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The Night Café
Between jobs and feeling financially strapped, gun-for-hire Hannah Nicks takes on an assignment that promises easy money and an all-expenses-paid vacation on the Mexican Riviera.
Hired by her sister's friend, a gallery owner, Hannah sets out to transport a minor artist's painting to its buyer in Puerto Vallarta. But when Hannah arrives at the delivery point, she finds the tail end of a massacre and is nearly killed herself. She hides the painting, fearing it is not a meal ticket but a death warrant, and flees back to the States. But it only gets worse for her in L.A.
The gallery owner has been killed, and Hannah is named as the murder suspect. In order to prove her innocence, she must hunt down the person who framed her...and uncover the secret of a deadly work of art.
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
4 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Taylor Smith
403 books19 followersAfter 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.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 7, 2022
Hannah Nicks is a security consultant who accepts a courier job for a quick paycheck, transporting a painting to Mexico for an art gallery owner, who is her older sister's best friend. However, several factors (including a combative ex-husband, and a double-crossing henchman) see her arrive at her destination quite late - to see the aftermath of a massacre.
This lands her in a world of trouble. The painting's buyer is Moises Gladding, a wanted man by several government agencies, and he is not happy he didn't get his painting. Meanwhile, Hannah sneaks back into the US, unsure who she can trust, only to discover the art gallery owner has been murdered. (This doesn't happen until more than halfway through the book, but it's on the back blurb, so I'm not spoiling anything!) The police and FBI wonder why so many people are dying around Hannah. Hannah tries to get to the bottom of what's going on, as Gladding and his psychopathic underling now seem to be coming for her.
While it was nice to get a thriller that didn't involve unreliable narrators or wishy-washy women hiding from their pasts, this tale of international intrigue never really geared up into anything terribly exciting or interesting. It takes a very long time to get going. Lots of the events described on the back of the book's blurb don't happen until well past the halfway mark. So what do we get up until then? Lots of descriptions of the routes taken to get to places, and how long it took to get there, or of what every single thing in a room looked like? How'd you guess?
I appreciated that Hannah was a woman who could look after herself, so that kept me in the story. I like reading about strong women. Too many female protagonists these days are either unreliable liars holding secrets (in psychological thrillers), or fragile damsels-in-distress throwing themselves against the nearest strong male chest (in romantic suspense.) Hannah was capable and had smarts, and the author did a good job of showing, not telling, us this, and she was my main tether to the story.
But it was just never as exciting as a plot like this should be! First, because it takes so damn long to kick into gear, and also because we get told a great deal of action stuff after it has already taken place. Don't cut away when the action starts and then tell me what actually happened later! Put me in the moment! It's much more exciting that way.
Also, while it was great to get some diversity by the inclusion of Hannah's gay neighbours...they didn't actually need to be there! Hannah asks one if he can get some intel on Gladding - but Hannah herself already knows he's an arms dealer, and has both a detective sort-of boyfriend and two FBI agents who can tell her anything else! I suppose it's to put the gay couple in danger later in the proceedings, but
It's a fair to middling thriller, but doesn't generate the suspense or excitement or action I would expect from this type of genre offering. It takes far too long to get going, and cuts away from a lot of the action when the going is about to get good.
This lands her in a world of trouble. The painting's buyer is Moises Gladding, a wanted man by several government agencies, and he is not happy he didn't get his painting. Meanwhile, Hannah sneaks back into the US, unsure who she can trust, only to discover the art gallery owner has been murdered. (This doesn't happen until more than halfway through the book, but it's on the back blurb, so I'm not spoiling anything!) The police and FBI wonder why so many people are dying around Hannah. Hannah tries to get to the bottom of what's going on, as Gladding and his psychopathic underling now seem to be coming for her.
