Giveaway! The Informationist by Taylor Stevens

Great news! The Informationist by Taylor Stevens has been released in paperback. To celebrate, Crown Publishing is giving three (3!) very lucky Book Den readers a copy of The Informationist.

If you missed my review you can find it here. I highly recommend The Informationist for thriller lovers. It's the first book of the Vanessa Michael Monroe series and a fantastic debut for Taylor Stevens. See below for a chance to win.

The Informationist: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel

“Stevens’s blazingly brilliant debut introduces a great new action heroine, Vanessa Michael Munroe, who doesn’t have to kick over a hornet’s nest to get attention, though her feral, take-no-prisoners attitude reflects the fire of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander….Thriller fans will eagerly await the sequel to this high-octane page-turner.” —Publishers Weekly, starred, boxed review

Vanessa “Michael” Munroe deals in information—expensive information—working for corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. Born to missionary parents in lawless central Africa, Munroe took up with an infamous gunrunner and his mercenary crew when she was just fourteen. As his protégé, she earned the respect of the jungle's most dangerous men, cultivating her own reputation for years until something sent her running. After almost a decade building a new life and lucrative career from her home base in Dallas, she's never looked back.

To enter, simply fill out the form below with your name and email address. I will leave the contest open through Friday, November 5. A random winner will be contacted on Saturday, November 6 to provide a valid US mailing address. For more information, please see my contest policy.

*Open to US addresses ONLY.

Update: This contest is now closed. Congratulations Stacy, Sue, and Kara!

Book Review: The Informationist by Taylor Stevens

The Informationist is the debut thriller of Taylor Stevens.

Book Description

Vanessa “Michael” Munroe deals in information—expensive information—working for corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. Born to missionary parents in lawless central Africa, Munroe took up with an infamous gunrunner and his mercenary crew when she was just fourteen. As his protégé, she earned the respect of the jungle's most dangerous men, cultivating her own reputation for years until something sent her running. After almost a decade building a new life and lucrative career from her home base in Dallas, she's never looked back.

Until now.

A Texas oil billionaire has hired her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago. It’s not her usual line of work, but she can’t resist the challenge. Pulled deep into the mystery of the missing girl, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood, betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead. If she has any hope of escaping the jungle and the demons that drive her, she must come face-to-face with the past that she’s tried for so long to forget.

I'm excited Taylor Stevens has given us a new badass female lead.  I'm a fan of Steig Larsson's Millennium trilogy, and Stevens's new series will more than fill the void.

The Informationist starts out a lot like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  A rich business man's daughter is missing and presumed dead.  He hires Vanessa Michael Monroe to find the answers no one else has been able to produce.  Monroe starts out resembling Lisbeth as well, but both the story and Monroe pull away to stand strongly on their own merits.

Monroe's investigations leads her to Africa where she must face unknown enemies as well as the enemies of her own past.

If you are a fan of mysteries or thrillers, I highly recommend The Informationist.  I loved the African setting, and many moments shocked me and kept me glued to the pages.

The Informationist is the first book in a series.  I don't know if it will be a short series or a long running Vanessa Michael Monroe series, but either way I know I'll be reading every single one of them.