thank Crown Publishing, via Netgalley, for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is the author’s fourth book in the series. Vanessa Michael Munroe likes to dress and look like a man. It allows her freedom of movement in Africa, one that would be denied a woman, even one with her special talents.

Forced aboard a ship with a crew of hired guns to protect it, Munroe’s vessel is boarded by pirates and captured. Munroe escapes with the Captain in tow. For some reason the man is important to the pirates and she wants to know why.

A woman who speaks several languages and easily picks up others she travels to Kenya and encounters more danger in her quest to solve the mystery of who hijacked the ship and why. She has her own sense of justice and goes about dispensing it her way.

The story takes you on a thrilling ride from start to finish. I enjoyed the main character, with all her talents and flaws. I can’t wait to go back and start from the beginning with the first book.

The Catch, by Taylor Stevens, opens in Djibouti, Africa with Vanessa Michael Munroe working for a maritime security company. Munro is a woman with a tumultuous past and incredible survival skills. She has been mistaken for a man and is known as Michael. As the story develops, we learn there is much else that is not as it seems. Without enthusiasm she became part of the team hired to guard a ship heading for Kenya. The ship is hijacked, but not for the usual reasons. Even though she manages to escape, she is not safe. She undertakes the monumental and dangerous task of getting the ship back and settling scores with those involved. This exciting and well written novel holds the reader's attention to very last page.

I received this book free of charge and I give this review of my own free will.

The Catch by Taylor Stevens is an intriguing story to say the least. When you have a shape shifter that can change itself depending on the environment or even the situation it is encountering is unbelievable. I have never read any story involving this kind of character that can manipulate itself in this way was a game changer. I thoroughly enjoy suspense/thriller novels, but this story or series should get its own genre. This is book #3 and I wish I had read the others because I know they are just as spine-tingling as this one. Sea adventures, pirates, guns, and survival tactics always make for the perfect read, I want more of Michael and I hope his series continues for a few more novels. I was given a review copy from Blogging for Books and all opinions are my own.

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

Regrouping after the events of The Doll, 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.

With each new book Taylor Stevens further cements her position within the circle of elite writers. Her detailed descriptions and insider’s knowledge, now a Stevens hallmark, invariably make the reader feel as if they are there, participating in each action and following each lead. In The Catch Munroe returns to Africa, this time on the east coast, where, despite wounds suffered in an ambush by eight thugs (four of whom she kills), she manages to stay at least ten steps ahead of everyone else around her, plotting revenge for herself and retribution for those she cares about. Munroe is the most fascinating character I’ve read in years. Running from the past that turned her into a killer and fearful that death will touch those she loves, she discovers once again that she can’t run from herself. Yet, broken as she may be, her innate goodness goads her once more to rescue those who need her. Munroe’s cleverness is Stevens at her best.

My first exposure to the author was her, The Informationist, and I enjoyed that very much. Several hot points for me the were Africa and her novel approach in creating a character focussed on culture. So again, it is Africa and now the culture immerses itself into modern day piracy of the seas off the Somali coast. The strength of this novel again is in the author's due diligence to culture/navigating the nepotistic politics, the culture of graph and paranoia. the stench and sounds and the maze of a society steeped in khat drug addiction. Or/Africa-wide, the young ones often put out to beg by their parents or relatives though a few were orphans, all of them drawn to tourists, easy marks in their soft-heartedness and unwitting propagators of the blight in their giving. or/Theft was the way of the continent, anything not welded in place so likely to disappear that even gas caps and engine lids were often padlocked shut.
The main character is very well crafted; and the seamlessness of the first novel to this is to be commended. Vanessa Michael Munroe is par excellence linguist, a operatic fixer, and a primally fluid assassin. The author's description shows off her pitilessly hot talents/She never claimed to be a male. Unlike so many other misrepresentations in her line of work, this one hadn't been calculated or deliberate, was just a continuation of the way she preferred to dress and operate in countries where being a single woman had the potential to cause complications. She was long & lean, with an androgynous body; it wasn't a difficult transformation and over the years the pretense of behaving and working as a boy had become more natural than assuming her own identity. or/I'm a spy for hire. I travel to developing countries, dictatorships, bana republics . I analyze strategic threats to get a feel for what's going on on the ground-the stuff that news outlets don't report and governments try to cover up. Then I figure out who holds the true political clout, who to bribe and who to avoid, and if I'm paid well enough, I do the bribing and make sure my employer's name never sees print.
The author gets into the geopolitical analyses for the reader/no armed ship had ever been hijacked. Even so, most merchant ships traveled without them. Armed transit was expensive, controversial, and, depending on the ships' flag state, in many cases illegal. There is plenty of putting the reader in place to understand the heroine's strategies and moves on the chessboard as the narrative moves to its fitting climax./vultures, all of them, circling the dying animal in an easily predicted dance of wants and ordered priorities. Or, as Vanessa herself might put it/Don't underestimate your opponent by gifting him with your own weakness.
Another Taylor Stevens Winner!

