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Undercover
A powerful novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel, about an ambassador’s daughter who is kidnapped and the former undercover agent who comes to her aid, saving her life in more ways than one.
For DEA Special Agent Marshall Everett, life as he knows it is over once a gunshot wound renders his arm useless. Barred forever from the undercover work he loves, he has nothing—no close friends, no family, no hometown or base, and no desire to settle for life behind a desk. He’s called to action in the most unlikely of places when he stumbles upon a beautiful girl burying an old steel box in a Parisian park. Drawn into the mystery, Marshall soon discovers that she is Ariana Gregory, daughter of the U.S. ambassador to Argentina, who is trying to find herself again after being kidnapped and brainwashed by radical revolutionaries. But there are powerful forces at large who will not rest until they secure revenge, and Marshall and Ariana will face yet more trials—and another beginning—before they can truly bury the dark past and embark on a new life together.
For DEA Special Agent Marshall Everett, life as he knows it is over once a gunshot wound renders his arm useless. Barred forever from the undercover work he loves, he has nothing—no close friends, no family, no hometown or base, and no desire to settle for life behind a desk. He’s called to action in the most unlikely of places when he stumbles upon a beautiful girl burying an old steel box in a Parisian park. Drawn into the mystery, Marshall soon discovers that she is Ariana Gregory, daughter of the U.S. ambassador to Argentina, who is trying to find herself again after being kidnapped and brainwashed by radical revolutionaries. But there are powerful forces at large who will not rest until they secure revenge, and Marshall and Ariana will face yet more trials—and another beginning—before they can truly bury the dark past and embark on a new life together.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
1644 people are currently reading
4199 people want to read
About the author
Danielle Steel
911 books16.7k followersDanielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world's bestselling authors, with almost a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include All That Glitters, Royal, Daddy's Girls, The Wedding Dress, The Numbers Game, Moral Compass, Spy, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Expect a Miracle, a book of her favorite quotations for inspiration and comfort; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children's books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.
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Instagram: @officialdaniellesteel
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 706 reviews
September 21, 2022
This is a Suspense Romance. I have to say I loved this book. The suspense was front and center in this book, and the romance was slow and only at the end of the book. I found this book very fast pace. We follow two characters Agent Marshall and Ariana. They both have to get over some very bad things that happen to them before they meet each other. The first part goes into what happens to Agent Marshall, and the middle goes over what happens to Ariana. Then we all know the end is their love story. This is a book with great characters, and it is written so well.
September 29, 2015
Dear Ms. Steel,
I have been a faithful reader of yours ever since I picked up "The Promise" over 30 years ago. I enjoyed your books for many years but then something happened. You started to churn books out using the same formula over and over. The phrases in your books were overused and you had started to say the same thing over and over just in case we forgot what you had written a few sentences previously. I kept with you thinking that you surely had another Promise or Palomino in you. I am so happy to report that I am glad I stuck with you. Undercover was the book that I knew was in you waiting to get out. Thank you for giving us fans the story that we knew you could write! I can't wait to read your next masterpiece. Keep up the good work!
I have been a faithful reader of yours ever since I picked up "The Promise" over 30 years ago. I enjoyed your books for many years but then something happened. You started to churn books out using the same formula over and over. The phrases in your books were overused and you had started to say the same thing over and over just in case we forgot what you had written a few sentences previously. I kept with you thinking that you surely had another Promise or Palomino in you. I am so happy to report that I am glad I stuck with you. Undercover was the book that I knew was in you waiting to get out. Thank you for giving us fans the story that we knew you could write! I can't wait to read your next masterpiece. Keep up the good work!
