Sequel to the award-winning Chameleon Assassin and Winner for Best Fantasy (Contemporary/Urban Fantasy) of 2018
Even a chameleon can be a target.
Libby makes her money as a thief and an assassin, but a girl has to have a cover. To her surprise, her business installing security systems in 23rd century Toronto is taking off, as is her romance with Wil - North America’s top cop.
Then, an insurance company hires her to recover a fortune in stolen art and jewelry. Bring them the stolen goods, and they'll pay an outrageous fee, no questions asked.
The Vancouver art scene is hot, in more ways than one. Billionaires compete for bragging rights, and they aren't picky who they deal with.
With big money and reputations on the line, Libby is on a collision course with the super-rich. When too many questions make the art thieves uncomfortable, one of the world’s top assassins is hired to eliminate those who know too much - including Libby.
I made silver and turquoise jewelry for almost a decade, ended up in nursing school, then took a master’s in business. Along the way I worked in construction, as a newspaper editor, a teacher, and somehow found a career working with computers.
As to my other interests, I love the outdoors, especially the Rocky Mountains. I’ve skied since high school, with one broken leg and one torn ACL to show for it. I’ve hiked and camped all my life. I love to travel, though I haven’t done enough of it. I’ve seen a lot of Russia and Mexico, not enough of England. Amsterdam is amazing, and the Romanian Alps are breathtaking. Lake Tahoe is a favorite, and someday I’d like to see Banff.
After a few books, I still enjoy this series so much. Libby is so good at what she does and it’s entertaining to read about her Jobe and solving the crimes. I liked her interactions with Wil, his expressions made me laugh. I hope to read more in the future.
Solid five star rating! I love this series. Libby is an amazing character with her own flaws but many strengths. The story was very captivating and many players to keep you entertained. Very much looking forward to the next installment.
Audiobook narrated by Hannah Hart ⭐️⭐️ Edward Fox ⭐️⭐️
First. Both narrators failed miserable on the Irish accent. It brought the story down.
Second. Libby has gone from an assassin to mainly legit, and it's no longer as fun. I like the murders, the mystery, and the corruption way more than a mostly law-abiding assassin working for the higher-ups.
This ended so abruptly. I feel like the other three did as well. The whole series was very 2D. Flat.
Running thoughts:
I feel like she and Wil went from friends to in Love way too quickly. There was barely any dating in there!
I feel like she only wears a filter mask when the author remembers that she should.
There is no real suspense. I feel like I will always be able to pick out the bad guy within a few chapters of any of these books.
First book wasn’t great but was leagues above the rest of them.
In one of the books it was mentioned that it was 90 degrees Celsius. How is anyone actually alive?
Won’t get on a plane because of all of the weather, but there’s never any real weather on the ground? And she totally flies to Ireland.
For this being about the chameleon assassin, she only ever assassinates one person. In the first book. She never takes out another contracted hit.
A lot of things are submerged under water, whole cities, landmarks. How did they ever build new roads?
Question: when she changes form, it’s just an illusion, right? So if she made herself short and then someone tried to kiss her, wouldn’t they miss? Because she’s still actually tall?
There is no friction. Wil is a cop and Libby murders a lot of people. A lot. He should probably not be as okay with it as he is. Right? They should fight. Have arguments.
Real life question: is she also in a relationship with Nellie? There was kissing. With tongue. And then a fade to black-ish scene.
It’s hard to sum up this category of novel. It’s a bit dystopian, a bit sci-fi, a bit paranormal, a bit crime thriller. Basically it’s the best of the all the worlds stirred together and out pops this wonderful series.
If you are reading the review for this book, I’ve already written three others about the rest of the series that sums up what I think. Go back and read those because it pretty much says it all. This is a great series with wonderful characters who live in a twisted world where corporations run everything, including crime solving.
This book sees Libby being drawn into solving some thefts of valuable art works by an insurance company. She travels to Vancouver, from her native Toronto, and pretends to be an heiress to gain access into high society homes. She soon unearths massive quantities of stolen art and it all follows on from there.
In this book we see less of Wil, but they are in a stable romantic relationship, which means there are no complicated romantic entanglements to the plot. It is almost pure crime thriller.
As always, I love Libby, her skills and ruthless use of them. I also appreciate Wil’s conflict where Libby takes steps that mean he can’t prosecute, but also appreciates the information she gets when she steps away from the straight and narrow.
I really hope there are more books in this series.
I loved this story. The interactions between characters was entertaining and interesting and the storyline was intriguing and enthralling, I couldn't put it down. Hope more is coming soon cause this series is fantastic.