Vanessa Michael Monroe is an adventurer, an information broker, a fighter, and an accomplished linguist. She's been in Djibouti, Africa, hiding from herself and a potentially different life, when she's pressured into a job as an armed guard on an old ship heading towards Kenya. Always suspicious, Michael accurately predicts that the journey will go terribly wrong, and she manages to escape with her life and one precious hostage.

Michael ends up in Kenya, trying to unravel the mystery of who attacked the ship and why, using her hostage as bait and a bargaining chip. Her negotiations has her working with a nasty and strange cast of characters, balanced by kind and generous people who share their homes and limited resources with her.

The Catch is chaotic, with Michael being attacked and engaging in battles that leave her nearly dead. The motives are confusing, including Michael's, which are difficult to believe. It feels that too often the situations are set up to create a stage for a brutal battle. The Catch is good story for adventure, fighting, and intrigue, but it lacks the motivation and cohesiveness to make it a great story.

Vanessa Michael Munroe is an information gatherer. She is for hire and
gets things done. She is tough and has no trouble with using force which she is
good at. The dangerous situations she so frequently finds herself in lends
itself to violence often with the result of Munroe having to face down death. In
this latest adventure, Munroe agrees to help with the security of a ship
traveling off the African coast. She soon discovers that they are transporting
arms once they are underway. It is not at all a surprise when the ship gets
hijacked and Munroe rescues the captain. She soon discovers that it is the
captain the hijackers want. Munroe then plays a game of cat and mouse.
Taylor Stevens writes a strong thriller and this one is no exception.
Perhaps a bit too verbose but the action comes in progressive waves. The setting
is very well depicted and the characters are reasonably well developed- actually
very well developed for a thriller. The book is, overall, reasonably
entertaining though about 100 pages too long.

Stevens breaks through with this fourth Vanessa Michael Munroe by isolating her character and slowly building the story along with Vanessa' s own personal revelations. This works as almost a real-time psychological and physical adventure. Location descriptions and authentic dialogue create a flow as if this were a blockbuster movie about sea hijackings and political double crossings but it is not really a fast read. A slowly layered read and a smart read sums it up. Series followers should not be disappointed, even with a cliff hanger ending.

Provided by publisher

The long awaited fourth book in Taylor Stevens’ fast paced suspense-thriller series around Vanessa Michael Munroe, The Catch, is due to be released in July so mark your calendars. It is not quite necessary to read the previous three books, however I highly recommend it, not only for background information, but also because the writing and suspense level continues to climb with each subsequent book. For those new to the series Vanessa is a chameleon of sorts and has an incredible ability to pass herself off as a man known as Michael to get inside organizations many woman would find difficult to infiltrate. After the previous book, Vanessa moves back to Djibouti and works as an interpreter until pressed into service amongst gunrunners facing Somali pirates. When the ship crashes, Munroe escapes and takes her boss with her, only to discover the Somali pirates were not after the cargo, but rather her boss, and once again, Michael is caught in the middle of the action. The Catch is a brilliantly executed story filled with atmosphere, tension, action, and suspense. I have read the previous three books and have yet to be disappointed, rather, I find it rather difficult to set Stevens’ books down, The Catch was no exception. I highly recommend The Catch to all action, suspense, and thriller fans and anyone looking for an excellent series.