While it was nice to get a thriller that didn't involve unreliable narrators or wishy-washy women hiding from their pasts, this tale of international intrigue never really geared up into anything terribly exciting or interesting. It takes a very long time to get going. Lots of the events described on the back of the book's blurb don't happen until well past the halfway mark. So what do we get up until then? Lots of descriptions of the routes taken to get to places, and how long it took to get there, or of what every single thing in a room looked like? How'd you guess?
I appreciated that Hannah was a woman who could look after herself, so that kept me in the story. I like reading about strong women. Too many female protagonists these days are either unreliable liars holding secrets (in psychological thrillers), or fragile damsels-in-distress throwing themselves against the nearest strong male chest (in romantic suspense.) Hannah was capable and had smarts, and the author did a good job of showing, not telling, us this, and she was my main tether to the story.
But it was just never as exciting as a plot like this should be! First, because it takes so damn long to kick into gear, and also because we get told a great deal of action stuff after it has already taken place. Don't cut away when the action starts and then tell me what actually happened later! Put me in the moment! It's much more exciting that way.
Also, while it was great to get some diversity by the inclusion of Hannah's gay neighbours...they didn't actually need to be there! Hannah asks one if he can get some intel on Gladding - but Hannah herself already knows he's an arms dealer, and has both a detective sort-of boyfriend and two FBI agents who can tell her anything else! I suppose it's to put the gay couple in danger later in the proceedings, but
It's a fair to middling thriller, but doesn't generate the suspense or excitement or action I would expect from this type of genre offering. It takes far too long to get going, and cuts away from a lot of the action when the going is about to get good.
August 11, 2008
So far I'm not impressed, but my mom thought it was great, so I'm giving it a chance.
***
Okay, so it did improve, but it took FOREVER.
***
Okay, so it did improve, but it took FOREVER.
July 20, 2009
It wasn't bad. Took a little bit for me to get into it though.
April 18, 2011
a little slow in some places
May 2, 2012
A good read all in all. Could have moved a bit quicker, or had a bit more action, but I like the characters.
July 28, 2012
Actually quite enjoyed it - maybe a little bit slow at some parts but overall quite entertaining.
February 12, 2014
It takes way to long for it to really get interesting and by then you have read over 2/3 of the book.
February 19, 2022
This is what I am talking about when I say action books need to be less misogynist. Kind of.
Hannah is a gun-toting, sarcastic private detective/agent and it's clear that in this world a simple little job like babysitting a painting is not quite going to go down so easily. A nice collection of ironies, a genuinely string female protagonist, a love-interest that is not toxic (not in this book anyway) and an ex husband who is, but does not get the last word. I actually liked the way her ex's second-wife got the last word. Sisters before misters every time!
Apart from that, and from the strong sister and mother hovering in the background, mostly out of the lens this is a bit of a sausage-fest I am afraid but at least the sausage is diverse with a gay couple of dads, a stereotypical yet charismatic English former marine, spies who are vaguely irritating but not too macho all the time and criminals who are nicely rounded but not too much (they neither camp up the muhahahaha nor pull at our heart strings). I genuinely wanted to keep reading this book once I got into it and for this genre that's rare. Hannah's observations about John's ambitious and attractive new protegee, not catty but full of understanding were also a welcome change of pace. I could have done without the torture scene but it was fairly cleanly done and did end up having a point to it in terms of setting up later tensions.
I don't like American nationalism, even with a wry "sure we are sometimes bad guys but we got to protect what we have" and I am never going to be a convert to this level of gun-toting machismo but nevertheless this book was a genuinely fresh angle on a genre I don't think I would ever have given 4 stars to before and builds on feminist writing of the 90s and beyond but with a great deal more nuance, moral reflexivity and less of the easy consumption.
I will look out for more from this author.
Hannah is a gun-toting, sarcastic private detective/agent and it's clear that in this world a simple little job like babysitting a painting is not quite going to go down so easily. A nice collection of ironies, a genuinely string female protagonist, a love-interest that is not toxic (not in this book anyway) and an ex husband who is, but does not get the last word. I actually liked the way her ex's second-wife got the last word. Sisters before misters every time!
