Parallax View (Tracie Tanner Thrillers Book 1)

The story grips the reader from the first scene, in the mold of Vince Flynn novels. Although set in the Cold War era, the events could easily translate to the world of terrorism today. Strong recommendation from this reader!

Better than 3 stars, 3.7 would be more accurate. Storyline had potential if the author had been willing to give the characters more depth and not succumbed to sappy predictable cliches.

Overall a fast light read. This was my second outing with this author and I may give him another try, just not soon.

Parallax View is a fast paced thriller with a romantic twist that I absolutely loved. Let me start with Tracie Tanner. She is a CIA field operative that is tough, smart and can crack a joke. One minute she can seem like the girl-next-door and the next--she's holding a hot iron against the jowls of a KGB spook. She's back on US soil after what seems, to her, like a simple mission that turns into all kinds of bad--a plotted presidential assassination, the KGB trying to incite World War III and a grievous personal betrayal.

Enter Shane Rowley--a Maine air traffic controller who has received devastating news prior in the day before pulling Tracie from a fiery plane crash later that night. Over the course of the next three days, he does everything in his power to help Tracie complete her dangerous mission--deliver a sealed letter from Mikhail Gorbachev to President Ronald Reagan. Shane is the best kind of hero: kind-hearted, smart, modest and a sense of humor. Oh, I wanted the ending to be so different...even though I knew from the outset that it couldn't be.

Parallax View is a thriller, and a very good one, but my favorite aspect of the story was the unexpected romance, the humanity, between Tracie and Shane that develops during the high adrenaline mission they are on together. It's one of those crossroads in life that comes upon them and they just act on it, because there really is no time to think, to be cautious, to take things slow--it could end badly for both of them at any minute and they are under no delusions otherwise. Tracie and Shane are truly living in the moment and living more in those three days than most people live in a lifetime. We should all be so lucky.

Thank you Allan Leverone for not only investing my mind in Tracie and Shane's story, but also my heart. Tracie Tanner wasn't the only one that fell in love with Shane Rowley. ;)

Parallax View: "The apparent displacement of an object caused by a change in the position from which it is viewed".

Who can you trust?? To me this is part of what this book is about, as in the story the protagonist, Tracie Tanner finds herself in this tenuous situation. She is only supposed to deliver a letter from Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to the U.S President Ronald Reagan, but what occurs along the way is very frightening. Why would Gorbachev be sending a letter that no one knows the content besides him. Tracie is ordered not to open the letter under any circumstance and as a CIA agent she does what she is assigned to do and protects that letter with her life.

The other part of the book to me is loyalty.
Loyalty
"Faithfulness or devotion to some person, cause or nation."

Tracie is rescued by a young, air traffic controller, Shane Rowley. He pulls her out of the plane that crashed suspiciously as she was on her way to deliver the letter. Unbeknownst to Shane, he will be on the ride of his life. These two people are both very loyal to their country so they will do whatever it takes to see that the letter reaches President Reagan.

Parallax View takes the reader on the ride of your life. I was around of course in 1987 so I remember the Cold War mostly from movies and books. This finely researched and written fictional account of the CIA, KGB and higher up government officials in the year 1987 make for a fast paced page thriller that I could not put down. I love Mr.Leverone's style of writing as the story does not lag but keeps the reader wanting more. I can almost see a sequel to this story...

I received a copy of this book for review from Pump Up Your Book Tours and was not monetarily compensated for my review.

Political thrillers aren't my first reading choice...but I enjoyed this book. It held my interest and stirred up enough anticipation to "get back to it" during the in between reading times. I also appreciate how the author gave the reader fair warning early on, so things that happened towards the end of the book weren't as devastating as they might have otherwise been. I know that statement is a bit ambiguous...but it's the only way I know to voice my appreciation without giving anything away. To me, there is nothing worse then reading a book, investing in the story and/or the characters, and having an ending that leaves me feeling let down...which can often happen when there is a planned sequel. Thankfully, this author is not guilty of this...or I wouldn't be ordering the next one.

Tracy Tanner is a CIA operative who is tasked with what she feels could be the easiest operation she has ever been assigned to. All she has to do is deliver a letter from the head of one superpower to the head of another. What could be so hard about that, right?

Put yourself into late 1980's, back when the US and USSR were the "Superpowers" and the balance of the world depended to a large extent on their relationship with each other. I remember this time period quite well -- the interplay between President Reagan and Premier Gorbachev, the famous "Tear Down the Wall" speech, and the subsequent dismantling of the USSR. InParallax View, thriller writer extraordinaire Allan Leverone has crafted an action packed and explosive back story to these events that definitely kept me riveted. The story that Mr. Leverone presents in this book is not only riveting, but entirely plausible, which only made it more exciting in my mind. From the first chapter to the last, I was never quite sure what was going to happen next, but I certainly knew that I couldn't wait to find out.

