The Innocent: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel

The second Vanessa Munroe novel is as absorbing as the first one.
The author knows to capture with a mixture of great insight in countries and customs and a lot of thrill and action.
I'm very looking forward to the next sequel coming 2013.

I so enjoyed her first book "The Informationist" that created the character of Vanessa Michael Munro, that I couldn't wait to read this, the second in a series. It just didn't have the same kick as the first. I understand her first novel took years to right and now after initial success, is working to produce one after another in a much shorter time. If I read this, the second book first, I would not look for more from this author, however, she has a third coming out this year, and I will read reviews before investing time and money.

"The Innocent" is a novel with a straight-forward plot, the extraction of a young girl from a religious cult based in Argentina. Our protagonist, Vanessa Michael Munroe, raised under similar circumstances, is well suited to lead the rescue team. Vanessa Michael referred to as Michael heads the four-person recovery team. Each member carries the emotional scars of childhood abuse. None more affected than Michael, emotionally tortured, even in her dreams. At times, her inner demons nearly abort the mission, and it is only by supreme dedication to the rescue of Hannah that she can continue the quest.
The villains are so vile that the quote, "some folks just need killing," comes to mind, and it is only the awareness that abuse breeds abuse that the perpetrators have any excuse for their actions. A sensitive subject, Taylor handles it delicately whereas Michael handles it with fists pounding, knives slicing and guns blazing.
Once Taylor describes the scenes and introduces the characters, the plot accelerates through several obstacles and conflicts to a satisfying conclusion.
Taylor has a nice way of letting narrative and dialogue engine the story keeping the author from meddling while the theme constantly reminds us that we are responsible for the safekeeping of our children. If lax with our security there are villains under the guise of love waiting to abuse our children and expose them to ideology designed to condition and control the defenseless.
Well written and error free I give "The Innocent" five stars.

Vanessa Michael Munroe is not your average – at anything. Her specialty is information gathering, but she will use her skills in self-defense if necessary. Jason Bourne and Lisbeth Salander have nothing on this chick. Cute and sometimes feminine on the outside, lethal on the inside.

Michael, the name she sometimes uses when posing as a man, was born in Africa to missionary parents who sent her away to be raised by friends at age thirteen. After further neglect, she ventured out on her own and became a translator for the local gunrunner. Sadistic abuse by a mercenary trained Michael to become expert at protecting herself, her most lethal weapons being her own two hands, with knives a close second. Even a small touch by a stranger causes Munroe to be consumed with the compulsion for battle.

Although Munroe is usually hired to gather information, traveling around the globe and creating alternate personas to get the job done, in the second of Stevens’ series, THE INNOCENT, Michael is asked by her best friend, Logan, to rescue a girl who’d been kidnapped by The Chosen of God cult and taken to Argentina. Michael, and her mercenary companion, Miles Bradford, must infiltrate the cult, and extract the girl with minimal collateral damage. Given the extreme complications, Michael believes the mission’s success might just come at a huge cost.

This book is not just fun ninja-killer-spy action. It also delves into Michael’s complex emotional and psychological make-up. Munroe constantly wrestles with the demons that chase her, even in her dreams. Her extreme skill at killing is contrary to what she believes a moral person should possess, and the guilt she wears like a second skin comes close to destroying her. I love the complexities of this character’s personality. Stevens does an expert job of showing us not only Munroe’s talents, but her human frailties as well.

Not only does Stevens weave a colorful tapestry of global intrigue and adventure, her personal experiences growing up in various third-world countries around the globe as a member of The Children of God cult fuels the complex emotional make-up of Vanessa Michael Munroe. Stevens’ first-hand knowledge of constantly living on the fringe of society gives her an expert insight into the fragile psychopathy of her main character.

Stevens is a firm believer in portraying authenticity, and her singular personal experiences allow her to do just that. Her past life as a cult-child gives readers of THE INNOCENT an inside look at the life inside a religious cult, where uneducated children are treated as property to be used for manual labor, begging, and sexual gratification.

Taylor Stevens has a genuine, no-bullshit style, whose fascinating, albeit tragic history shapes her stories. She loves to personally connect with her readers, and truly welcomes and values each and every compliment she receives. You’ll never meet a nicer, more gracious author who loves reaching out to her fans. Taylor Stevens – YOU ROCK!

I think it’s time for another woman to join the ranks of Jason Bourne, Jack Reacher, and Lisbeth Salander as one of the world’s most remarkable new-wave superheroes, and Vanessa Michael Munroe is just the one to do it!

"The Innocent" is a novel with a straight-forward plot, the extraction of a young girl from a religious cult based in Argentina. Our protagonist, Vanessa Michael Munroe, raised under similar circumstances, is well suited to lead the rescue team. Vanessa Michael referred to as Michael heads the four-person recovery team. Each member carries the emotional scars of childhood abuse. None more affected than Michael, emotionally tortured, even in her dreams. At times, her inner demons nearly abort the mission, and it is only by supreme dedication to the rescue of Hannah that she can continue the quest.
The villains are so vile that the quote, "some folks just need killing," comes to mind, and it is only the awareness that abuse breeds abuse that the perpetrators have any excuse for their actions. A sensitive subject, Taylor handles it delicately whereas Michael handles it with fists pounding, knives slicing and guns blazing.
Once Taylor describes the scenes and introduces the characters, the plot accelerates through several obstacles and conflicts to a satisfying conclusion.
Taylor has a nice way of letting narrative and dialogue engine the story keeping the author from meddling while the theme constantly reminds us that we are responsible for the safekeeping of our children. If lax with our security there are villains under the guise of love waiting to abuse our children and expose them to ideology designed to condition and control the defenseless.
Well written and error free I give "The Innocent" five stars.

Vanessa Michael Munroe is not your average – at anything. Her specialty is information gathering, but she will use her skills in self-defense if necessary. Jason Bourne and Lisbeth Salander have nothing on this chick. Cute and sometimes feminine on the outside, lethal on the inside.

Michael, the name she sometimes uses when posing as a man, was born in Africa to missionary parents who sent her away to be raised by friends at age thirteen. After further neglect, she ventured out on her own and became a translator for the local gunrunner. Sadistic abuse by a mercenary trained Michael to become expert at protecting herself, her most lethal weapons being her own two hands, with knives a close second. Even a small touch by a stranger causes Munroe to be consumed with the compulsion for battle.

Although Munroe is usually hired to gather information, traveling around the globe and creating alternate personas to get the job done, in the second of Stevens’ series, THE INNOCENT, Michael is asked by her best friend, Logan, to rescue a girl who’d been kidnapped by The Chosen of God cult and taken to Argentina. Michael, and her mercenary companion, Miles Bradford, must infiltrate the cult, and extract the girl with minimal collateral damage. Given the extreme complications, Michael believes the mission’s success might just come at a huge cost.

This book is not just fun ninja-killer-spy action. It also delves into Michael’s complex emotional and psychological make-up. Munroe constantly wrestles with the demons that chase her, even in her dreams. Her extreme skill at killing is contrary to what she believes a moral person should possess, and the guilt she wears like a second skin comes close to destroying her. I love the complexities of this character’s personality. Stevens does an expert job of showing us not only Munroe’s talents, but her human frailties as well.

Not only does Stevens weave a colorful tapestry of global intrigue and adventure, her personal experiences growing up in various third-world countries around the globe as a member of The Children of God cult fuels the complex emotional make-up of Vanessa Michael Munroe. Stevens’ first-hand knowledge of constantly living on the fringe of society gives her an expert insight into the fragile psychopathy of her main character.

Stevens is a firm believer in portraying authenticity, and her singular personal experiences allow her to do just that. Her past life as a cult-child gives readers of THE INNOCENT an inside look at the life inside a religious cult, where uneducated children are treated as property to be used for manual labor, begging, and sexual gratification.