Apart from that, and from the strong sister and mother hovering in the background, mostly out of the lens this is a bit of a sausage-fest I am afraid but at least the sausage is diverse with a gay couple of dads, a stereotypical yet charismatic English former marine, spies who are vaguely irritating but not too macho all the time and criminals who are nicely rounded but not too much (they neither camp up the muhahahaha nor pull at our heart strings). I genuinely wanted to keep reading this book once I got into it and for this genre that's rare. Hannah's observations about John's ambitious and attractive new protegee, not catty but full of understanding were also a welcome change of pace. I could have done without the torture scene but it was fairly cleanly done and did end up having a point to it in terms of setting up later tensions.
I don't like American nationalism, even with a wry "sure we are sometimes bad guys but we got to protect what we have" and I am never going to be a convert to this level of gun-toting machismo but nevertheless this book was a genuinely fresh angle on a genre I don't think I would ever have given 4 stars to before and builds on feminist writing of the 90s and beyond but with a great deal more nuance, moral reflexivity and less of the easy consumption.
I will look out for more from this author.
August 14, 2025
Between jobs and feeling financially strapped, gun-for-hire Hannah Nicks takes on an assignment that promises easy money and an all-expenses-paid vacation on the Mexican Riviera.
Hired by her sister’s friend, a gallery owner, Hannah sets out to transport a minor artist’s painting to its buyer in Puerto Vallarta. But when Hannah arrives at the delivery point, she finds the tail end of a massacre and is nearly killed herself. She hides the painting, fearing it is not a meal ticket but a death warrant, and flees back to the States.
But it only gets worse for her in L.A. The gallery owner has been killed, and Hannah is named as the murder suspect. In order to prove her innocence, she must hunt down the person who framed her…and uncover the secret of a deadly work of art.
Hired by her sister’s friend, a gallery owner, Hannah sets out to transport a minor artist’s painting to its buyer in Puerto Vallarta. But when Hannah arrives at the delivery point, she finds the tail end of a massacre and is nearly killed herself. She hides the painting, fearing it is not a meal ticket but a death warrant, and flees back to the States.
But it only gets worse for her in L.A. The gallery owner has been killed, and Hannah is named as the murder suspect. In order to prove her innocence, she must hunt down the person who framed her…and uncover the secret of a deadly work of art.
March 15, 2020
This was a solid adventure story. The main character Hannah who is a security services expert is hired by a friend of her sister’s to courier a painting to a buyer in Mexico, once she arrives in Mexico all hell breaks lose. Hannah is a likable character as are everyone else in the book, and a great fast storyline.
May 26, 2018
Not a bad read. It moves along pretty smoothly. The story itself is pretty interesting and the author does a decent job of involving multiple main and supporting characters which adds some depth to the overall story. i would say if you are looking for a quick, light read, this story could do the job.
June 24, 2021
Not a bad read. Love her descriptive writing. She's really got me wanting to find some more of her paperbacks so that I can learn more about Hannah. Looking forward to reading more about her and her adventures. And just how her family fit into those adventures. Thanks, TS!!
November 13, 2023
Entertaining but not compelling.
Reminiscent of Sue Grafton’s heroine, Kinsey Millhone, but much less interesting and minus the self-deprecating humour. Grafton’s tales also moved faster.
To me, the most interesting character is the British detective.
Reminiscent of Sue Grafton’s heroine, Kinsey Millhone, but much less interesting and minus the self-deprecating humour. Grafton’s tales also moved faster.
To me, the most interesting character is the British detective.
August 10, 2019
This was entertaining with a good female lead.
December 14, 2022
A stolen Van Gogh painting, a down and out security specialist an arms dealer and a simple courier job. How can anything go wrong?
January 16, 2023
Action packed book - enjoyed the main character.
January 2, 2014
Hannah is hired to transport a painting from a friend's art gallery to the buyer in Mexico. Little does she know that this job will lead to several murders and bring danger to her family and friends. This was quick paced and interesting.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews