Never Say Spy: A midlife thriller with humor and heart (The Never Say Spy Series Book 1)

Didn’t want to put it down, so finished it in, um, one day… The plot is a little far-fetched, but that’s part of the fun, right? Escapist adventure fiction! On to check out the second in the series

Spies, guns, good looking men, and a futuristic technology wrapped up in one fast paced, easy reading, entertaining novel.So, why would I title this review in such a way I am sure a bunch of people will be sure to hate my review? Because the title pretty much sums up a description of this book. And while I am sure there are guys out there that would read this book and be entertained, I am somewhat less certain they would enjoy it as much.I am not a huge reader of what many people call “chick lit.” Sometimes also referred to as “beach reads.” And actually, when I downloaded this book from Amazon, I did not, in fact, know that it would probably fit into that category. In general, I am not a fan of romances either.However, after a somewhat stilted and fairly confusing beginning (during which I groaned to myself thinking I had accidentally downloaded a romance instead of the mystery I thought I was getting), the plot and story line really tightened up, and the author’s writing got a lot smoother.Speaking of writing, this is the first free book I have downloaded for my Kindle in quite a while where the writing was decent, polished, and devoid of the aggravating typos so annoyingly common in eBooks right now.Understand… this book is not particularly believable. At least not in terms of how many beatings a character can take and keep going. Also, a little more research on how law enforcement, the military, and the intelligence community worked would have really benefitted this book.All of the above aside, it was really nice to see a female character for once that wasn’t some shrinking violet. Aydan curses, does her own home renovations, enjoys working on cars, shoots, etc. She also openly admires the men around her, and it is pretty refreshing to see that bluntly written.However, I know there will be a whole bunch of people (and have seen this in a couple other reviews) who don’t like the cursing and sex scenes. This series has cursing and sex scenes. If you don’t like that, you have been told now, and can move along to something else.By the time I made it through the first 1/3 of this book, I found myself somewhat shocked to be really enjoying at. While it still wasn’t particularly believable, it was highly entertaining; sort of in the same way the Mission Impossible movies are entertaining. You don’t really believe them, you just watch for the fun of it. The same sort of thing happened with this book.By the time I got to the end of the book, I was shocked to discover that I wanted to know what happened next. I really enjoyed the story, and it was a fast read. I found myself actually interested in the characters, and their motivations. Go figure.For the record, I have actually read all six books currently available now, and I think that this one was not the best. It was good enough to get me to buy the next one however, which says a lot about a book coming from a genre I normally don’t even read.Final summary: I found this book to be highly entertaining, even if I think classifying it as a “mystery” is not strictly speaking correct. I am not sure if the guys would enjoy it as much, because I’m not sure they would enjoy the lurid descriptions of male characters’ posteriors. You will have to slightly suspend disbelief, but not much more than when watching an action adventure movie. If you are easily offended by swearing and/or sex, this is not the book for you.I liked it and bought the rest of the series.

I really loved this book. We have a middle aged female heroine that likes to cuss, do home renovations, fix cars, work out, and enjoys a sexy man when she sees one. She accidentally stumbles upon a government secret. Now both the good and the bad guys need answers. She must prove her innocence while surviving kidnapping attempts and beatings. Adventures ensue!There is humor, action, sex, intrigue and a little sci-fi thrown in. This is not a super believeable book. The sci-fi parts and some of the narrow escapes are beyond the scope of belief but it is fun and entertaining. When I read a Dirk Pitt Clive Cussler novel or watch a Mission Impossible movie I don't do it for reality. I would watch a drama for that. I do it for the entertainment and that is what I got when I read this book! I will read the next one.

Big fan of Lee Child and similar authors, so was curious and found this to be a very good read. Characters are varied and interesting, roles serve a purpose, and plot is developed nicely.

During the introduction, I went to the author's blog and read about her mind and ink blot tests. This really helped explain a lot of the story. The author definitely has a different look at reality.The first few chapters of this book were filled with too many trite writer's and maybe female expressions. I almost blew it off but stayed with it. About Chapter 3 or 4, the story took off for me. The main character could cuss with the best of us guys thanks to Uncle Roger. Her skills at problem solving just kept popping out in different ways and different situations which was refreshing. All the while, the main character keeps saying she is just a civilian. Skills most civilians don't have. Interesting.I hope the author continues to bring Aydan's character along in this manner revealing more of her true background in each sequential story. After all Aydan's father did work for the government. Always a good cover story.(Be sure to read the author's real skills at the end of the story.)As the reader continues into the story, it becomes apparent the writer actually has some martial arts training and some technical training too which shows up in the ways the main character reacts.Somewhere in the author's house I am betting there is a real Fuzzy Bunny. This name for the bad guy organization was almost too much but the logic behind it is believeable. Hiding in plain sight is always a good ploy for spies and bad guys.Waiting until the end to reveal the main bad guy character(s) was also pretty cool. Althought the suspicion is there earlier in the book, the confirmation in not until the end.I could have done with a little less butt checking but it was interesting to know women do that too. Unfortunately at my age, there is not as much to check.I did deduct one star since the clickable table of contents was not setup so it was linked to the GoTo menu. An easily fixable and common mistake I have seen in a lot of kindle books.Despite the table of contents issue, this story was a good cross between a sci-fi and a thriller. I would recommend it as a refreshing read.