Taylor Stevens has a genuine, no-bullshit style, whose fascinating, albeit tragic history shapes her stories. She loves to personally connect with her readers, and truly welcomes and values each and every compliment she receives. You’ll never meet a nicer, more gracious author who loves reaching out to her fans. Taylor Stevens – YOU ROCK!

I think it’s time for another woman to join the ranks of Jason Bourne, Jack Reacher, and Lisbeth Salander as one of the world’s most remarkable new-wave superheroes, and Vanessa Michael Munroe is just the one to do it!

The first book in the Munroe series, The Informationist, absolutely blew me away. Unfortunately this second book just isn't anywhere near as good. Here are the main reasons:

1. It lacks the sense of atmosphere and place that the first book had. The African setting in The Informationist was compelling, realistic, engaging, and a huge part of the reason I enjoyed the book so much. I felt continuously immersed in it. With The Innocent, set in Argentina, there is none of that. It could have been anywhere, any random country. I wish the author had stuck to the African setting she did so well rather than write a book with no place flavor at all.
2. Hopefully this doesn't count as a spoiler, but there is not a single twist in the entire book. If there's one thing a book can do to make me feel totally "meh" at the conclusion, it's be straightforward. This plot is about as straightforward as it gets. No twists, no mystery. It starts in one place and heads right to the expected ending. After the first book which twisted all over the place, this was quite a disappointment.
3. Also, perhaps in part due to the lack of twists, there's not much suspense here. Munroe never really feels put in any danger - unlike the first book which was constant nail biting suspense and danger.
4. The romance in the first book was unexpected and compelling, and felt real and raw. In this book, it feels forced and unrealistic. I don't think the author took enough time to develop the relationship between Munroe and Bradford enough to make their constant flirting and attraction feel right. Maybe if it had been developed in this book and realized in the next one.
5. It's preachy. I tend to dislike books where the author has an agenda, where they want to influence your opinion on some topic that doesn't directly impact the plot of the story, and that's definitely going on here, with the issue of what it's like to grow up in cult. There were whole sections that were clearly devoted to just this purpose - which knocks you out of the suspense of the story and slows it down, and tends to bore.
6. Munroe is nowhere near as strong of a character as she was in the first book. I don't know how to explain it... she just felt weakly drawn in this one. Her issues didn't feel real. I didn't like her.
7. The prose. The quality of writing is a step down from the first book. I found repeated words and phrases to start grating, which I didn't notice at all in the first one.

Overall, this book is quite a disappointment compared to the first one. I still enjoyed it, but I'm not sure how I would have felt without the first one to compare it to. Would I have liked it better because it wasn't failing to live up to anything? Or would I have found it totally unreadable and boring without coming in already liking the characters? I'll never know. Still, I'm definitely reading the next one in the series and hoping it's more like the first one.

"The Innocent" is Taylor Stevens' second novel featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe, a sexy heroine as tough and as driven as any male operative, mercenary, or spy. In fact, Michael may be just a tad meaner, more blood thirsty, and more obsessive than any of her male counterparts. She has a particular penchant for knives and a bent towards showing no mercy. In other words, this is not a book for those who don't care for violence in their reading.

In this book, Michael's best friend, Logan, no light weight himself, asks for her help. He wants her to rescue Hannah, a teenage girl who was kidnapped eight years previously by a member of the religious cult in which Logan was raised. Logan has been searching for the girl, the daughter of a woman who also grew up in the cult, since she was taken. Although she has misgivings, Michael agrees to undertake the job. For Logan. She refuses to allow him or two other former members of the cult who have an interest in retrieving the girl to actively participate in getting Hannah back. She does call upon Miles Bradford, her "bodyguard", a private contractor who was once in Special Forces, to assist her. The majority of the book takes place in Argentina, where Logan believes Hannah is.

The plot is action-packed, but Stevens spends enough time on the relationships among the various characters and on their pasts -- particularly Michael, Bradford, and Logan, who all appeared in the first volume in the series "The Informationist" -- to make them interesting in themselves. Michael's bout with nightmares is an interesting way to develop her further. Stevens does a credible job of describing the workings of the religious cult, which so impacted Logan's life and that of the two other former cult members, Gideon and Heidi.

A good thriller.

In The Informationist, Taylor Stevens introduced Michael Munroe, the super-woman agent/private investigator/gun-for-hire who specializes in getting information. After the gut-wrenching ending of that book, Michael decided to take a break from her high-octane activities, enjoy her millions in fees from the sleazy billionaire who hired her, and shack up with the Moroccan with whom she had a fling before her adventures in Africa.

But she's getting restless, and her old friend Logan (who appears in The Informationist) has come calling with a new assignment. Logan was once a part of a communal cult, and wants Michael's help to get a 14-year-old girl out of the cult's compound in Argentina. She agrees to do it, not for the money, but for love of Logan, and, the more she learns about the cult, for the sake of justice. Using her skills of stealth, observation, charm, bribery, disguise, multi-liguism and vicious knife-fighting, she infiltrates the cult and discovers the deeper truths of what goes on behind their gates.

The most interesting thing about this story is that Stevens was, until her early 20s, part of a cult movement called The Children of God, later called The Family. A brief review of internet information about The Children of God indicates that the Chosen, the cult in The Innocent, is modeled after the Children of God, including their isolation from the outside world, communal living, sending the children into the streets to beg for funds, and authoritative leadership. Sadly, Stevens's depiction of the cult member's sex with children within the group, and prostituting the children to people outside the group, was all too real in The Children of God. I can imagine that Stevens, as a child or teen trapped in this group, would have loved for a knife-wielding, justice-seeking liberator of young ladies to come to her rescue.

Disturbing cult realism aside, Stevens continues the unbelievable story telling she began with The Informationist. Michael has a chameleon-like ability in language and appearance, she uses her fighting and killing abilities to best men twice her size, and has an uncanny sense of being in the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) place at the right time. Her quest is certainly aided by some unlikely coincidences, and the plot spirals into unanticipated regions. All that said, The Innocent is still entertaining escapist story telling, perfect listening for my dull commute. I will look forward to the next Vanessa Michael Munroe adventure.

A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel
By Taylor Stevens
Crown Publishers, 331 pgs
978-0-307-71712-2
Rating: 2.5

Vanessa Michael Munroe is back in the follow-up to her debut performance in The Informationist, which I reviewed in December of last year. The mission she is hired for this time is to rescue a child from a cult and return her to her parents. Michael, as she is known, travels to Argentina, last known location for the girl, and sets about recon. She is joined by Miles Bradford, also returning from the first book, who's main function is electronics and, infrequently, bodyguard. Most of the time he's the second string. Munroe is also saddled with a small collection of former cult members, each with a different agenda,who's main function seems to be offering the potential for mission catastrophe.

The Innocent begins promisingly. Munroe is a unique heroine, no one else like her in past or current thriller fiction. Taylor Stevens allows her to be larger than life and I am willing to suspend disbelief for the sheer fun of experiencing a woman in charge, physically and mentally. Michael is a chameleon who would be an asset to any intelligence and/or mercenary agency in the world, except the body count tends to climb when she's around. The story idea is a good one. The author was born into the Children of God and presumably knows whereof she speaks; the descriptions of the cult and it's members and practices are detailed and so strange. So to sum up: 1) great story idea, 2) great main character and 3) details to sink your teeth into, and 4) there's a sub-issue that works well throughout the book involving Munroe's violent nightmares and the dangers represented by her sleepwalking, actually more of a fugue state.

So what is wrong with this book?

1) It's slow. Real action doesn't begin until page 261. This is unacceptable. 2) Munroe is a fabulous character who has been allowed no growth, acceptable I suppose, but tedious. In addition, there are two incidents that make no sense: 1) at the beginning of the book Munroe kills a man in New York during one of the previously mentioned fugue states and this has no apparent effect on anything, and 2) not long after arriving in Argentina she rescues two girls from a couple of men who apparently were buying them but this is never alluded to during the entire remainder of the book. It's as if it happens in a vacuum. Disorienting. Finally, The Innocent could have benefited from better editing. The writing frequently comes across as clunky, repetitive and is filled with odd word choices.

