This is the silliest Kate Jones story I have read yet. Kate tries to be all Bondian by getting caught by the bad guys and sequestered in their evil lair, but in Kate's case she manages that feat like 100 times an hour. And unlike Bond, Kate needs to be rescued by random persons that happen by. Once free, she finds the easiest way to be recaptured. The endless cycle is nauseating.

Kate says it best: "That's what I got for relying on what I thought was a finely developed sixth sense for staying one step ahead of the bad guys." A legend in her own mind.

Cruising for death. I’ll say!

One hundred percent of the time she is scheming to figure out how she can be the least successful in staying alive; she works exceeding hard to come up with the worst possible solution to her problems. Self-fulfilling prophecy after self-fulfilling prophecy and she makes it crystal clear that she will never get a clue.

I also tire of Kate feeling sorry for herself, that gets old quick.

Otherwise, the backstory reads a bit like James Rollins’ Amazonia (2002).

That said, this is a "great" series. I could see a science fiction angle where Kate teleports through time and space. She could be abducted by aliens, escape, and then become one of James T. Kirk's Star Trek girls until she misses the space jump because she is obsessing about something in her past. Lost in Space, she can be saved by cosmonauts, returned to earth, and imprisoned in Siberia before she is spirited away on a yak. Then she makes her way home via San Francisco where her (bad) luck continues; she is shanghaied upon arrival and quickly finds herself en route back to the Far East. While trying to figure out a means of escape, Kate is rescued by the cabin boy who is tired of being buggered, but those two are quickly recaptured and left to die on a desert island 4,000 miles from the nearest other human. Not to be bested, and with the help of the boy, Kate builds a makeshift raft and sails to freedom... until they are torpedoed by a WWII Japanese submariner who doesn’t know that the war has ended et cetera.

Somewhere in there Kate will be chained in a medieval dungeon and burned at the stake before being rescued by a lovelorn hunchback. And Kate will swoon over a number of guys while being beaten and tortured and stabbed and poisoned and shot and drowned before falling off a few cliffs and killed any number of times in the above story; just like in the series.

Just tweak the space time continuum a little bit, which Berkom practically does anyway, and the possibilities are endless. ( )

This Kate Jones book is action packed and danger-filled with every turn of the page. Kate goes from one situation to the next reacting with a creativity that only this strong heroine can pull off. The protagonist is a strong willed, determined, and brave women -- loyal to boot. All the characters are well developed, the scenery and situation unique, quirky even, and the plot well developed. I especially enjoyed the scene with a voodoo ceremony, it adds flavor to the story. Traipsing through the islands with the protagonist is like riding a tornado, fast, zig-zagging, and impulsive. The story is a fun read and has a good ending. I recommend this book for those who like their thrillers with payback. ( )

Absolutely loved this book.
The story captured me entirely and I read it in one sitting!
Some parts were a little weak, but, overall, the book is a really good thriller. I probably enjoyed it a little more because I lived were the story takes place, but it was a really good read. Would recommend it if you're looking for a good mystery.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. ( )