Innocents Club

Mariah Bolt #2

by Taylor Smith

Forced to face the past when she undertakes a new assignment, Senior CIA analyst Mariah Bolt must delve into the life of her father Ben Bolt, a revered novelist who had abandoned his family long ago, and is plunged into a world of betrayal and murder, and when her daughter is kidnapped, Mariah must play a deadly game of international espionage. Original.

Genres: Fiction, Suspense

448 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2000

About the author

After a career as an international diplomat and later an intelligence analyst, Taylor Smith turned her experience into bestselling fiction. Taylor currently lives in Southern California.

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Published in 2000. I can tell the age of this book as Saddam Hussein is mentioned as still being alive.

I picked up this hardback copy at a book sale. I did not read the first book with widowed CIA agent Mariah Bolt. Several mentions were made of an attack on her family that was meant for her so I'm assuming that's why she is a widow. I liked her character. I also liked cop Jim and family protector Frank.

I think readers will like this book if you like espionage and intrigue on U.S. soil. I'm not much on reading books with a lot of Russian characters but I thought the book was well written. I understand this author does not always write mystery/thrillers but is active in other genres.

[Elizabeth Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced, but full of details allowing the reader to follow along as if it was happening in real life. You find yourself emotionally connected to the characters and how they not only portray themselves to other but also how they react in the face of danger. Jam packed with conspiracy theories and mentions of different historical figures and how they are used or seen as a role in the unraveling of the series of events portrayed in this story. Over all great read, I love how the author is able to captivate the reader while allowing them the ability to free think different theories and or ideas with some red herring hints.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good murder mystery. A good change of pace from the previous book I read.

[RUTH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read, if you like political espionage with Russia. A little too much political espionage stuff for me but good ending. That's why I gave it a 3.

[Kelly Pub]

Took me forever to finish...decided to fast read it to get through!

[Colleen Lahey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid study. Loved that the author remembered the animals in a good way at the end.

[Sridhar Babu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author..
Taylor Smith..
Location..
Newport and Los Angles..
Characters..
Mariah Bolt,Frank Tucker, Lindsay, Benjamin Bolt, James Scheiber, Valery Zakharov, Chap Korman, Louis Urquhart, Renata, Nolan Carr, Paul Chaney and others
Genre..
Suspense..

PLOT..
Valery Zakharov, finance minister of USSR now making a big push for the Presidency, visits USA for opening an exhibit in Arlen Hunter Museum. Mariah bolt, daughter of famous writer and literary genius Benjamin Bolt, is called on an urgent assignment by CIA, for luring Yuri Belenko, Zakharov's executive assistant into betraying his country and act as a double agent in favor of USA.



Mariah Bolt remembers her deceased father Ben Bolt as the man who abandoned his family to run off to Europe with another woman Renata, sole heir to Hunter Carr assets. Renata's son Nolan carr is associated with Soviets as a partner in Nova Krimsky casino project, a project involves drug trafficking and money laundering to the Russian mobs with the blessings of the Soviet Government,also based on the possibility of Zakharov's success in becoming the President of USSR.

Mariah Bolt becomes the reluctant guardian of Ben Bolt's unpublished manuscript named 'Man in the middle' written by Ben, when he was an active member of an organization called "Writers for Peace" an communist front organization financed by Moscow. Also known as "Innocents Club" an association of poets and authors, through whom a sympathetic view of USSR could be achieved to the west. Mariah bolt never suspects she has inherited a ticking time bomb which will shatter Zakharov's chances of becoming USSR President.

Frank Tucker, another CIA agent, receives files from a USSR spy nick named "Navigator", by travelling secret trip to Moscow and keeps them secretly in the CD format because this files also sheds light about Russia's future President Zakharov in a disturbing way.

After Zakharov's arrival in USA, two men,both well known about the unpublished manuscript of Ben Bolt, a Chap Korman literary agent of the author, and Louis Urquhart, University professor who is trying a biography about Ben Bolt were murdered in their respective places.

When Mariah Bolt becomes the next target for the unknown assassins,and when her fifteen year old daughter Lindsay goes missing, she has no other go except joining hands with Frank Tucker in a mission not only to stop Zakharov's Presidential efforts but also to put an end to "Nova Krimsky" Casino project, in the terrifying game of international espionage.

MY COMMENT..
Double Thumbs up!! But this novel has some minus points too. Author doesn't explain clearly, what actually written by Ben Bolt in his unpublished novel "Man in the middle'and how the contents, if made public will affect Zakharov's run for the Russian Presidentship. The author also fails to establish the connection between the secret file received by Frank Tucker from the Russian spy Navigator, and Ben Bolt's unpublished manuscript.

[Katherine Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this had been my first book by Smith, I might not now be such a fan. It was actually the second (and last) in a "series" and I didn't get my hands on the first book. This book was OK> I like how she handles female characters, but it was quite convoluted, and at times, confusing. I look forward to finding out more about her career and reading her other books.

[Sheila Woofter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mystery page-turner

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good mystery.

[Karen Desmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

4

[Toesnorth's mom]

not very good

[Mandy Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was OK. spy/ espionage not really my style got better a later on but nearly barely

[David Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it! It read really quickly!

[Kelly]

I had to stop reading this novel. I didn't realise that it was the second in a series when I started and unfortunately there was just so much back story that I couldn't see through the regurgitation.

I was also really, really struggling with the writing style. There was one point where Mariah wanted to say something like, "I only looked at the boxes because there was a flood in the storage facility over the summer."
Instead, she gave this massive and wordy account and I just wanted to roll my eyes at the verbose style.

Maybe better if you've read the first, but I for one couldn't get passed the first 50 pages.