When I reviewed The Informationist, Taylor Stevens' debut, I was impressed. I very much enjoyed that book and gave it a rating of 4.5. Maybe it's the classic sophomore syndrome, suffering in comparison to a widely praised debut. Maybe the debut was a fluke, too early to tell. So while I cannot recommend The Innocent, the author is currently at work on a third book in the series and I am prepared to keep an open mind and read the third installment before making a decision.

To visit the author: [...]

To visit the publisher: [...]

The Informationist blew me out of the water when I read it earlier this year and when Ms. Stevens said there was another Munroe book coming; I immediately put it on my list of things to look forward to late in 2011. So, I was thrilled when I received an ARC of The Innocent. The plot was intriguing and while Munroe isn't a ticking time bomb, she definitely has a loose cannon feel to her.

The second novel is more personal than the first because the case is personal. While it might not be about Munroe directly, it does involve someone she cares deeply for perhaps making her take unnecessary risks. From my view point, The Innocent isn't as fast-paced as The Informationist but this isn't a bad thing. It's still action-packed but this time we get a bit deeper into her psyche than previously. Munroe has horrid nightmares. These are so bad for her that she medicates herself to pass out in the hopes that they won't come. The case involves taking a young girl out of a religious sect and bringing her back to her parents that she was stolen from at a young age. This involves a little bit of research and spy-maneuvering to gain access to a group that is typically paranoid. That is unless of course you come flashing some money.

What I love about Munroe is that she is who she is. Is she violent? Yes. Is she cold-hearted? No. Can she be ruthless? Sure, that was what she was trained for. While most of the people that are close to her accept her for what she does and who she is, she doesn't accept herself. She carries around a tremendous amount of guilt for her actions. We definitely learn more about Munroe in this novel but I don't even think we've fully tapped the well of her yet.

I know a lot of comparisons have been made between Munroe and Lisbeth Salander and while there are similarities, they are vastly different as well. I won't go into a dissertation here about it though. I will say that I do love the recent "kick-ass" women that are being written in fiction.

If you haven't discovered Munroe or Ms. Stevens, then I highly suggest for your New Year's Eve reading that you go and buy both The Informationist and The Innocent; they are better than some action movies out there now. I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment of Munroe!

After thoroughly enjoying The Informationist, the first book in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series, The Innocent annoyed me pretty much from the get go. The cool, competent, strong-willed character from The Informationist has degenerated into a delicate flower, so fragile that her friends Logan and Miles Bradford conspire to take care of her. Logan calls her to New York to get her involved in a case that is very personal-- Logan wants Michael to go to Buenas Aires to rescue a child who was kidnapped seven years ago by a member of a religious cult and who has been kept hidden by the cult ever since.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!!! THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW!!!

Whereas in the first Munroe book, Michael was pretty unflappable, unemotional, and fully capable of taking care of herself-- chafing at the insistence of her client that she be accompanied by Miles Bradford, in this book she brings him along, supposedly to watch her back, but in reality to set up several situations where they are thrown together such that the sexual tension between them ratchets up several notches. At one point after Michael rescues two little girls from some human traffickers, she dissolves into tears upon returning to her hotel room because Bradford chews her out for not answering her phone. Puh-leeze! In the first place, I don't blame him for chewing her out, but in the second place, she should have just let him have it. Don't set up a character for us who is supposed to be better than most men, and then have her break down in tears when a man yells at her after a stressful episode.

I started out being thoroughly annoyed and then got even more so as the book continued. For instance, Munroe is so surprised at finding at that Logan is the child's father. "But you're gay," she says stupidly. Duh, news flash!!! Gay people can be biological parents! I thought it was obvious that Logan was the father from the beginning. She's supposed to be so darned brilliant at putting disparate pieces of information together; she's been shown pictures of this kid who is supposedly a dead ringer for Logan, but she never figured out that he was the dad? O-kay.

As I listened to this book I became increasingly more bothered, even to where I started counting the times a character was described as sitting with elbows to knees. I mean, really, have you ever tried sitting with your elbows on your knees? It's not that comfortable. Yet it's a favorite position of just about every character in this book.

Thankfully, the book finally ended, in a kind of anti-climactic way. I wanted to know more about the reunion of Hannah and her parents, but we didn't get that. Hannah and her parents had their reunion off scene, and Munroe took off on her motorcycle.

Taylor Stevens is capable of good writing-- I particularly liked one phrase she used: "The child is the beating of a parent's heart." She is well able to write descriptive passages that put you in the middle of a scene. I listened to the audio version and was as fascinated as I was in the first book in this series at the narrator's facility with accents, languages and using different voices to define her the characters. The Michael Munroe character is a terrific character-- or at least she was in the first book. Because I enjoyed the first book so much, I'm willing to pretend this book never happened and read the next book in the series. But please, please, PLEASE, bring back the invulnerable, independent Michael from the first book!

Given the author's background as a childhood member of the Children of God cult, her novel rings with authenticity and the otherworldly ambiance of life experienced beyond the facade of normalcy. As Vanessa Michael Munroe is lured into the case of a cult-kidnapped child by her best friend, Logan, the action moves from Morocco to Buenos Aires, as a small group- all former childhood members of The Chosen- narrow their search for Hannah, stolen from her parents five years earlier at eight-years-old. The search is instigated by Logan, but includes Heidi, whose family members are still with The Chosen, and Gideon, ex-military like Logan, who has his own agenda. Michael is essentially a lone wolf with an exceptional skill set, haunted by her own psychic demons and a history to rival the heinous experiences of those raised by The Chosen, a cult established in the 1960s. Critical to Michael's success in extricating Hannah is Miles Branford, Special Forces turned private contractor with the deep resources necessary for removing the child and delivering her to safety.

With iconic protagonist Michael as the driven, relentless star of the piece, the stage is set for subterfuge, intrigue, infiltration and subtly-executed violence, a carefully planned rescue that depends on accuracy of information, secrecy and discipline. Stevens proves adept at balancing the chilling atmosphere of cult indoctrination, an insightful portrait of insiders that provides a more-informed perspective on the nature of cults and the nail-biting drama of extraction. Conflicted, flawed and courageous, Michael personifies the dedication of one who has survived a nightmare to become a scourge to those who would destroy the innocent under the guise of a safe haven. To the last page, the reader is taken on a hellish journey through the underground warrens where greed and hypocrisy coexist, where monsters sate their appetites on the helpless, Munroe an avenging angel, the fate of one child her mission in a taut and engrossing drama. Luan Gaines/2011.

In my review of Taylor Stevens' debut novel, The Informationist, I wrote:

"Munroe is a chameleon, changing back and forth from Vanessa Munroe to Michael Munroe as identity and gender suit her needs. She's a harsh character, and really took some getting used to. Even now, I couldn't describer as the least bit likable. She has no warmth, no apparent humor, and makes few attachments. Her code of morality is... situational. So much of my response to this novel had to do with my response to her... In the end, it really does come back to character. Munroe is cut from a bit of the same cloth as Steig Larsson's Lisbeth Salander with a dash of Alias's Sydney Bristow. She's impressive as hell, more than a little scary, and deeply flawed. It was interesting meeting her, but the jury is out on whether I want to spend more time in her company."

Now, my mom encouraged me to give men a second date unless there was a really compelling reason not to, and I guess I feel the same way about authors. Plus, I was fairly interested in the plot of this installment, as it dealt with Michael's assignment, on behalf of a friend, to extract a young girl from an internationally-based religious cult much like the one Ms. Stevens was raised in and escaped from. How could that not be interesting?

