TOM CLANCY SHADOW STATE

4 stars out of 5

Fighting the elements and some really nasty bad guys in the middle of a Vietnamese jungle isn't a particularly desirable topic for my reading enjoyment, I must admit. But if anyone could entice me to stick with it it's Jack Ryan Jr., the son of U.S. President Jack Ryan. He's a pretty cool dude, after all, and it's always an extra treat to re-meet his teammates at the mostly clandestine Hendley Associates - including his fiance.

The situation here is that the United States has developed a device that somehow masks airplanes so they can move in and out of other countries' air space without detection. Making more of them, though, requires hard-to-find rare earth minerals; one company, GeoTech, is a highly successful miner of these minerals. To that end, the "legitimate" business of Hendley is in serious negotiations to acquire the company for an astronomical sum. Wanting to avoid taking a financial bath, Jack Jr. is sent to Vietnam to do an up-close-and-personal audit to satisfy the lender and Hendley execs before the final handshake takes place.

But early on, it all goes sideways; Jack begins to smell a rat and demands to visit one of the company's facilities in that remote jungle location. On the way, the helicopter in which he's [reluctantly] traveling goes down, taking with it all but Jack and one other passenger. With no food, no water and no bars on their cell phones, the two must try to find their way to some semblance of safety before the jungle eats them alive (trust me, the mosquitos do more than their fair share). And that's before they meet up with some characters who seem bent on making sure they don't survive - or worse, are captured by a foreign enemy.

The whole thing is a race to the finish, accompanied by a few surprises as to what's really going on behind the scenes. The action heats up toward the end to the point that I stayed up late so as to not wait to finish the last half-dozen chapters till the next morning. Another series winner, for which I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to read a pre-release copy (and lose a little sleep).

Tom Clancy Shadow State by M.P. Woodward (G.P. Putnam's Sons, August 2024); 374 pp.

THE RECOVERY AGENT

4 stars out of 5

I know I'm not the only one to have grown a bit weary of the overall silliness of the author's popular Stephanie Plum, her wacked-out family and friends and inability to decide between two hunky guys (at her age, she should be well beyond acting like a lovestruck eighth-grader). This new series doesn't fall far from that mold in terms of either quirky characters or plot, but it's far enough to make me a believer.

Yes, recovery agent Gabriela Rose is feisty - a good thing - and still pretending to fend off the advances of a hunky man (but this time it's just one, her ex-husband Rafer - a guy she's been best friends with since elementary school and with whom she's still in lust). Gabriela's grandma in storm-ravaged Scoon, South Carolina, regularly gets messages from a spirit named Annie, but at least she's not chasing ambulances and crashing wakes like Stephanie's Grandma Mazur. Gone, (happily, IMHO), is the equivalent of Stephanie's ridiculously off-the-wall cohort Lulu (she of the wild hairdos, skanky clothes and penchant for fried chicken). But one of the things I loved about the other series, the humorous lines that never failed to make me chuckle, thankfully have been carried over and sprinkled liberally herein.

As for the plot, that storm that damaged the small community didn't miss Gabriela's family home. But do or say what she might, she can't convince her relatives to cut their losses and move elsewhere. What they need, they say, is enough money to rebuild - $15 million ought to do it, they say. To get it, Gabriela's grandma begs her to go to Barbados, where she'll find maps belonging to the pirate Blackbeard (from whom Gabriela is descended, or so the story goes). How does grannie know of this treasure? She got it straight from her usual source - Annie.

Gabriela, it should be noted, lives in relative poshness in SOHO, is an expert in martial arts and a gourmet cook. Her job of recovering stolen heirlooms, lost treasures and such has taken her to some faraway places, but nothing quite like she encounters this time out. Once she decides that granny/Annie might be onto something, she makes a first stop at the house she once owned but gave to Rafer in the divorce. Wonder of wonders, she finds a treasure chest in the floorboards, exactly as Annie had predicted. No money, though; rather, the find is a very old journal from a well-known explorer who describes his quest to find the Treasure of Lima, notably the Seal of Solomon. That, in turn, is believed to have been held by Spanish conquistador Pizarro, who stashed it somewhere in the Incan city of Paititi.

Gabriela decides to head for the jungle, but Rafer - eyeing an opportunity to get both rich and lucky - insists on tagging along. Without too much fussing, she agrees, and off they go into what can only be called a wild adventure that nearly gets them both killed. And it is here that I'll stop; telling more would give away too much. What I will say is that those who have enjoyed Stephanie Plum should enjoy this series as well - or even agreeing with me that it's better. I'll also say thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get in on the ground floor with a pre-release copy. Already, I'm looking forward to the next installment!

The Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich (Atria Books, March 2022); 320 pp.