Nice suspense novel with just a touch of romance

STORY (suspense) - The book begins with Marshall's story while he is undercover as Pablo, the right-hand man of a dangerous Columbian drug lord. Approximately the first third of the book takes place in the Columbian jungle and follows Marshall to the U.S., where he is retired after an incident which causes him to lose an arm. The next third of the book covers Ariana's story as an Ambassador's daughter, her kidnapping and rescue. The final third of the book begins as Marshall happens to observe Ariana burying a box in a park in Paris. Their lives become intertwined and he becomes her protector. The romance between Marshall and Ariana blooms very, very late in the book, as there is lots of other stuff going on that I don't want to give away here. The book is good, but it has way, way less romance than Audible's romance/suspense categorization might have you expect.

I enjoyed the story, but sometimes the author tended to "beat a dead horse." A character's frame of mind would be detailed to the point where I was like, "OMG, Danielle, I get it, let's move on!" The story was suspenseful, but it's definitely not edge-of-your stuff, and there's very little action. There's more character development and it moves at a slower pace, which I'm not trying to imply is a bad thing. There's only one aspect about the story that really bugged me (and I'll be careful here not to divulge too much), but Marshall's and Ariana's pasts shared an important common acquaintance, yet DEA Special Agent Marshall Everett never figured that out!!! Whaaaaattt??? I think even I would have put that together, but whatever. It's still a good story, and I liked the ending.

PERFORMANCE - The narrator had a very low, husky voice (sexy), which was perfect for Marshall. He didn't attempt to distinguish Ariana's female voice, which is probably a good thing because she probably would have sounded pretty scary!

OVERALL - I don't remember any cursing in this book, and there's only a couple extremely minor references to sexual encounters. There is killing and blood, but not a lot of it. I'd probably recommend this for females of any age who might enjoy a suspenseful book. As I said, there's not a lot of romance, so men may be okay listening to the book. My husband wouldn't like it because of the emotional elements and the lack of action.

62 people found this helpful

Was this a draft??

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I couldn't recommend it to anyone. It is a middle school level writing.

What do you think your next listen will be?

if you want espionage and intrigue stick with Rosenberg, Connelly, Patterson, Silva, Follett, Tigner, Clancy or Baldacci to name a few. I've read them all and never been disappointed.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

He slaughters Spanish. Fortunately I don't know French. He lacks inflection in his voice, but I cannot imagine having to read this book, so under the circumstances it wasn't that bad...except the Spanish...please!

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

This is the first DS book I've read/listened to. I don't think she wrote this. If she really did, I'm not sure how she got the reputation she has. This is truly terrible, no character or plot development, repetitive phrases like there is a word quota to meet, no build up of the relationship; they simply back into one another, make love, get married...the end.

Any additional comments?

Don't waste your money or time on this one...sorry to be a downer, but there are really no redeeming features to encourage anyone one with. If I did it would not be honest!

55 people found this helpful

Predictable

Beginning was great but then story got flat. So very predictable! I wish it would've been more exciting!

18 people found this helpful

Over Half of the book is a prologue

I was so excited to listen to this but then disappointed when I was 9 chapters in to the 17 chapters and the two main characters had not met. Yes a prologue is important but not 9 chapters worth. Many scenes are filler, discussing what type of apt to live in, and a waste of time. I want something to keep my attention but I'm now using it to combat my insomnia.

4 people found this helpful

Slow and lacking direction.

Relatively slow story line with a drawn out conclusion. Could have been either richer in content or two hours shorter.

17 people found this helpful

Not happy!!

The story started off great, fast pace and love. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next.
Then it takes a nosedive all the way love and we know how it's going to be end.
The last bit of action that you were waiting for never happens.

3 people found this helpful

Unbearably dull

What would have made Undercover better?

What make it better? Characters more than an inch deep. A premise that's not preposterous, where the undercover agent posing as Pablo, a South American drug lord's henchman, is Hispanic, not a guy from Seattle named Everett Marshall. A narrative not weighed down by exposition that repeats the same ideas over and over and over and over until it's obvious that the author has precious little to say.

Would you ever listen to anything by Danielle Steel again?

Based on this book, no way.

What does Alexander Cendese bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's a good reader, I like his voice. But he can't breathe life into this story.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Impatience and boredom.

2 people found this helpful

Good story but the research was not all accurate

Would you consider the audio edition of Undercover to be better than the print version?

enjoyed it ,the reading was very good and kept you wanting to go on.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

was one scenario that was probable,I liked it.

What does Alexander Cendese bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

great narrator with excellent diction.

Any additional comments?

I did not like at all the portrait that was painted of Buenos Aires,Argentina.I lived there for many years and the facts are completely off from simple matters as the fact that rice nor beans are the lower class common staple,nor do they have "bandits" staying in forests or jungles 2 hours from Buenos Aires or smoking cuban cigars and a lot of other facts.The researcher painted as if all South America were the colombian guerillas and jungles.

9 people found this helpful

One of her best

This is different than most of her other books and reminds me a little of Patterson or Baldacci.

8 people found this helpful

Basically boring

This book had a lot of potential but never lived up to it. Maybe third person throughout?? Not sure but just never got there for me

1 person found this helpful