February 13, 2016
*I gave this audiobook a C for the content and B+ for the narration at AudioGals*
It’s been a long time since I have read a Danielle Steel novel, and given that I love romantic suspense, the minute I saw the blurb for Undercover, I knew I couldn’t pass it up. However, to my great surprise, this title really boasted neither significant amounts of romance nor suspense. Instead it really read more like general fiction, focusing more on the character’s individual backgrounds and the evolution of their character traits. In fact, the hero and the heroine don’t even meet until way beyond the mid-way point of the book. And the romance is quickly resolved in the last hour or so of the listen. This alone is not necessarily problematic. However, when you combine it with the fact that the blurb really gives away nearly all of the information that could have been woven into a suspenseful plot, it means that you know exactly what is going to happen well into the first two-thirds to three-quarters of the book. This factor is a large driver of the lower book grading.
Notwithstanding this predictability, however, I did feel that a lot of the pieces of a great romantic suspense title were present, and the individual backgrounds of each character, while a bit lengthy, did generally flow well, and led to the development of complex character profiles laying the groundwork for a potentially intriguing and satisfying listen. If only the blurb had been revamped to avoid giving away spoilers and instead tailored to add to the suspense, and the sequencing of this story revamped to tell the present with flashbacks of the past, I think my grade would have been quite a bit higher. A more developed ending and attention to the development of the romance would have have also led to a higher rating.
See the full review at AudioGals.
It’s been a long time since I have read a Danielle Steel novel, and given that I love romantic suspense, the minute I saw the blurb for Undercover, I knew I couldn’t pass it up. However, to my great surprise, this title really boasted neither significant amounts of romance nor suspense. Instead it really read more like general fiction, focusing more on the character’s individual backgrounds and the evolution of their character traits. In fact, the hero and the heroine don’t even meet until way beyond the mid-way point of the book. And the romance is quickly resolved in the last hour or so of the listen. This alone is not necessarily problematic. However, when you combine it with the fact that the blurb really gives away nearly all of the information that could have been woven into a suspenseful plot, it means that you know exactly what is going to happen well into the first two-thirds to three-quarters of the book. This factor is a large driver of the lower book grading.
Notwithstanding this predictability, however, I did feel that a lot of the pieces of a great romantic suspense title were present, and the individual backgrounds of each character, while a bit lengthy, did generally flow well, and led to the development of complex character profiles laying the groundwork for a potentially intriguing and satisfying listen. If only the blurb had been revamped to avoid giving away spoilers and instead tailored to add to the suspense, and the sequencing of this story revamped to tell the present with flashbacks of the past, I think my grade would have been quite a bit higher. A more developed ending and attention to the development of the romance would have have also led to a higher rating.
See the full review at AudioGals.
March 6, 2016
I had to read this for my internship. It is so badly written I can't even create proper sentences.
September 6, 2016
First Danielle Steel I've finished in some time. It was interesting, different and with well thought plots. 8 of 10 stars
October 12, 2015
Danielle Steele is back again, and all though her last two books miserably failed me , I am glad that this one landed in my hands and to say she is back and I mean really back!
The read tells of Marshall, he's an ex- undercover agent ( can you taste the danger yet?) he has just survived the toughest battle of his career and settles into the temporary job of secret services, guarding non other than the President. But then a routine day at the office goes wrong and he is severely injured, he flees to Paris.
Now time to meet Ariana, she knows as the daughter of an American ambassador her life is always at risk, but then her life is turned upside down when danger comes a little too close, she flees to Paris.
With both hiding out and with danger literally on their heels, they find their way to each other , but the real question is , can they trust each other or will one or even both end up dead?
This read was action packed, fast paced and full of twits and turns around every corner of Paris. It was of course the perfect romantic setting for danger as well. I loved the entire suspense vibe the author had going, unlike her previous two books this one had a lot happening.
But not too much that you could not make head or tails thereof of lose your way.
Characterization was well done , well developed and the best part of it all , it really was a true escape from reality. I will add that here and there it was a little too predictable , but it could just me be and my usual obsession with trying to solve mysteries before the end, and thus I think I might have just gotten to the answer faster than other non -mystery suspense reading fans.
