July TBR Challenge - Dangerous Curves by Jacey Ford

Barely slipping this one in on time. Phew! I do not want to end up on the wall of shame!

This is the first in a trilogy - three ex-FBI agents start their own detective firm. Think Charlie's Angels with a harder edge (and, of course, no Charlie). Each one of these women has a past to overcome. This first book focuses on Raine. She left the FBI under a claoud of suspicion after a suspect was killed in her custody. Her boss/lover did not come to her defense, although he believed in her innocence; he was more concerned with his own career.

Now Calder Prescott wants her back, and lures Raine in with a bogus case she can't refuse. Her fledgling business simply needs the money. Turns out the bogus case isn't so bogus after all.

I enjoyed this book in much the same way that I liked the Janzen Steele Street series. Suspend belief and accept it for entertainment value. Because if you look for holes, there are plenty of them to be found. However, it appears that Ford did her homework on dangers to be found in the Venezuelan jungle. There is one particular scene with an ick factor so high, I called my hubby all the way from London just to read it to him over the phone. He was not appreciative, since it involved a certain part of the bad guy's anatomy and a certain creepy crawly fish with spikes. 'Nuff said. Ick. Talk about a book grabbing you, literally and figuratively.

I loved to death the teenage heroine, Megan. She stole the book. And how cool that in the dedication, Ford states that she bases the character on her own step-daughter. What a compliment. This girl starts out as a pampered super-smart over-achiever type and turns into a teenage James Bond type - self-sufficient, smart, tough, think-on-your-feet, beat-the-bad-guy-at-his-own-game type. I would have loved to have been like her as a teenager.

As for the whodunnit, I did guess it as soon as the clues started coming in, but after the whole spiky fish in the wanker thing {{{{{{full body shiver}}}}}}, I was transfixed anyway, waiting to see how he would get his.

It was a fun read, and I recommend it for those who enjoy a "Calgon, Take Me Away" type of story. I've already picked up the other two in the trilogy.