The setting of this book and the story were not the only things that drew me in, either. As he has in prior books, Mr. Leverone has thrown into the mix a cast of interesting characters that I quickly came to love or hate as the story dictated. CIA operative Tracy Tanner is the type of heroine I love to see in books. She is a strong female with many skills that has no trouble "keeping up with the boys". On top of that, she can really kick ass. On the other hand, Air Traffic Controller Shane Rowley is a surprise. Ordinary to the extreme on the surface, there is much more to him than you at first expect. As the book progressed he quickly became my favorite character, and in my mind, the hero of the story. By the time the book ended, I was wishing he was real....I really would like to have met him.

And then there is the author. Allan Leverone has quickly established himself as a thriller author extraordinaire, partly through his ability to write noteworthy books across several genres. Whether you are reading one of his psychological thrillers, mysteries, horror thrillers, or politically based thrillers, his work is always top notch with lots of twists, explosive action (and I do mean explosive), riveting story lines and masterfully crafted characters. His current novel, Parallax View, definitely fits this profile and is another successful chapter in his career.

I have been thinking lately that I missed reading the Tom Clancy political thrillers that I used to love so much. This book would hold it's own with any of them and definitely sated my appetite. Many thanks to Mr. Leverone and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Book for making this book available to me.

Allan Leverone is a top notch author and has accomplished a very readable political thriller with Parallax View. It reminds me very much of some of Tom Clancy's earliest (and best) works and I think you'll be very entertained. I'm looking forward to the further adventures of CIA agent Tracey Tanner.

Tracie Tanner makes a respectful heroine. As a covert CIA operative, she receives a strange order to deliver a personal message from Soviet dictator Gorbachev to President Ronald Reagan. She almost dies several times as she tries to complete the seemingly simple assignment. I decided right away to read the sequel because the action was nonstop.

A fast paced rapid fire fictional thriller set in a factual setting during the 80's wih Regan and Gorbachev in power. The characters are believable some corrupt and others with impeccable integrity. Tracie is a strikingly beautiful CIA operative who takes no prisoner attitude. A simple OP turns into a life and death struggle, When her plane crashes, an air traffic controller, Shane saves her life. This novel is a mix of a dangerous OP, love and sensuality, high treason, and betrayal. I highly recommend this novel. Thank You!!

My introduction to Allan Leverone began with this non-stop action CIA thriller. Tracie Turner is a super character who is tough and well-trained yet emotional and loving. This will certainly keep you awake all night to get to the final chapter. LOVED IT!

Allan Leverone is a very visual writer. Scene after scene begs to be in a movie. B-52 fifty feet above the waves and looming over the guy's car. Rooftop showdown. etc etc. You know at the getgo it won't be a fairytale ending for Shane :( but you root for him anyway. My nitpicks were the overly long Gorby scene and the lack of connection between Tracie's opening scene and the plot that followed. The book was five star entertainment in spite of that.

Great story--could have been taken from the pages of newspapers for those of us who lived through the period of Gorbachev and Reagan. Tracie Tanner, female protagonist, competes with the best male operatives for delivering action. Read this one!

I thought this was a pretty good CIA espionage book. I found the heroine, Tracie, to be a believable character. The plot moves along quickly, albeit predictable at times. However, the predictability does not detract from the story in any way. I appreciate that Mr. Leverone does not use repetitions or fluff in order to tell his stories.

Darn it! Now I have to keep reading Leverone, along with Thor,Rollins, Baldacci & Patterson!

Excellent use of internal thought on the characters. They think the way a reader does...what the he'll!

Editing is tight but conversational...

Off to see what Tracie' s up to next!

There are many excellent thriller authors these days. Most of them, younger generation can relate to because of all the conflicts with terrorists, taliban, etal. For us baby boomers we have the added experience of the cold war. It is refreshing to have a novel set in that period. Let's go back to a time when we knew who our enemies were. If you have read Leverone before, you know what to expect. Page turner after page turner. Here is a story that you do not want to put down, and when you do, you can't wait to get back to it, because there are no commercial breaks here! This is the 1st book of the Tracie Tanner series. Tracie is a CIA operative who is tasked with the seemingly simple assignment of retrieving a communication from Gorbachev and relaying it to President Reagan. Things never go as planned and that is certainly true here. Don't miss this one! You can thank me later.