The Moscow Deception by Karen Robards

Bianca St. Ives is literally one of a kind, thanks to the genetic experiments that led to her birth. In The Moscow Deception all of her skills, training and natural talent will be put to the test. With a $1 million price tag on her head, Bianca is going to have to take the offensive if she wants to come out alive and have the normal life she has tried to build for herself in Savannah as owner of a security consulting firm.

Bianca manages to help out neighbors and friends, all while looking over her shoulder for an assassin’s bullet. After reaching out to her father, Mason Thayer, he offers her a lifeline in the form of a heist that will give them both enough leverage to take the targets off their backs: Steal King Priam’s treasure from the heart of Moscow. This is the treasure thought to have belonged to Helen of Troy. Bianca and her friend/employee “Doc” Ziegler must come up with a plan to steal the treasure and escape undetected.

Karen Robards creates a cast of likeable characters. Bianca is intelligent, skilled and often funny. The action pieces are exciting and well-executed, and for a change from many thrillers, not overly dependent on guns. Much of the action consists of separate set pieces that are only loosely connected together. The planning for the theft of King Priam’s treasure occurs relatively late in the book.

This is a fun, not overly-serious adventure with a likeable heroine and compelling action. Great summertime read for thriller fans with a thirst for adventure.

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this book from the publisher.

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