What I immensely enjoyed was that this was very different from this author's usual rich vs the powerfully dangerous type of books, it was more down to earth and I could relate to the characters on a human level.
I highly recommend this read for all fans of this author's books, and heck even if you don't love her work at all I am pretty sure that this book will get your attention in some way, give it a try , who knows ! It's got mystery, spies. lies, some thrills and a little bit of spill !
5.5 star review
" Going undercover seems like an easy way to die"
** Copy provided in exchange for a honest review by Penguin Random House South Africa
The read tells of Marshall, he's an ex- undercover agent ( can you taste the danger yet?) he has just survived the toughest battle of his career and settles into the temporary job of secret services, guarding non other than the President. But then a routine day at the office goes wrong and he is severely injured, he flees to Paris.
Now time to meet Ariana, she knows as the daughter of an American ambassador her life is always at risk, but then her life is turned upside down when danger comes a little too close, she flees to Paris.
With both hiding out and with danger literally on their heels, they find their way to each other , but the real question is , can they trust each other or will one or even both end up dead?
This read was action packed, fast paced and full of twits and turns around every corner of Paris. It was of course the perfect romantic setting for danger as well. I loved the entire suspense vibe the author had going, unlike her previous two books this one had a lot happening.
But not too much that you could not make head or tails thereof of lose your way.
Characterization was well done , well developed and the best part of it all , it really was a true escape from reality. I will add that here and there it was a little too predictable , but it could just me be and my usual obsession with trying to solve mysteries before the end, and thus I think I might have just gotten to the answer faster than other non -mystery suspense reading fans.
What I immensely enjoyed was that this was very different from this author's usual rich vs the powerfully dangerous type of books, it was more down to earth and I could relate to the characters on a human level.
I highly recommend this read for all fans of this author's books, and heck even if you don't love her work at all I am pretty sure that this book will get your attention in some way, give it a try , who knows ! It's got mystery, spies. lies, some thrills and a little bit of spill !
5.5 star review
" Going undercover seems like an easy way to die"
** Copy provided in exchange for a honest review by Penguin Random House South Africa
June 6, 2019
This was a waste of time. A superficial plot that attracts you at first, but you can not help the feeling of emptiness after finishing it. would not recommend it to friends at all.
June 8, 2016
I did like the book. Good plot line and interesting story overall. I love Marshall and Ariana's relationship. But I feel that Steel was a bit repetitive. And constantly reminding us about the past. The back stories took around 200 pages! But aside from that I did enjoy the book. I really liked Mac's humour and Marshall's teasing nature. If you like a psychological thriller romance then I recommend that you read this book. However personally I felt it was very unfulfilling. The romance between the protagonists was only 30 or so pages long. The last hundred pages focused more on friendship than anything else. We didn't get anything more than a glance at Marshall and Ariana's romance and the end was so quick. I was excited to read this because it was my first romance but it did not fully meet my expectations. I mean Marshall and Ariana didn't even meet until after 200 something pages and the book's only 336 pages long! And it was really annoying when I was constantly reminded of Ariana's time in Buenos Aries, I couldn't go half a page without being reminded that she loved Jorge or that she lost the kid. Overall I didn't like this as much as I wanted too. I would have liked to read a book that was 600 pages long and had more content than a book that was shorter and unfulfilling.
Want to read
February 7, 2018I'm sorry, but this book might be the worst book I've ever read. I have to stop. The poor writing and repeated phrases, the wasted chapters of nothing that have added to the story. This could be an example for a professor in a creative writing class what not to do. I won't give a rating as I didn't finish the book, but it was just that bad.
However, my opinion may not match yours. So if you love this author or if you want to give it a try, you should.
However, my opinion may not match yours. So if you love this author or if you want to give it a try, you should.
November 4, 2015
A very enjoyable book! I haven't read anything by this author in quite awhile. She does tell a good story.