The story was good and the characters likable but there was no depth to the books. I liked the world and it seemed the books might be leading to a save the world, lift up the poor, equality war but four books in and nothing.
Libby/Lizzy has a strange relationship with her best friend. Sometimes it takes on a sexual nature and confused me a little. The characters are interesting and exciting. This is an enjoyable entertaining series to read.
I’ve only recently discovered BR Kingsolver and found a new favorite. I’ve addictively read through all of her urban fantasies sci-fi series, as well as the only sci-fi story story of hers I could find (Border Patrol, in the Bellator collection). Here’s my review of all of them in one clump - the bottom line being that they are all easily 5 star books.
Rosie O'Grady's Paranormal Bar and Grill Series
This was the first series by this author that I read, trying it in a whim as it was free on KU and looked like fun. Oh Dear Lord was it ever. Perfect world-building with Fae, elves, vampires, mages, et. al. Perfect backstory with the world’s best assassin (our lead) funding out that she’s been lied to most of her life by the Order of the Illuminati who are actually evil and not the force for good she thought, followed by her lopping off the top tier of the Order and ending up in hiding at the eponymous Rosie O'Grady's Bar and Grill. That’s the short version. The long one is much more complex and the series itself is filled with great plot lines and a perfect story arc (though each book stands alone sequentially, ie, the work fine and end well so long as you read them in order. Addictive fun and a perfect series ender.
The Telepathic Clans Saga
This was my second Kingsolver series. It evolves around telepathic clans (no shocker there) filled with people with different sets of telepathic “Gifts” (like mind shielding) made up of a series of “Talents” (different ways to do it). There are initially 25 known Gifts. At the top are the Succubi, all female, who have a series of Gifts including the Succubus Gift (drain energy from sex, etc). Known as Druids in the Irish clans, these ladies are bad-a**. The lead here is a Druid named Brenna, but she’s so much more. While the average telepath has only a few gifts, abs the extraordinary ones have 12-15 (Druids all have a base set of 8), Brenna has all of the gifts, unheard of. Anyway, she gets into a series of adventures with action, infra and inter-clan politics, and do much more. Incredible stuff really, all set in a world very different (but equally imaginative) as the prior series I’d read, and filled with a growing cast of perfectly crafted supporting characters. Once again you can read each book sequentially stand-alone, and they end with a perfect series ender.
Chameleon Assassin
I had initially avoided this series because I tend not to like a post-apocalypse setting. In this case the apocalypse in question (atomic wars leading to massive population loss and mutations) was so far in the past that society has more or less recovered and has now passed the pre-war tech levels. Our hero here, Libby, is the coolest kick-a** dame in fiction. An assassin and thief, among other things, who has two primary mutations: she’s a chameleon (she can look like anyone or pretty much blend into the background) plus a sort of electrokenisis, and a pretty fantastic set of physical skills (don’t mess with her in a fight) and computer hacking talents. Add in another perfect supporting cast and, well, just wow. I adored this series.
Dark Streets
This is the last of the series that I read, currently on book 2 (and ending with a perfectly good “Happily Enough For Now” though I’m drooling for the next book). It’s set in a world that’s very similar to that of The Telepathic Clans (though there are some differences - Washington DC is nuked in this one) but society is different as the Magi, who beat back (to a draw) the demons who invaded once rifts between worlds opened, now pretty much rule everything. Our lead here is another kick-a** dame, a police detective who is a magitek (a rare form of magic that enables one to do magic with machinery - including computers), potential heir to one of the Ten (the ten most powerful Magi clans who basically rule the world) but also the granddaughter of the man who accidentally opened the rifts and let all the monsters, demons and fantasy beings in. The perspective is very different, part gritty detective tale, part politics and warfare on the global scale, pure urban fantasy. Fantastic stuff, really.
Border Patrol (in the Bellator collection)
This was the only pure sci-fi story I’ve read by BR Kingsolver and was frustratingly perfect. Military sci-fi, the heroine here is the commander of an assault troop unit, it was an absolute total blast (and I’ve been reading this stuff since Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers was first published, so I should know). Perfect characters and storyline. The frustration is that while it ends in a very satisfying manner, I’m massively frustrated that this was only a short story. I’m truly hoping the author turns it into the first book in a new series.
Frankly, I’m hoping that BR Kingsolver expands every series she’s written, even though most have ended with great HEAs. That’s the sign, I know, of works that are fantastic and easy to highly recommend.