I was right. It was. The plot wasn't as complex as the one in her first novel, but it didn't need to be. There was plenty of story without being unnecessarily convoluted. The pacing was good and the tale moved well. Ms. Stevens' fiction continues to be just as smart and character-driven as her debut novel was. But I have to admit I'm having exactly the same issue as I did with the first novel. The author promised that we'd get to know Michael better in subsequent novels, but she's a hard character to get to know--and when you get right down to it, just not very likeable. This is how she reacts to a welcoming hug:

"Her response to the uninvited physical contact was instant, a drive so intense that it required every shard of focus to keep her solidly in place. The rhythm of violence pounded in her chest and she remained frozen, fighting the urge to destroy him, to crush his head against the wall."

Is she damaged? Uh, yeah. But she's still scary as hell and it's hard to find her sympathetic. Or at least it is for me. At the end of the second book in this series, I feel as though I'm at the exact same juncture with Ms. Stevens and Ms. Munroe. How many dates am I going to give them to see if we click? Well, the canny publisher has already put a galley of book three in my hands, so perhaps just one more...

"The Innocent" is the second novel by Taylor Stevens that follows fearless heroine Vanessa "Michael" Monroe. Monroe's best friend Logan contacts her from across the globe to ask for her help concerning his dark past involved in a religious cult called "The Chosen." Even though Logan is openly gay, he reveals to Monroe that he has an 8-year-old daughter, Hannah, who has been kidnapped by the cult and he needs Monroe's help to find her and bring her home. Monroe accepts the challenge of infiltrating this cult and finds herself in the middle of much more than she anticipated - including drug lords, high-ranking government officials, and the unspoken horrors of child abuse.

Stevens' second novel is a taut, action-filled adventure that takes the reader inside the secret world of a religious cult. The story takes awhile to pick up in pace, but once it gets going, there is no shortage of thrills and page-turning twists. Monroe has made an American heroine that can be compared to Steig Larsson's Lisbeth Salander - complete with all the quirks that made her so different from other leading ladies. Some readers may think Stevens is trying too hard to duplicate Salander with Monroe, but there are distinct personalities that make them each unique. The other characters in the novel are rather flat and predictable, but the focus is on Monroe so much that the others fade into the background easily. This book is a solid thriller with a good plot and a storyline that makes it stand out from others in the genre.

Disclosure: I received my copy of this book free from the publishers. This had no impact on my opinion of the book or my review.

THE INNOCENT, the second in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series, starts where THE INFORMATIONIST left off--with a troubled and very deadly heroine. In this outing, Michael's friend Logan asks her to find a young girl in Buenos Aires and extract her from a religious cult that is known to insiders, at least, to abuse children. Michael is given that insider information by Logan and two others who escaped (or were kicked out of) the cult as teens, and she also enlists the help of Miles Bradford, the security consultant/mercenary we met in the first book.

To a degree, the young girl's situation mirrors Michael's childhood. Michael, too, grew up in an overtly religious environment raised by missionaries, and when she left home at 13, ended up being abused. Michael, in other words, has many personal reasons for taking the job, and is, shall we say, highly motivated to succeed.

Stevens does a more than credible job of taking us through the planning, reconnaissance and execution of the mission, with plenty of thrills and chills along the way. She's created some very likable characters in the supporting cast of Logan and Bradford, and an incredibly kick-ass heroine in Munroe.

Where I get hung up, and perhaps it's a minor complaint, is in Michael's repetitive internal agonizing and moral ambivalence. From Stevens' bio, I'm guessing that this book, even more than THE INFORMATIONIST, was an incredibly personal one to write. We know, from that first book, that Munroe is damaged goods, a very flawed character due to her bizarre upbringing and the abuse she suffered as a young teen. It's no surprise that she has terrible nightmares, that she questions who she is, her place in the world, and her almost insatiable desire to kill.

But I think in THE INNOCENT, Stevens has gone just a touch overboard and flogged Munroe's moral dilemma--and her touchy and twitchy psychological state--to the point of making Munroe unsympathetic, almost whiny. The contrast is even starker given the fact that Stevens has given us, in the support team behind the extraction mission, three more damaged souls with backgrounds only a little less chilling than Munroe's. Yet they all appear and act relatively normal. Though they've never gotten over what happened to them as children, they've all gotten on with their lives.

A little less self-doubt--perhaps one less nightmare, one fewer mention of the rage Munroe feels whenever someone (male) touches her unbidden, one less explanation of Munroe's special skills at gathering information and blending in would have helped propel readers through the pages. Stevens is a wonderful writer, but her prose is dense, dramatic, highly descriptive. Adding too much repetition just slows readers down that much more, and not in a good way.

There are solid signs, however, that Munroe has begun to accept herself and her skill set as compatible with her sense of morality. Not a moment too soon.

First Line: She moved in a crouch, blade between her teeth, all four limbs connected to the earth; cocked her head, listened, and then continued on again, through the undergrowth and past the body at her bare feet.

Once again Vanessa Michael Munroe has been asked to do the impossible. Hannah had been rescued from a religious cult called The Chosen once, but eight years ago, the five-year-old child was stolen back. For eight years a group of former childhood members of The Chosen have searched for Hannah, and now they've found her. The members of this group were raised within the cult, and they all escaped to make lives for themselves on the outside. Knowing what must be faced, they know that the only person they can trust to bring Hannah back and get her out of Argentina is Munroe.

Munroe is already on the edge of a breakdown. Horrendous nightmares have her self-medicating in order to get some sort of uninterrupted sleep. Those who know her best doubt that she should even attempt this rescue, but Munroe knows that she's the only hope this young girl has of a normal life. There's no way the group can pay the expenses of this operation, but that doesn't stop Vanessa Michael Munroe. She's known for a long time that there are many things on this earth more important than money.

Once again, Taylor Stevens delivers a lightning-paced thriller that doesn't stop. The story reads like an insider's view of life in a cult, and it should because the author grew up within one herself, but Stevens never lets herself become preachy or self-indulgent. Her take-no-prisoners main character sees to that.

Stevens' use of language-- in particular her use of verbs-- conveys the message that Vanessa Michael Munroe does not think like other people. Munroe's wired differently, and she is totally unpredictable. Combine such a character with an adrenaline-charged plot and an insider's-type view of the setting, and you've got a book that's almost impossible to put down.

If you like strong, intelligent, kick-ass heroines, you just have to meet Vanessa Michael Munroe!

This is the second thriller featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe, a female protagonist who could go toe-to-toe with most of the male action heroes in modern thrillers. I like books with strong female characters and sometimes think it is because I want to identify with them and be heroic like them. That isn't so much the case with Munroe; she's definitely a damaged hero and generally not the kind of person who'd be considered very nice. But she is strong and smart and fiercely protective of children and those characteristics make her an interesting character.

This book takes place six months or so after the end of The Informationist: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel (Vanessa Michael Munroe Novels). Munroe is living in Morocco with a guy she met during that book when her closest friend Logan comes to ask her a favor -- to help rescue a young girl who was kidnapped and hidden in a religious cult. The plot draws a lot on the author's own life; she grew up in a cult. Logan gets worried about Munroe's emotional state and calls Miles Bradford, another major character from the first book, to help Munroe with the operation. The action gets going in the U.S. but most of the book takes place in South America, primarily Buenos Aires.

The story is somewhat less physical than The Informationist and more about Munroe using her language and information gathering skills to learn where the girl is being held and planning a rescue operation. Even so, there is plenty of action and the pace moves very quickly. You won't get bored reading this book. I have a terrible habit of getting a little ADD around the middle of books and skipping to the end to see what happens. But I didn't skip ahead at all in this book and that means it should hold nearly everyone's attention.

The parts of the book describing life in the cult are hard to take but from news accounts, it accurately describes what goes on in some cults. By the end of the book I wanted Munroe to bring all kinds of vengeance down on the people in the cult who treated the women and children so poorly.

It isn't absolutely critical to have read The Informationist before you read this book, but I think reading it would help understand Munroe and her relationships to Logan and Bradford. The author gives the new reader Munroe's background to explain her language and fighting skills but in a more abbreviated version than was in the earlier book. And the relationship with Bradford took the whole earlier book to evolve so you'll miss things if you haven't read it.

I enjoyed The Informationist slightly more than this one, but I liked this one quite a bit and look forward to reading more books in this series.

"The Innocent," with its super-heroine Vanessa Michael Moore, is hard to put down. Vanessa, or Michael/Miki as she prefers, is the protector we all wish for, a Superwoman of sorts who fights for the underdog and especially for victims of abuse. She will bring to mind both a female version of James Bond and on the darker side, the heroine of Stieg Larsson's wildly popular "Girl" series, but she is really her own person.

Michael is asked by a good friend to rescue a teenager, Hannah, who was taken from him as a very young child and is being raised by a cult, The Chosen, based in Argentina. This cult has all the negatives we associate with false religion, including brainwashing, mistrust of outsiders and the early sexualization of the girls, who are then used as sex slaves. All of this is done in the name of religion, which does nothing to protect its members, but rather exploits them in every way imaginable. The plot of the book involves Michael's attempt to rescue this child.

The reader should be warned that the book is quite graphic and brutal in some scenes. These are the parts that will remind readers of the "Girl" series. In addition, Michael is not a perfect heroine--she has many demons of her own, which she deals with through drugs, insomnia, and nightmares when she eventually can sleep. Her own childhood comes into play, through both memories and nightmares. Michael's efforts on behalf of the abused reflect her own determination never again to be a victim.

I have not read the first book in this series, "The Informationist," but I certainly plan to do so. And I am looking forward to what I hope will be a long and thrilling series of exciting and intriguing books.

All in all, a great and fast read, fully deserving five stars!

I was first interested in the author Taylor Stevens when I read about her in the local paper. She currently lives in Texas and had such an interesting back-story I wanted to know more about her and her writing. I read the first book in her Michael Munroe series and was intrigued. Now, having finished the second novel in the series, I feel like I know the author and some of the characters more.

Let's start with the writing itself. I felt it was much improved over her first novel. I was never lost in the details like the first book. It flows very well and all the places and characters come to life. An easily read book, although a very tough subject matter.

As for the characters, I finally felt connected to Michael in this book. Her background is explained, her motivations are discussed in detail and the reader is brought into her world. Bradford, however, seems like just a big cliche to me. He checks all the boxes, ex-military, smart, strong, intelligent and, of course, handsome. Where are his flaws? He spends the whole book being the perfect man. A little too idealistic for me. The remaining characters are actually well-written and seem quite human with conflicting motivations.

Now the story-line is where I have a bit of a letdown. The mission is to extract Hannah who has been abducted from her true parents and raised in a cult. This all seems a bit autobiographical. The scenes within the commune are very vivid and you can tell they were written by someone who has lived in one. However, the treatment of the children within the cult left me a bit uneasy. While nothing graphic is written, there is enough in here to be disturbing.

The problem with the plot is that it is all so completely predictable. I was never surprised by any turn of events. Ms. Stevens does so much foretelling with clues throughout the book, that you never are caught unaware. Then in the climax of this 'thriller', the big battle, the final fight, the action is completely skipped. That's why I read this style of book. Who punches who, who shoots who, what is dodged, and what is said are what I waited a few hundred pages to get to. We are left with the aftermath, found by other characters. That was a big letdown for me.

Overall - I still like this series enough to try another. Taylor's writing is improving. I just hope the next book can be a bit more complete with a few surprises.

Vanessa Michael Munroe has set her sights high. She wants to be the next Lisbeth Salander of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO fame. That is pretty high hopes for the lead character in Taylor Steven's THE INNOCENT, the second novel featuring the violent, smart, stealthy, troubled Munroe. Munroe is a great character, perhaps better than Salander, because she is featured throughout the novel. This novel is bit slow at times, and preachy, but really picks up towards the end.

Munroe is asked by best friend Logan to help rescue a young girl out of a cult. Logan, and his friends Heidi and Gideon, all grew up in The Chosen. The Chosen is a cult with "havens" throughout the world, where members are constantly on the move, and children are brainwashed into hating anything or anyone from "the void", or outside there cult. The young girl, Hannah, is located in Argentina. Munroe, Logan, Heidi and Gideon are joined in Buenos Aires by Myles Bradford, a friend from the first book, and they set about locating Hannah and extracting her from the cult.

Some of the book's power comes from the fact the author grew up in a cult similar to The Chosen. She knows how they work, their power, and their methods. Unfortunately, this also slows the book down when Stevens does more teaching about cults than writing a story. In fact, I think she kind of went easy on the cult as the novel focused more on Munroe saving Hannah than achieving justice against the cult.

Taylor Stevens has created great character in the troubled Vanessa Michael Munroe. She's worth reading and following regardless of the story. She carries the novel.

"With The Innocent, Taylor Stevens, the bestselling author of The Informationist, returns with another blockbuster thriller featuring the fearless Vanessa Michael Munroe.

Eight years ago, a man walked five-year-old Hannah out the front doors of her school and spirited her over the Mexican border, taking her into the world of a cult known as The Chosen. For eight years, followers of The Prophet have hidden the child, moving her from country to country, shielding the man who stole her. Now, those who've searched the longest know where to find her. They are childhood survivors of The Chosen, thirty-somethings born and raised inside the cult who've managed to make lives for themselves on the outside. They understand the mindset, the culture within that world, and turn to Vanessa Michael Munroe for help, knowing that the only possibility of stealing Hannah back and getting her safely out of Argentina is to trust someone who doesn't trust them, and get Munroe on the inside.

Tautly written, brilliantly paced, and with the same evocation of the exotic combined with chilling violence that made The Informationist such a success, The Innocent confirms Taylor Stevens' reputation as a thriller writer of the first rank."

The above is from the product page on the store. THE INNOCENT was a book offered to participants in the the store Vine program and after reading the description, I ordered the book. I have had the book for a few months and I have made every effort to enjoy it but...it isn't my kind of book. It is a very good book with complex characters and a locale, Buenos Aires, that is vibrant. The main character, referred to alternately as Michael or Munroe, was born into the cult, "The Chosen", and has spent the years since her rescue acquiring the skills of an assassin. When she is asked to rescue Hannah who was kidnapped by her father when she was five, she is ready to take on the mission. It won't be easy to convince Hannah to leave. She has been indoctrinated into rules and beliefs of The Chosen for eight years. Munroe knows through her experiences how the brainwashing leaves the cult members convinced that everything told to them by anyone outside the group will be a lie.

"The Prophet" demands total obedience and he demands access to the children who belong to him, giving him the right to molest the children in the group. Munroe and a group of other former members of the cult are a formidable fighting force who are not likely to be bested in combat. Those readers who like high-action thrillers will likely enjoy this book.

The description of the book led me to expect something different. Those who follow my blog know that I don't post negative reviews. Vine doesn't require reviews from its participants but it seems fair to offer one that looks at both sides, So, if a readers likes action and violence THE INNOCENT is a 4 star book. If a reader prefers the formulaic approach of a police procedural as I do, this is probably not the book for you.

On a tangential topic, writers of strong female characters are not done a service when their characters are described as being another Lisbeth Salander. Lisbeth is unique in fiction and she is the reason that Stieg Larsson's books were so extraordinarily successful. Lisbeth is as damaged as a human being can be but I found her to be a sympathetic character because Lisbeth had rules. Michael Munroe is not a likeable character and I didn't want to read about her.

This second in Taylor Stevens's new thriller series starring Vanessa Michael Munroe is a very powerful novel that is having a strange effect on me. The deeper I dig into it, the more often I find myself needing to put it aside and go do something else for awhile. At this writing, I'm about two weeks into it and only just a little past two thirds of the way through. Far enough in, I think, to write something potential readers might find useful.

This is the story of a mission to rescue a 13-year old girl from a cult called "The Chosen" that is currently located in Argentina, but comprises mostly Americans. The cult's principal beliefs are total obedience to its leader, "The Prophet," and the sexual abuse of young children. Munroe, who's surely the most messed up thriller heroine I've ever encountered, has come to find and rescue the kidnapped daughter of a friend. Accompanying her, very much against her will, are the girl's father and two others who, like Munroe herself, are hugely and irreparably damaged adults who are past victims of just such abuse. Each is driven by a personal and private reason for being there--justified to be sure, but at the same time all too likely to jeopardize Munroe's highly dangerous task.

Scenes of male cult leaders fondling little kids and female cult leaders escorting little girls to rape dates with cult contributors were discomforting to say the least. Another of my difficulties in sticking with this nail-biter of a book is knowing that the author herself was raised in an American cult that traveled the world and cut off its children's education at the age of 12 before casting them off into the world ill equipped to deal with it. And I can't help wondering how much this plot and her heroine's history mirror that of its author. How much of what I'm reading is truth? How much fiction? And how much somewhere in between--and, if so, what? Maybe that shouldn't matter to me, but the more I read, the more it somehow does.

Will I finally finish this? I'm not sure, but if/when I do, I'll revisit this review. So why four stars? Because, as in the first Munroe thriller, "The Informationist," the writing is excellent, the plot is cleverly complex and the heroine that the author has created is unforgettable. Had I not found the subject matter of this second in the series so difficult to spend long stretches of time with, I'd have probably added a 5th star.

Michael Munroe is contacted by her best friend. He tells her of a girl who was snatched from her parents and hidden deep in a cult--the same cult that he grew up in. He knows well the abuses that children are subjected to, and as a friend of the mother, wants Munroe to bring the girl out. Heather has been in the cult for eight years, moved from place to place, given new names and almost impossible to trace. But now there is word that she is in South America and the time is right to try a rescue attempt.

Munroe is torn. This is the work she does, but the work is slowly killing her. Raised in an abusive environment herself, she has trained to be a killing machine, able to take out most individuals she encounters. She is a powerhouse of destruction and cunning, but each kill takes a bit of her soul. Still, she owes her friend with years of ties and agrees to take on the mission. Raising a team, the group gathers intelligence and plans their attack. Can they be successful, or will the cult manage to spirit Hannah away once again?

This is the second novel in Taylor Stevens Munroe series. Munroe is a complex character, at once determined to do right but doing right by doing wrong. The intricacies of planning a successful raid is fascinating, but the book's main focus is always, always on this amazing, powerful yet vulnerable woman. This book is recommended for suspense readers and will transport them away until the last page is turned. This is a powerhouse novel that continues the author's strong debut in The Informationist.

There wasn't much of a letdown in Taylor Stevens' second novel. It has the same 'hero', the same staccato pacing, and an interesting plot that takes us to another exotic locale. It's an exciting story that seems plausible.

I like Stevens' writing style. She's not a great wordsmith and will never be mistaken for Alan Furst or Robert Wilson, but she's very straightforward and gets to the point quickly. I think her prose is a good match for how the story moves forward. The only real issue I have is that sometimes she's a little melodramatic.

The story itself on the 'macro' level was very believable. Cults are out there, they do a lot of the things described in the book, and I could see the scenario the book was based on happening. A lot of the stuff at the detail level, though, seemed a bit of a stretch. I don't know if she's doing it self-consciously or not, but she seems to be playing the whole Salander/Munroe comparison pretty strongly. I don't think she has the depth of the Salander character and some of her capabilities and outcomes are a bit beyond belief, but Miki is still a great protagonist. It's just that it's tough to picture some of the physical scenes actually having the results they do in the book. You can say the same about many other thriller novels, though, so it's not a huge criticism.

If you liked her first novel, you'll probably enjoy this one as well. Stevens has written a couple of very good novels as she begins her career, and I'm looking forward to following her in the future.

In reviewing the debut novel featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe, "The Informationist," I pointed out that ordinarily I react poorly to super-heroes, and called her sort of a bionic woman. However, in that case I set aside my prejudices and looked upon the character favorably. Not so this time. In this sequel, Munroe is considerably less appealing, but no less destructive as an assassin and action figure.

The plot is relatively simple, built around a kidnapped child hidden away for eight years in various cult sites, now located in Argentina, subjected to sexual abuse. Munroe is asked by her best friend to rescue the child, now thirteen, and she agrees, in part out of obligation and also to give her something to occupy herself to escape her own demons. It seems that she suffers violent nightmares recounting her past murders.

Certainly the novel is as well-written as the first in the series, and the topic obviously is worthwhile. Somehow, however, the overwhelming detail tends to drag, and this reader, at least, found the mind often wandering. The information about the workings and philosophy of the cult seemed superficial, though the rescue of the girl was vivid. I felt, however, that the conclusion was a little too simplified to be realistic, sort of "Oh yeah, let's end this now." But on the whole, it is not a bad read, and is, despite the aforementioned reservations, recommended.

The worst has happened, someone thought it'd be a great marketing technique to compare this book to Steig Larsson's series, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." Honestly, who wants to read a rip-off of the same thing? I was skeptical, but relief came when I realized I actually did enjoy this book. There are some similarities to Larsson's thrillers, but not a hijack of the bandwagon. Set in Buenos Aries, the search to locate The Chosen's various haven cult houses moves steadily and at a good pace. You won't have to wade through 600 pages of tiny print to get to the end. However, I felt there was enough description, action and background given to make this a feasibly believable story. It is incredible, but the building blocks are there, and everything is checked off and in place. Explanations are given, without lengthy pages of reasoning. I liked the get-to-the point approach and strong characters. My attachment to them was a bit lacking, but I did not read the first book and took that into consideration, placing the fault on myself, not the author. I'd recommend taking this book along on vacation or picking up when in the mood for a snatch and grab thriller. Not a deep-thinking mystery, but contains action and an interesting plot-line that will entertain and hold the readers interest to the final page.

I read Taylor Stevens first book, The Informationist, and I like it, is was an original voice and knowing a little about her past made it more interesting. I started reading , The Innocent and it like deja vu. I wanted the book to go into a completely different direction but for me- it sort of rehash the first story.
I have to say I did not finish the novel. I feel if the book does not grab my attention in the first three chapters, I am hard pressed to continue. That being said, I realize that there are books that I push myself to go on when I actually was bored and surprisingly it not only got better but I actually fell in love with it( The girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an example) and I read the whole trilogy. I probably hear from people who review and said the novel was great, etc.
So,take my review with a grain of salt because I did not finish. The author is very talented and I recommend to at least read Taylor's first novel and persevere through the second and make your own opinion.

I started reading Taylor Steven's latest, The Catch, then went back and started with her earlier books. The Innocent suffers from Sophomore Slump, and is the lesser of all or her books. Michael's constant guilt feelings about killing bad guys grows tiresome quickly, as well as her continual ruminating on her sexual hangups. She is a super hero, and while not inappropriate to discuss the inner turmoil, which was started way back when Spiderman came on the scene, enough is enough. The later books got away from these excesses. Also, the ending was not really a climax, but was sort of a letdown, unless the bad guys are dealt with in the next book.

This is a fast moving enjoyable read.Iread this before i read the Informationist so i dont know if i should have read the Informationist first so that i understood the relationship of the characters better so that i would enjoy the book even more.See my review on the Informationist as i am reading it now and i will tell you.

I got quite involved to the point that i hated the cult leader,Elisha, and as such wished Munroe went back to take revenge for his abuse of the girls but she didn't.Maybe that will make a good 3rd book .

One thing i could not understand is that Logan is such a good friend and Munroe put her life on the line for his daughter Hannah because of thier friendship but he was not willing to help her when she was captured by the cult gangsters.Only when Bradford threatened him did he help to find Munroe.This caused an imbalance as at the start everyone questioned why Munroe was willing to help Logan to get his daughter back.

