Evidence of a high-profile politician’s brutal murder unearths the shadows of a case Doctor Genevieve Lenard and her team thought was closed. Thrust back into this case, Genevieve might finally find answers to the questions that never stopped plaguing her neurodivergent mind.
As Genevieve and her unorthodox team delve deeper into the murky depths of the politician's private life, they unravel a complex web of deceit and discover genetic research that reveals a shocking truth.
With only hours to avert disaster, Genevieve must harness her unparalleled skills in nonverbal communication to decode the motivations behind this heinous conspiracy and prevent a catastrophe that could change the world as we know it.
Estelle Ryan was born in South Africa and spent her childhood being surrounded by African beauty, nature and diversity of cultures. Her first trip to Europe at the tender age of 16 transformed her world into a much larger place, endless in its possibilities and places to explore. For most of her adulthood she’s travelled all over the world, lived on a few continents, explored numerous cultures and still is insatiable in the quest to still the hunger for more life experiences.
She’s written for numerous international magazines, was the editor of a European lifestyle magazine and has seven romance novels published under a pseudonym. With her interest in international politics, arts, crime, behavioural psychology, criminal psychology and music, she decided to combine all these elements in her writing. And so Genevieve and the team came into being.
She is an unabashed coffeeshopaholic. Good coffee, ambience and music in the perfect combination is all that is required to turn a mundane coffee shop into her 'office'. The appropriate coffee shop is chosen depending on the mood, the weather, the type and amount of work that needs to be done, and of course the craving of the day. All of her books have been written in numerous coffee shops all over the world.
The general of the armed forces, along with the president, want the team to find the minister who betrayed the country and shared secrets with the help of the spy agency leader’s husband.
They track him to a tiny Greek island, where he’s killed, and the head of the French spy agency, Marielle, is trying to uncover her husband’s assassin.
Through researching a company’s money laundering and corruption, it seems the owner of a quarry and a company providing medical aid were in cahoots, starting a terrorist organization to start wars and then providing construction and medical aid through gaining expensive contracts.
Genevieve faces a lot of gunfire, along with Vinnie, Daniel, and the team, as well as the Greek police, due to Marielle getting kidnapped and the minister getting killed by a sniper. Marielle eventually kills the man who killed her husband and beat up Antoine, an artist who copied the Lytras paintings in this book.
They learn a new war is about to be started in Turkey and the final showdown is at a marble quarry, where Francine disables 1300 drones holding explosives to start the charge.
A woman running the company laundering money is cleaning up the corruption, and the governments ask her to stay on and continue her work, and everyone returns home with a job well done.
After having paused this series for some months, Ryan has released 3 in fairly quick succession -- this is the second of them and the last is in my reading queue. The break was probably good for the series as it seems to have re-energized them.
This one follows closely on the previous novella where they discovered the spouse of the a prominent French minister Girelle (and former spy) was a traitor. Now a different minister they had suspected is supposedly dead, but there are inconsistencies. AND Girelle is missing, but with clues left that only Genevieve and the team can understand and follow. They're soon off to a small Greek island to once again thwart terrorists.
As usual, the character and personal interactions and respect among the team is front and center -- exactly the sort of heroes I'm interested in right now. Most of the dangling threads from the previous book were tied off so I'm looking to a new adventure in the next.
“There is logic and then there is criminal logic."
This book, which feels more like the conclusion of the series, isn't as focused on a particular artist's work as in the human factor in a very negative world that is both extremely intelligent and extremely human The group has "grown up" and much like a young adult has moved away from it's originator and learned and taught others how to be an organic whole.
These books have never ceased to amaze me. I have read almost the whole series and have learned many things. It's been fascinating to see how Genevieve has evolved as neurodivergency has also become more understood. In a world that sees autism as a spectrum, Ryan's characters have definitely become more "real".