“Chameleon’s Death Dance” is another great installment in the Chameleon Assassin series. This time, Libby is asked to locate several missing masterpiece art works. She goes undercover as a rich heiress and infiltrates the world of the rich corporations in Vancouver.
Not only does Libby locate a few of the items I her list she also locates some missing art on no one’s list. As she gets closer to obtaining more of the missing paintings she also finds herself on the list of an assassin who is bound and determined to take her out. Of course she doesn’t share that fact with her boyfriend Wil or her parents. When they find out they are none too pleased.
The search for the missing art pieces takes Libby in an international hunt to Geneva and Ireland. Wil joins forces with her to help bring down an Irish mobster but it quickly becomes clear there is a leak in his organization. If she is to survive Libby will have to pull out all of her mutant skills especially those of the chameleon.
I will enjoyed this read better than the last book because the plot wasn’t so dark. The criminals though their wealth put them above the justice system but the plot twists and turns creatively handled that dilemma. I enjoyed the action and intrigue but wish that Ms. Kingsolver would delve into some of the other supporting characters a little more. The kids at the orphanage and her ward, Glenda are quite intriguing.
Overall, I liked the series - or at least I didn't hate it. I did just finish the series "Rosie O'Grady's Paranormal Bar and Grill," and thoroughly enjoyed it. And by finish, I mean I devoured it. I'd rate that at least a 4, maybe a 4.5.
Chameleon Assassin, not so much; 3, tops. The main character, and in fact, all the characters in Chameleon, were flat, stock characters. Almost nothing in the way of growth from beginning to end, no real moral, ethical, emotional trials and tribulations to overcome. The entire series was basically a narration. Thankfully, I read it on kindle unlimited, so I'm not out the money.
Paranormal Bar and Grill was worthy enough that I went back and bought the series after reading it for free. My only real disappointment was that there needs to be a 5th book to complete the series.
Working a lucrative insurance contract to retrieve stolen jewelry, the crown jewels of England and France plus valuable paintings rumored to be in Vancouver, Libby draws concentrated attention from the leader of a ruthless art theft and trafficking ring.
Though Libby finds some of the jewelry and plenty of stolen art but not the paintings she was contracted to find. But the deeper Libby gets involved, the more stolen art she appropriates and the more suspects Libby identifies, the more suspects die and the closer Libby gets to being a statistic herself, even though she uses her flawless disguises. Rating: 4stars
Good 4th installment of the series. 3.5 stars rounding up Although personally I thought it wasnt quite up to par with the previous books. It felt very long-winded and once again it seemed like the majority of the time she's playing catch up rather than actually investigating... The thing that kept bugging me was Kieran's name. It's guy name, not a girl name, not a gender neutral name. I've been living in Ireland for many years now and it's 100% a guy name. So that was very confusing very time her name was mentioned.
These books are fab but make sure you have a few hours to while away as once you start reading they are impossible to put down. Libby is a great character and I am warming to Wil a bit. This story took us all over but I'm always happiest when Libby is in Toronto with her super supporting cast.
Great characters with depth and appeal, great futuristic world, well thought out, and Canadian!! I love the plots, the heroine, Libby is someone we all want to be, brave, interesting, strong and intelligent. I have read the Assassin books, up til this one, started on the magister books, and love the chaos books. I am looking forward to reading all her books.
She still takes risks that really are unavoidable and the dangers are more impressive than ever. I like the mutant-paranormal parallel as more types and hybrids make their appearance.
Polished, smooth writing. Excellent pacing and suspense, and a fantastic, snarky, smart heroine combine to make this a worthy addition to a great series. I recommend it. Start at the first book, of course. They are all well worth it.
Excellent art forgery mystery. This author knows how to write a convoluted story that involves art heists, murder, international mafia bosses and a race to find an escaped forger. Very good.
I loved this book. The plot just got better and better. The characters were really unusual and interesting. This author has a way with stories that puts her above many other authors I have read.
I've enjoyed the entire series! I certainly hope its not done. Whats next for Libby? There are so many possibilities! I can see this as a never ending story. It could be as fun as Janet Evanovitch and her numbers series! Please don't end the story here!!!
I enjoyed this book. The plot and characters are great. I really like the different mutation people manifest. There are so many. It isinteresting to see how and when she will put them in the book Good story.
Libby’s back trying to recover stolen art for the insurance company. This time it’s in Vancouver and there are a lot of high society players involved along with the Irish mob. Libby tries to untangle it all while watching out for assassins, forgers and thieves.