Eagerly Anticipating -- November 2012

       

Review: In Rides Trouble by Julie Ann Walker

Rebel with a Cause

Becky "Rebel" Reichert never actually goes looking for trouble. It just has a tendency to find her. Like the day Frank Knight showed up at her door, wanting to use her motorcycle shop as a cover for his elite special ops team. But Becky prides herself on being able to hang with the big boys-she can weld, drive, and shoot just as well as any of them.

Man with a Mission

Munitions, missiles, and mayhem are Frank's way of life. The last thing the ex-SEAL wants is for one brash blonde to come within fifty feet of anything that goes boom. Yet it's just his rotten luck when she ends up in a hostage situation at sea. Come hell or high water, he will get her back-whether she says she needs him or not.

I enjoyed Ms. Walker's first book, Hell on Wheels, and hoped to continue that streak with In Rides Trouble.  While the suspense/action is on par, I found myself disliking Becky Reichert more and more as I read.  Becky, in theory (or at least my theory), is a kick-ass and highly capable woman.  She's built a business from the ground up and is extremely knowledgeable about all things mechanical.   The Becky we meet throughout the course of In Rides Trouble is still capable and knowledgeable, but she -- particularly her vernacular -- is downright annoying.  I was tempted to create a drinking game each time she said "Yeppers".  

Because she is so capable, I found it frustrating that her plan was to simply wait for the Black Knights to show up to rescue her and Eve from their kidnappers.  She redeems herself a bit by stabbing the lead kidnapper, but it came too late for me.  

I think the Black Knights as a group works well together, and their respective personalities enhance each story.  I'm anxiously awaiting Bill and Eve's book, Built for Speed (September 2013). 

(A very special thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of In Rides Trouble.)