If this is the end, so be it. It's been a great ride. Highly Recommended 5/5
As they settle into their new home, old foes reappear... a strange crime scene with enough blood to presume death, but no body or indication one has been removed... Minister Sauvin is on the move, and it's time to follow another artist across Europe... Marielle is missing but leaves Daniel an essential bottle of Merlot or two along with a passel of cat's...
A tiny idyllic island a chance glance at some family photos, and the links start to connect, but with every second counting and a catastrophic event possible can everyone remain calm and focused enough under constant attack to stop it?
Corrupt politicians, billionaires caring only about further enriching themselves, and innocent people being put in harm’s way. Sounds like you could be reading today’s headlines, doesn’t it?
Ryan weaves all these threads into a blockbuster, cannot-put-it-down story that will have you turning pages avidly. It’s what she does best, after all!
You’ll enjoy this latest visit with Genevieve and her “family”, I know I always look forward to the newest adventure.
the Lycra’s Connection (book 20- Genevieve Lenard)
This latest above book, was very different, from the usual Genevieve Lenard books. I found it, Not as interesting nor plot wise as previous ones. (Finding out about a terrorist organization and the minister of armed forces in France) book, was sort of continuation to the previous book 19, the Moreau connection. Most of her previous Genevieve’s books were very interesting, that I’d read it in 1 sitting… forgeries, fraud, art, and history.
I really didn't enjoy most of this story, what attracted me to these books was they were a bit different from the usual thriller, especially with the way Genevieve analysed information and identified patterns plus the interesting group interactions. This was more like your standard thriller with people rushing around being shot at and for a lot of the book Genevieve was relegated to a sort of walking polygraph. I suppose the story wasn’t that bad and I should have given at least three stars, but I felt quite let down, hence just two.
Estelle Ryan has given me a new insight into what it must be like for someone with autism. And it has helped me understand my husband much better. He's never been diagnosed as autistic, but we both think he has a type of Asperger's (sp) syndrome. Aside from the lessons, she has me fully interested in all of the characters in her stories. I love reading all these stories and learning about the art, how Dr. Menard reads people's faces and the way they all work together. Just really great stories.
It would have been five stars but I've settled on three. Five for a complex plot that keeps you reading until the end. One star off for formula: the book starts and ends with a recap. A recap of the last book, and a recap of how the complex plot got solved, one star off for excessive descriptions and prose that is inconsistent with the main character. 1 star off for poor editing: "I'd woken up at six, feeling rested. Usually, I would have breakfast within an hour of getting out of bed. This morning, I'd only had a small serving of yoghurt and a banana with my coffee" Even if British English this is poor grammar = I (ha)d woken up... The main character is very precise in use of language.
The team is on the road again, this time in Greece, looking for a corrupt French politician who is fleeing justice. Of course, it isn't that simple. They find that the people who were peddling fake pharmaceuticals in their last adventure have moved beyond drugs and into terrorism. These books are so exciting and the team grows closer, drawing more and more people into their circle. Estelle Ryan is a master storyteller.
The Genevieve Lenard series continues to be intriguing, engaging, and immensely readable. Great storyline and characterisation There is the added bonus of gently increasing the readers’ awareness and understanding of how a neurodivergent person functions as Genevieve’s experience is described. The links to different artists is also interesting and educational. I devour these books as soon as I get them and can’t wait for the next one!
This installment of the Genevieve Lenard books has the team traveling to a tiny Greek island. Amid deception and terroristic gunfire, the team uncovers clues to solve the crime mystery. As per her usual style, Ms. Ryan has written a very engaging story that keeps the reader interested throughout.
A small departure from the usual fare of Genevieve and the gang, but equally excellent. What starts as an art investigation quickly transforms into a different type of sinster plot. Fast-paced and thought absorbing, another great book from Estelle Ryan.
This one took us to a whole new location on a small Greek island. This is a bit of a continuation from the last novella, so it was nice to keep going with the story. The story seemed a little less “neat” than some of the other books, but it was engaging and the ending was pretty wild!