November 18, 2016
Having a "good" plot, won't save you from mediocrity of the literary kind that I found within the pages of 'Undercover'. I will address the issues below- but I will start by saying that the plot was well thought out. Interesting. It moved along at a good pace, never spending too long on one subject. Unfortunately, plot alone does not make a good book. It is simply the foundation.
1) Adverb overuse- and I must stress "overuse". Some authors do it and it works in their favour, but in Undercover, it felt tacky and stuck out like a sore thumb.
2) Tell- Don't show. Nearly the entire book was written in a "summarization" type method, making the reader feel like they were reading a heady report, rather than feeling as though they are in the throes of the story- right next to the characters.
3) Everything was told from a head perspective, never from the heart, even when describing something emotional or traumatizing. I don't think I've ever read a book that was less...raw. I didn't feel ANY heartfelt connection to the characters, or as though the author had dug deep to express an emotional situation or character. That is not good. I've read books written by thirteen year olds that expressed agony better than Steel did in this book.
4) The style in which steel wrote, felt oddly...childish. As I said before, having read books by tween's and teens, I can understand their level of maturity might lead them to write in a way that isn't entirely...polished, but the way Steel constructed her sentences and chose her words...felt like I was reading a book by an inexperienced teen author.
5) Switching POV's multiple times during scenes. Another thing I've seen young, inexperienced author's do...but unless I'm misinformed about this particular writing rule...one does not jump from Jonny's POV, then to Suzy's, then to Bobby's, ALL WITHIN ONE SCENE, and might I add, PARAGRAPH? If you want to switch from character "A" to character "B"'s perspective, at least give us a break in the paragraph to signal the change- and stay on character "B"'s perspective until the chapter ending, or until you've put another break in the paragraph and given character "A" the go ahead. Confusing for the reader, as it messed with the flow and direction of things- and it didn't feel overly concise or focused on the author's part.
6) A LOT of backstory. We had 90 pages of Marshall's- then it switched and gave us 110 of Ariana's backstory. They didn't meet until page 232, and then had less than 100 pages of knowing each other or working towards their common goals...or staying alive ;)
Soo...that was disappointing. While I like a good backstory, I would've rather have read more about their story together, than their separate ones- which while I did enjoy them, they seemed a bit more drawn out than necessary.
I know Steel is an uber popular writer, with her books gracing the New York Times bestelling list a good deal of the time, but what I experienced in Undercover was some good creativity in terms of the overall plot, but everything else fell quite...flat. The characters, writing style and vocabulary of Undercover felt rather blah. It had amazing potential with the groundwork of a good plot- because it was good- but everything else...I don't know what went wrong, but it was not enjoyable as a reader.
1) Adverb overuse- and I must stress "overuse". Some authors do it and it works in their favour, but in Undercover, it felt tacky and stuck out like a sore thumb.
2) Tell- Don't show. Nearly the entire book was written in a "summarization" type method, making the reader feel like they were reading a heady report, rather than feeling as though they are in the throes of the story- right next to the characters.
3) Everything was told from a head perspective, never from the heart, even when describing something emotional or traumatizing. I don't think I've ever read a book that was less...raw. I didn't feel ANY heartfelt connection to the characters, or as though the author had dug deep to express an emotional situation or character. That is not good. I've read books written by thirteen year olds that expressed agony better than Steel did in this book.
4) The style in which steel wrote, felt oddly...childish. As I said before, having read books by tween's and teens, I can understand their level of maturity might lead them to write in a way that isn't entirely...polished, but the way Steel constructed her sentences and chose her words...felt like I was reading a book by an inexperienced teen author.
5) Switching POV's multiple times during scenes. Another thing I've seen young, inexperienced author's do...but unless I'm misinformed about this particular writing rule...one does not jump from Jonny's POV, then to Suzy's, then to Bobby's, ALL WITHIN ONE SCENE, and might I add, PARAGRAPH? If you want to switch from character "A" to character "B"'s perspective, at least give us a break in the paragraph to signal the change- and stay on character "B"'s perspective until the chapter ending, or until you've put another break in the paragraph and given character "A" the go ahead. Confusing for the reader, as it messed with the flow and direction of things- and it didn't feel overly concise or focused on the author's part.
6) A LOT of backstory. We had 90 pages of Marshall's- then it switched and gave us 110 of Ariana's backstory. They didn't meet until page 232, and then had less than 100 pages of knowing each other or working towards their common goals...or staying alive ;)
Soo...that was disappointing. While I like a good backstory, I would've rather have read more about their story together, than their separate ones- which while I did enjoy them, they seemed a bit more drawn out than necessary.
I know Steel is an uber popular writer, with her books gracing the New York Times bestelling list a good deal of the time, but what I experienced in Undercover was some good creativity in terms of the overall plot, but everything else fell quite...flat. The characters, writing style and vocabulary of Undercover felt rather blah. It had amazing potential with the groundwork of a good plot- because it was good- but everything else...I don't know what went wrong, but it was not enjoyable as a reader.
December 28, 2019
4.5*
Undercover is a really entertaining read that only takes a handful of hours. I loved how the two main characters stories were split into two different parts then their story together in the last part. It flowed wonderfully. Great, easy Danielle Steel novel that is highly enjoyable!
Undercover is a really entertaining read that only takes a handful of hours. I loved how the two main characters stories were split into two different parts then their story together in the last part. It flowed wonderfully. Great, easy Danielle Steel novel that is highly enjoyable!
March 28, 2017
I really enjoyed the story and the characters, but.....
Starting sentences with 'And', many many times, was breaking my concentration! It was driving me nuts! It also felt like certain scenes, feelings, POV and actions were being repeated, over and over again. It got to the point where I was saying to myself "I heard you the first time Ms. Steel", let's move on to what happens next. The ending was just too quick. No time to really invest in the romance between the main characters. Absolutely no action whatsoever. No chases, no running, no bang bang gun shots and you're dead, no fights, just a simple romantic story with a few great characters. Not exactly her best work but good enough to read all the way through, I suppose.
Starting sentences with 'And', many many times, was breaking my concentration! It was driving me nuts! It also felt like certain scenes, feelings, POV and actions were being repeated, over and over again. It got to the point where I was saying to myself "I heard you the first time Ms. Steel", let's move on to what happens next. The ending was just too quick. No time to really invest in the romance between the main characters. Absolutely no action whatsoever. No chases, no running, no bang bang gun shots and you're dead, no fights, just a simple romantic story with a few great characters. Not exactly her best work but good enough to read all the way through, I suppose.
October 17, 2017
The story was good; it was interesting. It was not well written at all. If this was an author's first book, I would totally understand. But this is written by Danielle Steel! She's way more talented than this. The story was told, not shown. There were lots of repetition. The characters were likable, but you never really "felt" anything for them. Lots of unnecessary stuff throughout the book. Some of the dialogue was totally unlike real conversations. There were many events in the book that would have definitely not played out the way they did in reality. I think the storyline was great, it just wasn't carried out as well as it should've been.
June 4, 2018
This is my first book by this author. And my first impression is - not good.
It felt like a story you fell your friend or not even that, an acquaintance where you narrate a long period of time with basic information and names and things that happened but NO depth whatsoever. Facts and stats kind of info. I can't put it i romance genre because is not it nor I can say that is psychological novel. It is something in between. Got me feeling nothing. Even though it has some interesting issues and subject in it.
The back story took way too long to be told and felt like a prologue had 50% or more of the book.
This was wrong book for me to give this author a chance. Maybe I should try some other of her many books. We will see.
It felt like a story you fell your friend or not even that, an acquaintance where you narrate a long period of time with basic information and names and things that happened but NO depth whatsoever. Facts and stats kind of info. I can't put it i romance genre because is not it nor I can say that is psychological novel. It is something in between. Got me feeling nothing. Even though it has some interesting issues and subject in it.
The back story took way too long to be told and felt like a prologue had 50% or more of the book.
This was wrong book for me to give this author a chance. Maybe I should try some other of her many books. We will see.
January 14, 2016
I've read every Danielle Steel book. Although sometimes I feel she's my dirty little pleasure, I look forward to them all, and she never disappoints. Is she a great writer, probably not. She repeats single thought so often that I want to scream and her story structure never varies but I look forward to curling up with her books and living her stories.
I enjoyed Undercover . . . and like always was sorry to see it end so quickly.
I enjoyed Undercover . . . and like always was sorry to see it end so quickly.
April 25, 2016
Undercover by Danielle Steel is not her typical romance story. There are the romance sections, interesting characters and an intriguing plot that intertwines well with the main characters. This book would be a great summer beach or travel read because it kept me engaged.
September 2, 2015
I like her stories. They are quick read and fun.
September 25, 2015
I am a sucker for Danielle Steele books. I truly enjoy them and this was no exception.
April 19, 2020
I absolutely love being swept away by a Danielle Steel novel and this was one engrossing read.
June 3, 2025
Title: Undercover
Author: Danielle Steel
Genre: Adult Thriller
Format: hardback book
Series: N/A
Star Rating: 5 stars
Please note that this is an older review. At the time of writing this review, I did not keep track of trigger warnings. I apologize for this and know that going forward, my reviews will contain trigger warnings. If you know the trigger warnings for this book, please reach out to me, and I will amend my review. If I do remember any trigger warnings for this book, I will list them, but please note that it is not an extensive list.
tw: gun violence, kidnapping, injury from gun violence, Stockholm Syndrome
Oh my! What I felt throughout the entire book was just pure dread and adrenaline. This book was so wild! It's one of the better DS books that I have read. This is so unlike any other book she’s ever written, and I was living for it. I hope she writes more books like this because I am hooked, and I want more.
So basically, the book has two different POVs. One is of Marshall. He was into undercover work and spent years in a jungle with a drug lord to bring him down. This is how the book starts. But after his mission ended, his superiors were worried that he had gone too deep. So they assign him to be the Secret Service to the President. However, he gets shot, and life comes to an end for him.
I felt so bad for Marshall. He lost his love in the jungle. She was the drug lord's sister. The drug lord found out who ratted him out, and so he shot her to make Marshall feel the pain. I mean that has to be the worst feeling in the world. I felt so much pain for him. So then he gets shuffled around and put to work in the one place he didn't want. That is like a double blow. But at least he begins to enjoy it for a little bit. Until he gets shot. Now he is basically out of work and can't do anything. I mean to have such an exciting life come to an end like that? Man, I couldn't even begin to imagine what that must feel like.
Then we have the POV of Arianna. Her story is just as wild as Marshall's. She moved to Argentina because of her dad. He is an ambassador, and Arianna helps him out because it's only them. She gets kidnapped, falls in love with her kidnapper, and gets pregnant with him. Some major Stockholm Syndrome is going on here. I mean that is really outside the box for DS. Like, very outside the box. As Arianna tries to recover from that experience, her life is still in so much danger.
Arianna and Marshall meet because Marshall can't resist working and notices that Arianna is being followed. He noticed that she buried a box. Being the detective that he is, he digs it up and reads what's inside the contents. I won't say anymore, but their lives become entangled in the best and worst ways.
If I had any complaints, it would be that the ending kind of just came out of nowhere. It went much too fast for me. I mean, yes, I'm glad it ended the way I wanted it to, but I needed more information. It just seemed to end. Just like that. But that is a very small, very minor complaint. Overall, this was such an amazing book and I could keep talking about it for a long, long time. And I highly recommend it.
