January 2, 2012 - Book Review – Decoded By Sara Marx

Decoded by Sara Marx
Thriller/Romance
Published by Bella Books

Summary From Bella Books Website:

“Shay Cooper was good at her job. As an FBI agent she broke criminals—until they broke her.

Recovery seems unlikely until her mentor proposes she return to work at the training academy near her hometown of Chicago. Life in the slow lane definitely appeals, but her contentment lasts only until she meets the academy’s biggest challenge: Agent Kate Harris.

Kate Harris has made her mistakes and carries her own secrets. Her former partner—a brilliant profiler and author of true crime blockbusters—has disappeared. She’s determined to find him, orders for more training be damned. The horror she uncovers collides with Shay’s own nightmarish past. The only thing they agree on is that they can’t trust anyone, not even each other.”

Review: 5 out of 5 stars

Let’s be honest I read quite a few books.  It’s easier than watching TV in German.  That and I enjoy reading.  That being said, it’s pretty rare when I (a) laugh out loud while reading a book (b) can hear the characters in my head as they speak and (c) finish reading a story and the first words out of my mouth are “Wow that was a really good book, a really good book”

Decoded hit all three with flying colors and to top it off the only time I was able to figure out what might happen next was when the author wanted me to know what was going to happen.  I’m not sure that the book description does this story justice.  I personally picked it up because I had read “Before I Died” and liked that one enough to want to read this one.  So let me give you a couple of hints.  This is definitely more of a Mystery/Thriller/Intrigue book than a Romance, although there is just enough romance to give the characters a different dimension without going overboard.

 Shay Cooper and Kate Harris are FBI agents thrown together because Kate Harris appears to be in a downward spiral since her FBI partner Williams disappeared.  Shay is assigned to her in a last ditch effort to save Kate’s career and hopefully to get Shay back into the game.  The story revolves around Shay and Kate’s off the books investigation into William’s disappearance and his possible connection to a serial killer.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Intrigue and Mysteries.  It was an excellent read!

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