Blurb
Master thief Justin Vincent and his computer hacker partner Ashna help people recover stolen items when the authorities can’t. This time, their client needs his missing research notes back–notes that could help provide the solution to a century old musical mystery. The trail is cold, but the motive is clear: a £1 million reward offered to anyone who can decode the secret message hidden in Sir Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Justin and Ashna come up against a mystery steeped in arcane lore lurking behind what they thought was a simple case of theft and a shadowy foe who seems to be a step ahead of them at every turn. Will they be able to identify the thief and retrieve the formula before its dark forces are unleashed on an unsuspecting world?
Review
In book 2 of the Justin Vincent series, master thief Justin is struggling between settling down with his girlfriend, Gabrielle, and getting back into the action of retrieving stolen properties. Choosing the latter, he does a favor for his girlfriend’s father’s friend and then takes on a new case to retrieve a music composer’s stolen notes. From there, he winds up in the middle of a century-long music theory conspiracy, which turns deadly.
I haven’t read the first book in the series, but I followed along with this one pretty well. I also don’t normally read mysteries (romance fan, here!), but I found this book intriguing with an awesome, realistic male lead and interesting secondary characters. Justin’s partner, Ashna, in particular, is so tech-savvy and ballsy. I really liked her.
There are lots of detailed descriptions, and I could easily visualize the exotic and even the mundane places Justin visited, the people he met, and the things he saw. I loved his gadgets and all his “tools of the trade.” Mr. Wright must have done an incredible amount of research into computers, hacking, art theft, and more for this book. Kudos to him for his diligence.
Despite that, I did have to re-read two sections. In both cases, a few characters were having sex, but I had no idea they were doing so. The references were just so light that they went right over my head.
Anyway, this story seems to lead into the third installment in the series, but all questions regarding this book were answered. I enjoyed it and would like to read more from Mr. Wright.
4.5 Stars