Author: Danielle Steel
Genre: Adult Thriller
Format: hardback book
Series: N/A
Star Rating: 5 stars
Please note that this is an older review. At the time of writing this review, I did not keep track of trigger warnings. I apologize for this and know that going forward, my reviews will contain trigger warnings. If you know the trigger warnings for this book, please reach out to me, and I will amend my review. If I do remember any trigger warnings for this book, I will list them, but please note that it is not an extensive list.
tw: gun violence, kidnapping, injury from gun violence, Stockholm Syndrome
Oh my! What I felt throughout the entire book was just pure dread and adrenaline. This book was so wild! It's one of the better DS books that I have read. This is so unlike any other book she’s ever written, and I was living for it. I hope she writes more books like this because I am hooked, and I want more.
So basically, the book has two different POVs. One is of Marshall. He was into undercover work and spent years in a jungle with a drug lord to bring him down. This is how the book starts. But after his mission ended, his superiors were worried that he had gone too deep. So they assign him to be the Secret Service to the President. However, he gets shot, and life comes to an end for him.
I felt so bad for Marshall. He lost his love in the jungle. She was the drug lord's sister. The drug lord found out who ratted him out, and so he shot her to make Marshall feel the pain. I mean that has to be the worst feeling in the world. I felt so much pain for him. So then he gets shuffled around and put to work in the one place he didn't want. That is like a double blow. But at least he begins to enjoy it for a little bit. Until he gets shot. Now he is basically out of work and can't do anything. I mean to have such an exciting life come to an end like that? Man, I couldn't even begin to imagine what that must feel like.
Then we have the POV of Arianna. Her story is just as wild as Marshall's. She moved to Argentina because of her dad. He is an ambassador, and Arianna helps him out because it's only them. She gets kidnapped, falls in love with her kidnapper, and gets pregnant with him. Some major Stockholm Syndrome is going on here. I mean that is really outside the box for DS. Like, very outside the box. As Arianna tries to recover from that experience, her life is still in so much danger.
Arianna and Marshall meet because Marshall can't resist working and notices that Arianna is being followed. He noticed that she buried a box. Being the detective that he is, he digs it up and reads what's inside the contents. I won't say anymore, but their lives become entangled in the best and worst ways.
If I had any complaints, it would be that the ending kind of just came out of nowhere. It went much too fast for me. I mean, yes, I'm glad it ended the way I wanted it to, but I needed more information. It just seemed to end. Just like that. But that is a very small, very minor complaint. Overall, this was such an amazing book and I could keep talking about it for a long, long time. And I highly recommend it.
November 16, 2015
3.5 stars. Please Goodreads, don't put spoilers in your book descriptions.
December 4, 2024
2.45 ✨
September 19, 2015
I believe that Steel's last few books have been more interesting that some of her previous works. I enjoyed the jungle scenes with Marshall, and then I liked the scenes of Buenos Aires with Ariana, and her being kidnapped. And her being taken over by Jorge and his sick teachings of taking over the rich people to fund the poor of the world. Although he had millions in secret bank accounts. And then Ariana was rescued, and Jorge was killed. And Ariana's father died of a heart attack the night she was rescued. And so she went to live with Benedictine nuns for a year, then she went to Paris to be deprogrammed by Yael. It took a year to deprogram her, and she finally hid the tin box of journals and the love letters that Jorge had given to her. But Marshall found them, and read the journals and decided that Munoz or 'Luis' the brother of Jorge might be trying to overthrow the government where he was a high ranking official. And he called his friend in the DEA, who called Sam with the CIA who knows Ariana and asked that Marshall watch over her until they determine what is happening. Eventually, 4 guys try to take Ariana, and Marshall descends upon her and takes her in his car to prevent her kidnapping. And they go to London where his friend with Scotland Yard lives and they hide there until they are taken to the US, and then they are put in Witness Protection Program until Munoz can be found and killed. And they take on a ranch, and buy horses and fix up the ranch house and fall in love. Then Munoz is found and killed, and they leave for Paris and are married with the President and First Lady acting as their witnesses.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2016
Honestly, I was a little disappointed here. I was expecting a great thriller and romance all in one – a romantic thriller, if you will. And I didn't really... get that. Everything happened very, very fast and a lot of development was glossed over – the entire plot only took up maybe 20-40 pages at most. There wasn't a lot of suspense and I found myself disappointed that much of it took place off-page. The romance suffered from that as well, there was a lot of development cut out, that I would have preferred to see written.