Vanessa Michael Munroe, the androgynous heroine of the four novels now written by Taylor Stevens, finds herself immersed in intrigue in East Africa. The plot is difficult to summarize, and especially so without spoilers, but it involves Somali pirates, gun running, blackmail, kidnapping and all the accompaniments that make the Stevens novels so compelling.

The novel is complex, and keeping track of the plot twists demands attention. It is well-rewarded. The small details are fun to follow, and the larger story captivates.

Vanessa Michael Munroe remains interesting in this ongoing series. She is tough with a worthy collection of skills (the facility for languages is envy- inducing). In The Catch, we find her outwitting pirates in Djibouti. I had two objections to the book, neither of which are spoilers: it was not completely believable that Munroe would choose Djibouti as a low stakes place to get away, and it was hard to understand how Munroe got to be such good buddies with Amber.

The Catch by Taylor Stevens

The Catch is the forth book in the Venessa Michael Munroe series by Taylor Stevens.
You don't have to read the other books to understand whats going on with the stories. But I think you will feel like your missing something if you don't. I haven't read the other books yet and I constantly felt like I was missing something. The author does well with telling the story but she doesn't explain lot of back story on how Munroe got to be the person she is in this story. She also doesn't explain her the back story on her love interest who she keeps in touch with thru blogs and emails. I also felt like there could have been more action durning the end of the story line.

I did enjoy reading this story I just feel like there could have been more too it
It was interesting to have a female Jason Born and I hope this author writes more with. Venessa Michael Munroe but until then I'm gonna start on the previous books

#THECATCH @TaylorStevens

I have read Taylor Stevens earlier books and think that this one doesn't quite reach the heights of the others.

Vanessa/ Michael is a fascinatingly conflicted character who deals with her own demons as well as the dangers and consequences of her latest adventure.

The African atmosphere is beautifully drawn and you can feel the dust and humidity as the action moves from Somalia to Kenya and back.

This story is about hijacking, piracy and an eastern European revenge search. Then add Vanessa's relationship with her latest employer.his wife and crew.

In my opinion the stories seem to clash with each other and take the focus off the final climax.

I enjoyed it and hope that this episode is not a sign that the character is running out of steam. I guess we will have to wait for the next book.

I have been with this series since the beginning and always look forward to the new installation. While The Catch might not be my favorite of the series, it is an important piece to the puzzle. It is a way for Michael to figure out what she wants in life and to help rid herself of the bloodlust before going back to the states.

The Somalia Pirate storyline was interesting but I did find myself getting lost at times. Ms Stevens does an excellent job building up to the climax and then bringing you down slowly. I loved the ending. I'm hoping there is more but I am ok if there is not.

In order to really get the character(s) you do need to start from the begining with The Informationist. It is well worth your while.

This is not your average Thriller novel. The protagonist /hero is a woman. Thats the first thing to shock you when you open the novel. She goes by the name Michael and her job is to get information and solve problems anyway she can, legal or otherwise. This is the newest story in this series involving this character. I haven’t read the previous novels but I found that you didn’t need to in order to really enjoy this as the author does a wonderful job of bringing you up to speed throughout he book.

This is a novel just like the Bourne Identity except through the eyes of a woman doing normally what only men do. She kills but only to save herself or others.

The pace of the storyline keeps your riveted and you don’t want to put it down. I read it in about one day. It would have been faster except I did have housework to do!

The plot involves Micheal (Victoria) Munroe being pressured into joining her jealous boss on a ship providing what she is told is security for the Ship. In a matter of days she finds its actually a cover for gunrunning. Not long after that the boat is hijacked by pirates and she is plunged into a series of increasing violent events and is forced to defend herself and other by all means possible.

