Baited: An Espionage Novel

by Victoria Montes

When Army nurse Karen Fisher returns home from Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, she prays for her PTSD nightmares to dissipate as she settles into a slightly less dangerous job as a school teacher. But another tragedy soon shakes her world.

Dealing with survivors’ guilt and, even worse, being called a hero, Fisher wraps her car around a tree after a particularly bad TV interview. When she wakes up, it’s in a place called Department G, an underground terrorist-hunting organization, headed up by a charismatic leader named Owen, the only surviving member of Seal Team Six.

Owen has one Kill. Terrorists.

Fisher wants out. NOW. But it seems Owen has given her no go to jail for a drunken car wreck or help destroy terrorist cells hellbent on destroying others.

Has she found a place to heal and get back on her feet, or is Department G just another nightmare that will torment her forever?

Genres: Ebooks

158 pages, Paperback

Published October 19, 2024

Reviews

[Peter Mathon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bait & Switch

This is no espionage thriller as it bills itself … it’s a Harlequin romance & not a very good one. If you love TV soap operas & Lifetime movies,this is for you. If you’re looking for something more, keep looking elsewhere.

[CrinM · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just no. Disjointed sloppy. Started out with high octane and fizzled. the espionage was just confusing at best.

[StitchnmommaReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF - I won a Kindle copy of this book in a giveaway. I tried to read it, but by 1/3 of the way through and I still wasn’t enjoying it, I gave up.

[James Golden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this was a pretty jarring experience, and I don't mean the subject matter. I made it through about a quarter of the book before giving up.

I feel like a good editor could have made this into at least a mediocre book. There were many times that I had to go back and read something again because I thought that I missed some context, but no, it just wasn't there. Some potentially interesting scenes ended too early and all of the characters were stereotypical.

[Bre · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say that this was bad and kind of racist. I don't like to give bad reviews but this full on warrants it.

**Spoilers**

To start off the book - the main character is in a school shooting and the shooters? A group of terrorists screaming "allahu akbar". Gross. Unrealistic. Problematic. I couldn't get past that, automatic DNF.

[Matt Chaika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Won this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway. It was just OK. It started fairly strong but just sort of fell flat for the last 2/3 of the book. After the opening scenes I never really connected to any of the characters. And then it sort of just ended.

[GwenPeds · Rating 1 out of 5]

Won as a giveaway. DNF. Could. Not. Proceed. Wooden prose, unappealing MC. A.I. generated?

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this in a Giveaway. This was good, but in some ways it could have been better. There was a lot of extra things that didn't really add to the story or could have been mentioned and not as drawn out as they were.

Karen Fisher returns home from Afghanistan and gets a job as a teacher. Another tragedy strikes. Fisher gets into an accident and wakes up in Department G. What is Department G really doing and where is she? Can she get out?

There was a little action in the book, but most of the story was about Karen trying to figure things out. I thought there could have been more action and more going on than there was.

Most of the characters were not likeable and at time, I wondered why something is relevant or was included in the story.

This is a book that you could read or skip and it wouldn't matter either way.

[Karen Siddall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young teacher, the sole survivor of a mass shooting at her school, is recruited by a mysterious private organization to fight terrorism by any means necessary.

Baited, the exciting new crime drama by author Victoria Montes, opens as a horrific school shooting by Jihadi terrorists erupts where the main character is a teacher. Isolated in the teachers’ lounge, she evades discovery and is, ultimately, the lone survivor of the attack; however, she doesn’t walk away undamaged.

Karen Fisher, the young main character, already had PTSD following her previous career as a Navy nurse serving in Afghanistan. Nightmares of what she’d experienced during her deployment continued to haunt her. When the shooting had begun, Karen had dialed 9-1-1 and hidden at the urging of the emergency operator. Still, she’d seen her students gunned down as she helplessly remained in hiding.

In the aftermath, she turns to alcohol to get through the night and, eventually, every day that follows. Karen has a committed partner in Steven, but he eventually hits the limits of what he can take. Feeling helpless and frustrated with her inability to move on, Steven steps away from their life, leaving Karen on her own. For this reason, I was not a Steven fan; however, he won me over in the end with his tenacity, dedication, and genuine devotion. He knew he’d failed her when he walked.

The mysterious Department G recruits her, and while the plot follows her preparation and subsequent missions to put an end to terrorism, the focus of the story is on her mental struggles, doubts, and moral dilemmas she has regarding not only the school shooting and her perceived failure to act but the means and methods Department G uses to attain their goals.

Karen’s immediate attraction to her handler is akin to the classic battlefield romance developed under high stress and in the heightened passions of the artificial world in which they’re confined. Survivor’s guilt also drives Frank/Owen, but he has focused his pain on eradicating terrorism by any means necessary. Although you know their relationship is wrong, a real recipe for disaster, the sexual tension between these two is so good you can’t help hoping things work out for them.

The Department G missions are daring, and outside what’s lawful and moral, so the story takes some edgy, uncomfortable turns. In response, characters must make hard choices that lead to some unexpected plot twists, including a surprising and satisfying conclusion.

I recommend BAITED to readers of crime fiction and psychological dramas.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

[Jennifer Peer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a pounding pace right from the start. Karen has PTSD from time in Afghanistan so when she survived a violent school shooting, she has a difficult time coping in the aftermath. One she is recruited into covert operations, you see this adrenaline fueled story head in another direction.
The main character is flawed and resilient. She is also very well written so you get sucked right into the storyline. If you're looking for something you can't put down until you read the last page, this thriller is it!

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story began quickly and the topic and tone was quite different than I expected. While this story is hard for me to describe, the best term I can include is “far fetched” and the book being neither a good nor bad read.

My thanks to the sponsors of the goodreads giveaway for the opportunity to win and read this book.
3 stars.

[Adrienne Telarik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a giveaway. I enjoyed this story. It was a quick read and it really shed light on some very real situations in today’s world. The main character really pulled me into her world and helped me to understand her transition through the book. I feel the author captured the topics of mass shootings and terrorism in a very real way. Nice job!

[Julie Kleckner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not what I expected but it enjoyed it. Some parts seemed a little bit out there, and hard to believe. I found myself rooting for the main character to find her footing and purpose in life. I think she finally did!

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This thriller is slower paced than many others. The main character has understandable flaws, but her reactions don’t always reflect the expected norm. I became frustrated with her from the beginning, but it does have a happy ending. There just wasn’t enough “thrill” for me.

[Brad Dude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although PSTD is nothing to laugh about, I found the main characters inner dialog to be entertaining and insightful. She experiences violence and has a negative reaction to it but eventually is able to deal with it in a positive way. Good story.

[Amanda Ho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast, easy read. Catchy and gripping! I loved the character build and the descriptiveness of the surroundings. Easy to find yourself still reading after an hour of “I need to get stuff done”!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this book through Goodreads ga. Good quick read. Not a fav but was okay.

[Victoria Montes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little bit of everything. Fast moving. love story. redemption story, thriller and a good message. A must read.