I think that much of the "backstory" could have been cut, or streamlined better. In a book that's barely over 300 pages, the backstory of the two leads take up nearly two thirds of the book, with them not meeting until well over 200 pages in. Personally, I'd have preferred it to be more streamlined, for there to have been more development, and honestly, I'd have loved more action.
I'll give Steel another try, as I've got another one of her books out from the library, but I feel seriously let down here!
I think that much of the "backstory" could have been cut, or streamlined better. In a book that's barely over 300 pages, the backstory of the two leads take up nearly two thirds of the book, with them not meeting until well over 200 pages in. Personally, I'd have preferred it to be more streamlined, for there to have been more development, and honestly, I'd have loved more action.
I'll give Steel another try, as I've got another one of her books out from the library, but I feel seriously let down here!
October 6, 2015
This was certainly not my favorite of Danielle's books. Her constant repetition of facts and ideas was back in full force. She seemed to have curbed that in her last couple of books, so I had hoped that it was over.
Undercover is somewhat of an action story set within a love story, and it just doesn't really work well. The dealings of the DEA, CIA, and Secret Service aren't really her genre, and although there was violence, somehow she made it seem pretty tame in general. My advice to Danielle would be to leave the intrigue to authors like Patterson who excel at it.
While this wasn't a terrible read, it definitely bored me in parts. It was only towards the end when the match-up the reader could predict almost from Page 1 came that it got more interesting, mostly because love relationships are Danielle's specialty.
Undercover is somewhat of an action story set within a love story, and it just doesn't really work well. The dealings of the DEA, CIA, and Secret Service aren't really her genre, and although there was violence, somehow she made it seem pretty tame in general. My advice to Danielle would be to leave the intrigue to authors like Patterson who excel at it.
While this wasn't a terrible read, it definitely bored me in parts. It was only towards the end when the match-up the reader could predict almost from Page 1 came that it got more interesting, mostly because love relationships are Danielle's specialty.
October 6, 2017
I used to read all of Danielle Steel's books about 20 years ago, but I have not picked up one since. The description of this one intrigued me though, so I thought I would give her another go. This book was so frustrating to read. The actual story didn't kick in until 60% into the book (I know it was 60% because my ereader told me so). Everything that came before this was backstory on both characters which was then repeated in the last 40% as they encountered each other. There was the potential for a great storyline here, but she missed the mark by a long shot. By the end of this novel, I still had no sense of who the characters were. The romance was rushed, the backstory drawn out and rehashed, and the actual story itself under developed. There was no feeling in this book, no heart stopping moments, no sections of great dialogue. The whole thing read like an unedited synopsis.
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August 21, 2025This book really not has my attention until I reach half pages of the book. The story itself tells the interesting but plot kind of repetitive. It's a good story, about receiving love and healing, also a light thriller. But, I have very high expectation with the story had explained so it is little disappointing how the execution was delivered. It's dragging.
September 6, 2015
Not one of Danielle Steel's best
The book started out great but soon lost my interest. It
was repetitive and I didn't like the flow of the book. However it is
still a Danielle Steel book and worth reading.
The book started out great but soon lost my interest. It
was repetitive and I didn't like the flow of the book. However it is
still a Danielle Steel book and worth reading.
September 28, 2015
A bit different from the "usual" Danielle Steel, but absolutely loved how this story ended! Two different stories / characters that come together under unusual circumstances. A bit unfocused at times--hard to figure out what the point was. Overall, just down the middle--5 out of 10 for me.
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