Couldn't put this book down.

I was carving for a good suspense-thriller: and this novel did not disappoint at all. The characters were well developed that you became invested in their outcome, the plot was fast, roller coaster and just the amount of suspense. A page turner. And when I keep putting the book down every ten minutes because I couldnt take the suspense or didn't want the book to end, then I knew i was onto a good read.

Michael/Monroe: which ever eat you can call the main character, she is one f'ing tough dragon lady, yet the brutality was released when needed and I love the sublty in which the author didn't need to detail the violence, and left it to our imagination that the job was done. With all the bravado of the violence, the main character had depth and empathy and was amazing human. The plot was a kidnap, but the characters were so bought alive by the author, I was part of the ride until the last page was turned. Look forward to the next novel.

Vanessa "Michael" Munroe returns in the sequel to the Informationist, the Innocent is a story about innocent children that are forced to let go of their childhood when their parents enter cults. The author perhaps draws from her personal experiences thereby making this book autobiographical to a certain degree. The book loses none of its edge like the first book and continues to draw the reader into the world of Michael and her turbulent past. The book however does manage to give a clearer picture about Michael and her friends.

Not quite as exciting as its predecessor, the Innocent does convey a bit about what the author has planned for the relative future. I would rate this below the Informationist in terms of plot, thrill and twists however this book does outdo the first in terms of character development. Can't wait for third book...

This book dealt with a cult called The Chosen, which actually seemed a front for having people to panhandle for food money and the women and girls being used as sex slaves. The people that were `chosen' lived in abject poverty and in fear of their leaders. Vanessa Munroe is tapped to go and rescue a child that has been abducted by the group 8 years prior. In an attempt to hide her, the group is on the move constantly so that finding her has been difficult. Apparently a continuation of a series of books, there were so many sub-plots and untold innuendos, that it was really hard to figure out what was the true story of the book. While it was an interesting book, it was hard to keep track of characters and all the stuff going on behind the scenes. Each person's personal story is involved and complicated. Yet another book that was okay to read, but not an author I would actively be looking for more of their works.

This is the second "Vanessa Michael Munroe" novel in what is clearly going to be a long running series. As it should be. I liked the first book, but actually liked this second one much better. Munroe is an androgynous super heroine with amazing, though not fantastical, capabilities. She is much more sympathetic in this novel than in the first--more human, not quite such a cold fish. And the plot, which revolves around Munroe attempting to return a kidnapped child, has suspense and heart. Munroe's angst and psychological traumas are explained succinctly, without going into the detail that the first book did. I think that's a good thing. The plot rules here and it is a much less convoluted plot than the first book. It is not necessary to read the first book to enjoy this second book. Some references are made to it, but it isn't at all important to this novel.

What a book! Through her Munroe character Stevens pulls aside the veil of secrecy protecting the inner workings of religious cults and shows the human costs of how they function. For someone born into ‘normal’ society it is difficult to understand the complete and utter dependence one experiences in such an environment and the countless barriers making it nearly impossible to break away. But Stevens manages to convey all of this in an intriguing, action-packed thriller that draws the reader into an unfamiliar life in another country. The Argentinian / South American environment she describes all but jumps off the pages, and her ongoing development of the kickass character of Munroe continues to amaze and delight. Munroe is easily the most interesting character I’ve read in decades, and one the reader cannot help but root for.

The first book by Taylor Stevens, the Informationist, blew away nearly everyone who read it. It was fresh, remarkable, incredibly detailed, and just plain got under your skin. Her writing was simply amazing for a debut novelist.

The Innocent, being the second novel from this extraordinarily talented writer, of course had super high expectations. Its really a 4 1/2 star for me. Let me explain why.

The Innocent was likely the book that Taylor Stevens wanted to write first, as it most closely resembles her life experiences according to her biography. Traipsing around the world with crazy cults, being hidden from reality, escaping to sanity, and finally building a life in the real world. Actually, The Innocent would likely not make much sense at the detail level if you hadn't read The Informationist first, as it is a character continuation of that story.

Her first novel clearly showed that she could write, and weave together superbly ornate scenarios, with bizarre and unlikely outcomes and possibilities. And her character portraits were so complex and detailed, that I sometimes found myself scratching my head in amazement. This book though, was more of a linear thriller, with a specific story to tell, set in a world that most of us have only seen on TV or read about. This is the only real reason that it registers 4 1/2 stars with me. And maybe my expectations were too high anyway

I won't bother going into the story, because many of the other reviewers here have already done that. The writing style is nearly the same as her first book, with unusually organic sentence structure, where words you might not find together, form amazing emotive passages.... I continue to be blown away by her writing.

All in all, this is another remarkable book by someone who by all measures, is just raw talent, only beginning to explore the depths of her range. The Innocent is a sophomore release, where the ideas were likely formed already, but the writing was moved along briskly in order to get it out hot on the tails of her debut novel. I probably would have done the same thing....

If you read this book and feel lost, but like the writing, you MUST read The Informationist, as it will all make sense there. I can see people being frustrated with The Innocent had they not read The Informationist. There's little reintroduction of the characters here, the first installment having all the clues. But the characters, especially the heroine, are so incredibly complex and detailed, that it makes Steven's writing intoxicating and addicting.

Bravo for another great book. Now that we know the main characters in Taylor Steven's mind, I can only imagine where she will take us over the years to come. I look forward to the next installment

Taylor Stevens roared onto the scene (and the New York Times Bestseller list) with her debut thriller The Informationist. She's back with her second novel featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe called The Innocent.

Vanessa Michael Munroe is capable of just about anything. She's brilliant, beyond tough and loyal. How does she earn her living? Taking on cases that no one else is capable of seeing through or even wants to attempt. When her close friend Logan comes to her with a request for the seemingly impossible, she can't turn him down. Five year old Hannah was kidnapped by her mother's ex boyfriend almost eight years ago. She has been taken and secreted within The Chosen - a cult. After so long, they finally have word that Hannah might be in one of The Havens in Argentina. Armed with inside knowledge from three adult survivors of The Chosen, Munroe agrees to take the case. For above all else - she will protect the innocent.

Taylor has painted a frightening picture of the inner workings of a cult and the treatment of the children trapped in a situation they didn't choose. The everyday life, the lack of schooling, the begging, the hierarchy, the running, the hiding, the abuse.... And she's not making it up. Author Taylor Stevens is writing what she knows. She grew up in a 'communal apocalyptic cult', finally getting out in her twenties.

Stevens has crafted yet another unputdownable book. Hannah's chapters are alternated with Munroe's. We know what is going on with Hannah and can only will Munroe to get there faster. The ratcheting tension made it really hard to step away.

What made it hard to put down? I loved the character. We learn more about Munroe with each book, but she is still an enigma. It was fantastic to have such a kick a** female protagonist, one who can hold her own in almost any situation. Over the top? Maybe - but a delicious piece of escapist reading. (but still kind of scary, when you realize that the cult descriptions are real.)Think of all those tough guy Jason Statham movie type characters and make them female.

I chose to listen to The Innocent in audio book format. The reader was Hilary Huber. She has a well modulated voice. She conveyed Munroe's voice perfectly, never raising it, but transmitting her purpose and strength by talking even quieter.

Another excellent thriller and number three is in the works - The Doll, due out in 2012.

Vanessa Michael Munroe is an assassin who has nightmares about her past. She understands her killing capability and when her best friend, Logan, asks for her help, she can't refuse.

Logan explains that eight years earlier, his friend, Charity's daughter, Hannah, was abducted from her school and taken across the Mexican border to a cult known as The Chosen. Followers of The Prophet, have hidden Hannah and shielded her abductor. Hannah was age five at the time and Logan and other members of the group who have escaped The Chosen, ask Munroe if she'll rescue her. Since Munroe came from a similiar background, she accepts.

