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Denise Cleever Thrillers #1
Murder Undercover
An agent with the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, Denise Cleever welcomes the prospect of a special assignment on an island paradise. Deep undercover at an exclusive resort off the Great Barrier Reef, Denise finds nothing unusual until she encounters the owner's rebellious -- and dangerously attractive -- daughter Roanna. Until the killing begins . . .
177 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1999
About the author
Claire McNab
45 books52 followersCLAIRE McNAB, 1940-2022
Claire McNab died on June 30, 2022, after a prolonged battle with Parkinson’s Disease. She also wrote under her real name, Claire Carmichael, an outpouring of children's literature, textbooks, self-help books, and plays. She became (and remains to this day) a renowned author of children’s books in Australia.
Claire McNab is the pseudonym of Claire Carmichael. She was born in 1940 in Melbourne, Australia. While pursuing a career as a high school teacher in Sydney, she began her writing career with comedy plays and textbooks. She left teaching in the mid-eighties to become a full-time writer. In her native Australia she is known for her self-help and children's books. She moved to Los Angeles in 1994 after falling in love with an American woman, and now teaches not-yet-published writers through the UCLA Writers' Extension Program. She is best known for three lesbian mystery series featuring Inspector Carol Ashton, Agent Denise Cleever and Detective Kylie Kendall. She is the recipient of the 2006 Alice B. Medal.
From the publisher's website: Claire McNab has written over 50 books and is known in her native Australia for crime fiction, children's novels, picture books, self-help, and English textbooks. Her first mystery, Lessons in Murder, was published in the U.S. in 1988. Now a Los Angeles resident, she teaches not-yet-published writers through the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. She is the author of three lesbian mystery series featuring Inspector Carol Ashton, Agent Denise Cleever and Detective Kylie Kendall. She has served as the president of Sisters in Crime and is a member of both the Mystery Writers of America and the Science Fiction Writers of America. She lives in Los Angeles and is working on the finale of the Carol Ashton series, Lethal Care.
Claire McNab died on June 30, 2022, after a prolonged battle with Parkinson’s Disease. She also wrote under her real name, Claire Carmichael, an outpouring of children's literature, textbooks, self-help books, and plays. She became (and remains to this day) a renowned author of children’s books in Australia.
Claire McNab is the pseudonym of Claire Carmichael. She was born in 1940 in Melbourne, Australia. While pursuing a career as a high school teacher in Sydney, she began her writing career with comedy plays and textbooks. She left teaching in the mid-eighties to become a full-time writer. In her native Australia she is known for her self-help and children's books. She moved to Los Angeles in 1994 after falling in love with an American woman, and now teaches not-yet-published writers through the UCLA Writers' Extension Program. She is best known for three lesbian mystery series featuring Inspector Carol Ashton, Agent Denise Cleever and Detective Kylie Kendall. She is the recipient of the 2006 Alice B. Medal.
From the publisher's website: Claire McNab has written over 50 books and is known in her native Australia for crime fiction, children's novels, picture books, self-help, and English textbooks. Her first mystery, Lessons in Murder, was published in the U.S. in 1988. Now a Los Angeles resident, she teaches not-yet-published writers through the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. She is the author of three lesbian mystery series featuring Inspector Carol Ashton, Agent Denise Cleever and Detective Kylie Kendall. She has served as the president of Sisters in Crime and is a member of both the Mystery Writers of America and the Science Fiction Writers of America. She lives in Los Angeles and is working on the finale of the Carol Ashton series, Lethal Care.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 2, 2018
If you are looking for a short, pleasant mystery, you can't go wrong with the first of the Denise Cheever novels. Cheever is an operative for the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (which I am assuming to be fictitious) and she is sent undercover to a private island resort to get the goods on the criminal family that runs it. Going deep undercover without a contact on the island, she takes a job as a bartender at the resort where she quickly learns that the customers have more agendas than simply having an expensive vacation. Unarmed and on her own, Cheever has to tread carefully to expose a plot and keep her cover going and herself alive. There is also Roanna, the daughter in the family who has set her sights on Cheever for romantic purposes. The action in the book heats up in the final chapters when a cyclone hits the island, pushing up the timetable on the plot and forcing Cheever to go it alone to stop them. At 177 pages, the book is a quick read, but very, very enjoyable as the heroine (who tells the tale from a first person perspective) is likeable and believable as she has self doubts about her abilities. Very recommended for a pleasant trip down under.
November 5, 2017
When have I ever said no to reading a detective-y novel with lesbian undertones? Never.
November 23, 2019
2.5. Plot ok. Loved the Aussie setting.
January 26, 2008
Imagine if you will, a GORGEOUS undercover Aussie detective on a tropical island. Now imagine she's alone with no backup for miles and miles. The one she's after is............The entire family who run the island paradise resort. She's horribly outnumbered, but she has an ace up her sleeve (not that she has sleeves) and it's the daughter of the said family) One problem, she's starting to fall for her and vice versa. Can she keep pretending to be just another worker? What will happen when she winds up arresting her family?
August 27, 2012
Very quick and enjoyable read, featuring an engaging lesbian undercover agent. The mood here falls midway between McNab's better-known Inspector Carol Ashton, almost Delafield-like in her closed off nature -- dare I say "emotionally unavailable?" -- and her ebullient Kylie Kendall whose over-the-top "Aussie-ness" rivals Crocodile Dundee. (G'day, mates.) Enjoyable, and with a suspenseful climax, but, the inconclusive "resolution" of the romance disappointed the Romantic in me. A little more backstory on Denise would've helped, as her character lacks depth.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews