LIARS' LEGACY, Taylor Stevens, Second Thriller in New Series

One big benefit of recent global events is, the favorite terrain of international thrillers—pitting Russians against Americans—is suddenly very close at hand and of great concern. Author Taylor Stevens showcased stunning martial arts knowledge and close fighting, as well as advanced weaponry, in her Vanessa Michael Munroe thrillers over the past decade. Now, in a powerful switch to a brother-sister team targeted by multiple assassination forces, Stevens lays out the ultimate conflicts on a European canvas: secrets, power, and above all, potential profits.

While siblings Jill and John (aka Jack), loyal yet often in conflict, struggle to deplane after escaping Dallas (see the prequel, Liars' Paradox), they're unaware that at least two "kill teams" are after them. A collapse in the global assassination market has followed the death of a figure called the Broker, who's kept murder-for-hire available to government agencies. Now it's time to "take out" all the freelancers who ever worked for the Broker. That means at least Jill -- and since the siblings' missing mother Clare was the Broker's final target, there are reasons for these killer contractors to have Jack on their lists, too.

LIARS' LEGACY takes the legacy the siblings have from Clare — not just combat skills but disguises, safe houses, multiple identities — and spins it into both a dangerous safety net for Jill and Jack, and a trap that keeps them seeking Clare herself in the manipulations and risks that surround them. Stevens punches the action in sharp short chapters from several points of view, and danger escalates: Fans of Jason Bourne, and even more so of Karen Robards and Karen Slaughter, will feel at home in this high-tension action thriller with its constant twists of pressure and information. Even if Jill and Jack can enlist some allies, they're overwhelmed by the numbers. Plus they can't trust their own alliance:

Jill gave him a heavy dose of side-eye. "Why would anyone come after us in the first place if they didn't already know what they were chasing?"

[Jack] didn't have an answer for that, either.

"I marked four," she said. "How many do you think we missed?"

He shrugged in noncommittal nonanswer.

There was no we here. He knew exactly how many operatives had followed him off that flight, and he also knew they weren't the only ones who'd come looking. There'd been another spotter in the waiting area — he'd made the guy right about the time he caught sight of Jill — and where there was one, there'd be others. Priorities had forced him to keep moving and trust that she'd find what needed finding and let him know the rest later.

The whole truth required quid pro quo, and she was holding out.

This second book in the new series from Stevens is much stronger than the first, which explained many connections but lacked the sustained force of risk that LIARS' LEGACY conveys. While it's always good to read a series in order, especially to appreciate the author's growth, this may mark one of the rare exception. Best advice: Leap into LIARS' LEGACY and then, more slowly, pick up the prequel and pick apart the threads.

Because for sure, in this Taylor Stevens series, every thread is going to contribute to the ongoing action and revelation of this book and the ones to follow. (Don't you hate having to wait a year between titles?!)


PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.