These people who had been childhood members of The Chosen, tell Munroe some of the things that go on there and inform her that they know where Hannah is located.

Munroe poses as a donor and makes contact with members of the cult in South America. Since she will be bringing in wealth, she is accepted without many questions.

She is able to get entry into one of the group homes. As she sees the children, Munroe understands how difficult it may be to rescue Hannah, if she has been brainwashed and is unwilling to leave.

The reader understands the level that the children have been instructed in the Cult religion. They are told that the outside world is corrupt and that people will say bad things about The Cult. Unfortunately, in this day where we learn about young people being abused by people in authority, we see how naive children can be.

The setting is well described as we see the outward life of contentment in these children. Munroe is a character that we want to see succeed. She is another in the group of fiercely aggressive female characters in the line of Lisbeth Sandler in the Steig Larsson's novels and just like those novels, I would enjoy seeing this book filmed.

The book is disquieting at times when we see the vulnerability of the children but it is still a wonderfully evocative novel that will remain in the reader's mind with the thoughts of missing and lost children.

After the first few pages of this book, I thought, oh no, not another book about sexual abuse to children. The subject makes my blood boil. But I was happy to know that the author did not go into graphic detail. I wasn't sure I wanted to continue reading, but I was intrigued. After a few more pages, it was hard to put the book down.
I would like to live a simple, pleasant life and knowing about child kidnapping and abuse bothers me so much. I'm sure it happens more than any civilized person would want to admit, but awareness is a good thing and maybe it will lead more of us to doing something about it.
The text was easy to read. I couldn't help identifying with the lead character, Munroe. This subject made her crazy, as it does me. I thought it could have been a longer book with much more meat to it, but it left me wanting to read more from this author.

Brief summary and review, no spoilers.

This is a story where our heroine, trained assassin Vanessa Michael Munroe, tries to rescue a child who has been kidnapped by a cult named the Chosen. The child is the daughter of her good friend Logan. This story is about her attempt to save the child as she joins in the search with friends from her past.

Right off the bat I must say that I did not read her first book, The Informationist, and perhaps some of my disappointment with this book has to do with that. There are characters in this book that are introduced in that first book, and indeed there is more background on Vanessa that I did not know. Even considering that, I still could not finish this book. I have never reviewed a book before where I did not finish - but I literally gave this one 3 different attempts and finally threw in the towel.

The biggest problems I had with the book were twofold - I thought the action was incredibly slow and I did not believe in the main character, Vanessa Munroe. I realize she's supposed to be of the same ilk as Lisbeth Salander, but Salander felt more real to me. I never bought into Vanessa Munroe being real, and that affected my enjoying this book.

Again, this may just have not been my cuppa. If you read the first few pages and like what you read, then this might be for you. I knew pretty quickly this was not going to work for me, and as I read further along my opinion only got stronger.

This review is based on an Uncorrected Proof supplied through the the store Vine program.

Like the first Vanessa Michael Munroe book, this is full of action, intrigue, etc. This book delves into Michael's horrible past, and brings it to the front with a weird religious cult, and a girl to be rescued.

This book kept me up way past my bedtime for several nights while I finished it. I had a really hard time putting it down. I loved this book, and recommend it to anyone who likes action books.

Vanessa Michael Munroe is someone that you wouldn't want to mess with and this 2nd novel from Taylor Stevens only reinforces that claim. In this offering, Stevens shows a lot more of what is going on inside Munroe as she helps her best friend find his daughter. Lots of fast paced action makes this book a fast read and one I didn't want to put down. I am looking forward to reading "The Doll" next!

The main character, Munroe, is very complex but the author brings the complexity and believability together like a fine burgundy that's just been decanted and hand warmed for sipping. The mental ride these books provide is up, down and thought provoking all the way. If you read one you will definitely read them all.

Kick-ass heroine Vanessa "Michael" Munroe has accepted a new assignment, and it's personal. Her longtime friend and got-your-back guy, Logan, has implored Vanessa to find Hannah, the young daughter of Logan's ex-wife. Hannah has been abducted by a cult known as The Chosen.

Logan's latest information says Hannah is in a haven in Argentina. So Vanessa, along with Logan and two former cult members (Gideon and Heidi), travel to Buenos Aires to attempt to snatch Hannah from the cult.

Vanessa, displeased to be saddled with Logan, Gideon and Heidi, does what comes natural to her, she slips out of their hotel and finds a new place to set up camp. She calls on Miles Bradford, a contractor she worked with on her last mission, to assist in saving Hannah.

Fans of action-filled thrillers will enjoy Vanessa's latest dance with danger. Her past has given Vanessa unique skills, but has also left her with many demons. She uses her deadly skills for good and that will make readers root for her.

Author Taylor Stevens has written another hot Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel in "The Innocent." I highly recommend it.

Taylor Stevens is back with a second novel featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe as the central character. The story centers on the recovery of a child (Hannah) from a cult (The Chosen). The child was kidnapped from her mother five years before and has now been located in a cult location in Argentina. The child is the daughter of Munroe's long time friend Logan. Working with Logan and other survivors who have left The Chosen, Munroe hatches the plan to free this child from the cult. Along the way it becomes apparent that the Chosen are also engaged in child sex rings. The action move right along as Munroe inserts herself into the cult family and tries to free Hannah. There are a couple of minor plots that are interspersed throughout the book that also add to the suspense of the story.
Munroe is a flawed heroine at best. Her troubled life has produced a psyche that is deeply damaged. In the first book - The Informationist - Munroe had some violent tendencies that were merely worrying, in this story she has completely broken down and commits some horrifically violent acts while sleep walking (yes, I am not kidding). The author continues to liken Munroe to Lisabeth Salander (Dragoon Tattoo) but these stories are just not that good. They lack the sense of place that comes with the Swedish stories. The heroine lacks the vulnerability present in Salander's character and the violence seems to me over the top and presented to shock rather than advance the story. The plot is well formed and entertaining but I found the characterizations wanting. All in all this sequel is not as good as the first book in the series.

In case people didn't know, this book details true events that happened. Names of characters were shuffled around but other than that it is factual account. Place-names are not fictionalized, Buenos Aires Argentina is also where the actual events happened. The actual cult that was renamed The Chosen for the book should be pretty easy for anyone who can read the author's bio to figure out.

The only part that is fiction is that Michael Munroe saved any of the victims involved, although anyone who grew up in the real-world cult alluded to in the book probably wishes that's what happened.

I gave The Innocent three stars because I finished it. But I'm not sure why. I liked The Informationalist a lot, but this one disappointed me. I liked the story, but the Harlequin-like purple prose put me off. Much of the story was set in Buenos Aires, but I don't think the author got any closer than Google maps and Frommer's. She completely missed the flavor of the city. In one scene, Munroe concluded someone could not be a local because they were blond. Buenos Aires is not Stockholm, but there is no shortage of blonds. Likewise, the Spanish dialog must have come from some machine translation. Awful. Finally, it badly needed editing -- too many English grammatical errors.

While not perfect, it's a page turner. As another reviewer stated, it's comparable to Steig Larsons books. This is the second of three books in a series, I believe . While not necessary to read in order, I believe it makes it more enjoyable.

I was looking forward to reading the second book in this series but I have to say I was disappointed. I found myself skimming the last 100 pages just to get to the end. I found the main charcter not very appealing. First of all, Michael seems like a super hero-she speaks 22 languages fluently (is that even possible?), kills with her bare hands, and is able to escape from several men even when handcuffed. All of this just stretches the believablity factor. But I could handle the unbelievability factor if the character were likable. Unfortunately, I found I really didn't care for Michael in this book at all. I didn't understand the attraction between her and Miles. I found I didn't even care what happened to her and was much more interested in the scenes that took place in the Havens. The character I was interested in, Hannah, was essentially dropped at the end of the story and the reader doesn't have a feel for what happens to her at all. All in all, it was a disappointing read.