Main protagonist Aydan Kelly is a book-keeper looking to move from city life to something more tranquil when she is attacked by someone who doesn’t exist – immediately indicating ‘Never Say Spy’ is science fiction. It is also a spy thriller confirmed by her abduction by security forces of some kind who in spite of her denials mistake her as an enemy agent, and as she never confirms whether she is or isn’t then the novel takes the form of a psychological drama. Whatever – readers need to suspend belief.Numerous characters are involved with friends and foes overlapping and with twists, turns and red-herrings. The story rattles along at great speed – but it is a ridiculous romp. Readers will find true escapism, and ‘Never Say Spy’ has plenty of action, but it pushes at boundaries. Publicity blurb warns of coarse language, moderate violence and sexuality. The language is fine with much humour and banter, but some of the violence is gratuitous, and sexuality extends from innuendo to full blown pornographic detail. This is a great shame as the narrative presents a rip-roaring roller-coaster read – however non-PC! The book ends up average – hence 3-star rating.

This showed a lot of promise in the early pages. On a personal note I prefer my espionage thrillers to be, how someone like Ian Fleming would write them. This was to much like the Twilight Zone for me. There are good reviews for it. So it may work for you?This introduces Aydan Kelly. A forty-six year old widow. An earlier marriage ended in divorce. A trained bookkeeper. She decides a change from city life is needed. So moves out from Calgary to the rural Alberta countryside.However, life does not run smoothly. How about being helped out of a tricky situation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police? Good. Things can go back to being tranquil?No. The Mountie in question has got plans for Aydan. What can they be?

I like books with a clear plot and believable characters. I still don’t know what sort of genre this was. The lead character, a middle aged bookkeeper, acted like Reacher. Unbelievable. The story line was weird and by Chapter 14 I still didn’t know what the story was about. Looking at the reviews either there are some very generous souls out there. Or readers who prefer the surreal and unbelievable. Each to his/her own, but this did nothing for me except waste a few hours of my life.

This was a free download, chosen because of the title, from which play on words I anticipated a 'chic-lit', wannabe thriller - boy, was I wrong! This heroine is the complete antithesis of the usual ditsy amateur, being instead the type of heroine whom I've longed to see for a number of years: she's middle-aged, competent at DIY tasks which would be beyond many men, intelligent, independent, sexually-experienced and not ashamed to admit to having sexual needs (as well as the odd little bit of fat around her middle, despite time in the gym, where she acknowledges she can't match the men, but still puts in the effort to be as fit as possible). She has her own career, in which she's very happy, and her earlier career interests prove to be of great use to her, too. Married twice, both experiences have made her what she is, but neither is dwelt on, simply explained at the relevant point in the story, then put away. She also has some specialist hobbies, which will no doubt stand her in good stead as the series develops. I'm also delighted to read that she's constantly hungry, and has no hang-ups about eating or drinking.It took me a little time to come to grips with what was happening in the initial chapters, but the writing is taut, the action fast, and I couldn't put the book down. While I had no logical reason for deciding very early on in the story who one of the villains was to be, I think it was the power of the author's descriptions that made me dislike him, and that just shows Diane Herders' skill as a writer. The number of characters was comparatively small, and their basic characteristics make them readily identifiable, yet leave room to get to know them better in the future. The plot is clever, the premise is not yet, so far as I am aware, a common one, but has been dabbled with occasionally, and would lend itself to TV/film; so, too, would our heroine.So, we have a fast-paced action adventure, with a mature, fit, female lead, self-sufficient, able, with past experiences which have matured her but not left her a quivering wreck of pathetic female hang-ups. She can more than stand up for herself, and has an attitude more usually limited to the macho male - I can't help thinking that's why she was created! Aydan Kelly is brilliant, refreshing, and long-overdue. I've already bought the next in the series, and will be putting it at the top of my 'To Read' list. If it's as good as 'Never Say Spy', I'll be creating a new Collection on my Kindle, because I can see myself reading the books more than once, and enjoying them just as much each time.

Ayden is an innocent bookkeeper who mysteriously becomes caught up in a secret agency operating deep within the world of cyber espionage. How can this possibly be? We all have our suspicions, including John Kane, the smoking hot agent who watches over her safety and his unlikely partner Spider Webb, the puny but brilliant computer geek. The thing about Ayden is that, when backed into a corner, she becomes a lean, mean, fighting machine and woe betide anyone who gets in her way. Strange that, for a bookkeeper....... I absolutely loved the characters and the refreshingly original storyline. The whole computer thing went over my head in places but when combined with a fast moving plot, tons of action and loads of tense, exciting situations, a bit of intellectual stimulation never hurt anybody. Terrific read, great for adrenaline junkies and computer geeks alike.