UNSAVORY DELICACIES (Ridley Fox/Nita Parris Spy Series Book 2) and THE DEMETER CODE (Ridley Fox/Nita Parris Spy Series Book 3) by Russell Brooks


If you like the Mission Impossible movies, you'll like The Demeter Code

Published in 2014.

Normally, I don't review two books at the same time. But, the author of this series sent me both books together, explaining that they are closely tied. From what I have read in other reviews, Unsavory Delicacies (really, it is a 30 page collection of short stories) served as sort of a bridge between books 1 and 3.Personally, I think you should just jump into book three, The Demeter Code. I felt no better informed about what was going on at the beginning of Book 3 than I would have if hadn't read 2.

 So, if you just jump into book three be prepared for a little confusion, much like at the beginning of the first Mission Impossible movie. In fact, this book reminded me quite a bit of that series due its fast-pace, dramatic action scenes and the emphasis on working as a team and trusting the team over everything else.

 The real action starts out with an American operation in Europe going bad, resulting in the death of a contact and a big-time international arms dealer. Once the team sorts through everything they decide that they have to investigate further, even if their bosses are telling them to pull back. From that point on the book is an almost non-stop thrill ride to all sorts of exotic locales like Russia, Afghanistan, D.C., East Asia and Bloomington, Indiana.
Yes, the whole story comes together in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University where the author went to college. I also attended Indiana University long before this author did and have lived within an a two hour drive of it almost all of my life.  I was pleased to note that not only does the story gel in Indiana, his use of Indiana geography made sense (there are two big story lines that take place there) and he gives a solid description of area around Bloomington. 

 The evil plan hatched by our bad guys is a good one. It takes a lot of digging to come up with the answer. This could have been a boring story but it is not. It is a complicated story, but I found that if I was confused it was best just to plow on ahead and, sure enough, the confusion was resolved a few pages later. 

 The action sequences are top-notch and there are plenty of them.

 Bottom line: If you like Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible movies, you'll like this book.

 Note: I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

 This book can be found on Amazon here: The Demeter Code (An International Spy Thriller) (Ridley Fox/Nita Parris Spy Series Book 3)

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