Without giving anything else way, the story goes from event to event with the author really capturing the spirit and times of Africa. I was captured by the amount of detail that went into this novel and it makes you feel like you are there with the protagonist and seeing the events as they actually happen.

Having read and loved this novel I will now go back and read the rest of Taylor Steven’s novels. She has made a new fan! I highly recommend these book to anyone who loves a novel in the same spirit of The Bourne Identity.

I recieved these books in exchange for an honest review from Bloggingforbooks.org.

Though The Catch was my least favorite of the Vanessa Munroe series, it wasn't a bad book. I just find that I have little interest in ships, pirates, and captains unless Johnny Depp is involved. This book just didn't hold my interest as well as the others.

This is the best Michael Munroe since the first novel, and I’ve been trying to figure out why. I think, partly, it’s that Stevens writes in almost florid detail about Africa, with a depth of description not equaled for the South American and European settings. But maybe the real difference is that here, as in much of the first book, Munroe is entirely alone. Yes, she acquires various helpers, but there’s no team, no companion, nothing to fray the edges of her experience with forced politeness or faux teamwork.

As a person, I’d like to see Michael less solitary. As as reader I hope she stays out there on the sharp edge.

This book was better than the third in the series, not as good as the first two IMHO. Will probably check out the next book, then decide if I want to continue reading the series. The writing style is making it difficult to read sometimes, a little long in places.

“The Catch” is Taylor Steven’s 4th Vanessa Michael Munroe book. It’s an intricate, intelligent, international page-turner. Well-written and well-crafted, it’s been said by many that this is Ms. Steven’s “most internal yet” of the series. It certainly is complex, internally and externally, and I was continually amazed as I read at the amount of work that went into its creation. It’s a visual thriller, her best yet, both in the action scenes and in the descriptions of the locations she takes us, be it on land, sea or aboard ship.

We feel Munroe’s pain, both physical and emotional. We are privy to her intelligence, her self-preservation, the scars that show and the ones that don’t. I miss some of the emotional aspects of Ms. Stevens’ previous books, but I applaud the ingenuity and sheer brilliance of “The Catch.”

The Catch
For me, there are absolutely NO comparisons to Vanessa Michael Munroe. She is such a well-developed character that I become her and am emotionally charged while reading Taylor Stevens' books; The Catch is definitely no exception. I thought I would read a couple of chapters of The Catch before bedtime, but couldn't put the book down until I finished it at 7:00 A.M. As always, I will be on tenterhooks waiting for the next one, and the next, and the next!! Taylor, you are still the very best!

Nowhere near as good as the authors other books - I was disappointed by The Catch. There was no compelling reason made for Monroe to get involved with rescuing Leo/the ship as the author made it clear throughout she neither liked nor trusted him. The book never really fleshed out the supporting characters and didn't offer much of a motive for Monroe (except that she's a badass?) going full on commando on basically everyone in several countries.

However, the authors writing style is compelling - the plot moves forward quickly and there's no shortage of action. Marine piracy I perhaps just not that interesting of a topic. I really enjoyed the authors other works and hope this is a rare miss. Overall: meh.

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

Regrouping after the events of The Doll, 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.

Another great story in this series. Vanessa Michael Monroe is a female protagonist with her own baggage. To understand her character you do have to read from the beginning of the series. But the series is what it is - a woman who can KICK ASS -take no prisoners and stand up for herself and all the vistims of the world. SO - you read this series to get just that. To see where and whom she "knock-out". The book gets you from the beginning and holds you til the end. Great read. Recommend.

I don't typically write reviews of books because it's so subjective but I stumbled across this book in a bookstore and I am so glad I bought it. By the second chapter I knew I was hooked and wouldn't be able to put it down before I found out what happened. I highly recommend for anybody who likes a well written, strategic story with suspense and a well developed main character.