I loved the action in The Widow File and was on the edge of my seat reading Redemption Key, but I'm going to make a big call and say that Trigger is my favourite in the series so far. For readers that haven't read the other two books, the author does touch on previous events that have shaped the lives of the main characters and this book can probably be read as a standalone, but personally, I'd recommend reading the series in order from the beginning, not only because it's fantastic but because a heck of a lot happens in the previous two books that you'll miss a lot of background that really enhances the story.
If it's been a while since you've read Redemption Key, the author provides a great, short recap prior to commencing the main story. I thought this was a nice touch. The story then starts a month after the events of Book 2. We witness a hit on a prominent figure from the point of view of our friendly assassin that we hate to love (but I do it wholeheartedly anyway because there's just something about him), Tom Booker. Choo-Choo is then called back to the not-so-loving arms of his wealthy and well-connected family in Connecticut, taking Dani with him as each doesn't function well without the other. Of course there is more to the story. We're given a new, almost diabolical villain, Cara, who's a fascinatingly complex character, pulling strings for high level and unknown government officials. We're not completely sure what her end game is to start with, just that she's full of ambition and has something huge and unknown planned that involves an unwilling Tom, Dani and Choo-Choo.
I don't want to get into the plot too much as it's one of those books that you're much better off not knowing a lot about for maximum impact. Suffice to say that as you've come to expect from this series, there's government conspiracy aplenty, action, complex relationships between our main characters, criminal activity, intrigue and suspense. What does Cara want with Dani? Will Dani and Choo-Choo's friendship survive the tests it's put through? How can Booker be a cold-blooded killer that makes me tingley when I read each page he features on? I'll keep a personal reflection on the last question to myself lol.
While Dani and Choo-Choo were their usual, fantastic selves, Tom Booker is what really made this book for me. He's been an unknown entity and intriguing character in the precious books and he gets a stack of air time in Trigger with many chapters told from his point of view. I LOVED this. Like, floved it, floved it. It added a great angle to the story and his character is the gift that keeps on giving. He and Dani have complex feelings about each other that they can't quite define due to their history and it adds a great emotional twist throughout the story. The author does a great job of keeping him frightening and cold, while revealing a warmer side to him when he thinks of or is with Dani. It was fabulous and I honestly don't think any future books will grab me unless this dynamic between the two continues to to get stronger and develop. I know this is wrong, but I really want them to end up together. Sorry about getting sidetracked, but the author needs to keep riding this train!
Many chapters are also told from Cara's perspective and this was a really great addition as well. The author did a great job of making me appreciate how deviously genius she was while making me resent the power government and the obscenely wealthy have. She was dangerously brilliant and confident in her ability to wreak havoc as a master manipulator. Dani and Choo-Choo's relationship hits a couple of rocky patches and although there was less from Dani's perspective, the book didn't lack anything for me and still reflected their unique relationship really well.
The story revolves around a countdown to an unknown trigger with the book being set in 2014. I probably would have preferred no years, just dates so that it's not set in the past. A couple of dates at the start also didn't make sense to me as we were given the same dates, but with different days listed with times out of whack. I think this was an oversight and it confused me a lot at the start of the story when I was trying to get back into the swing of the series. Apart from that, the writing was good and I couldn't put it down. As Dani continued to struggle with the events from the first two books, the author perfectly reflected her quirks and anxieties as well as Choo-Choo's inability to define who he is, particularly in regards to his family.
Overall, this was a fantastic read that's worth every cent and already has me tearing my hair out for the next book, which the author said in the blurb at the end of the book that there would be - phew! There was great character development with our 3 main players as well as few more interesting, secondary characters thrown in for good measure. I loved the ending and want more Tom, Dani and Choo-Choo.