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In 2010’s No One Lives Twice, author Julie Moffett introduced readers to NSA anti-hacker Lexi Carmichael—a brainy 20-something who uses her cyber skills to find her missing best friend (and ends up finding a couple of distractingly handsome admirers in the process). Now, Lexi’s back for more cyber-sleuthing in No One to Trust.
Since her last adventure, Lexi has gone private, working as the director of information security for Irish hunk Finn Shaughnessey’s new company, X-Corp Global Intelligence and Security. Though the company’s focus is on digital security, their first client hires them to find a missing researcher. Darren Greening is a prominent figure in nanotechnology, experimenting with alternate energy sources. After his partner was killed in a suspicious hit-and-run accident, Darren became extremely paranoid—and now he’s gone missing, leaving a coded note that points straight to Lexi.
Though she’s convinced that she’s never even met Darren before, Lexi starts digging for clues. In the process, she ends up cornered in the parking garage by a huge man who threatens to snap her neck if she doesn’t lead him to Darren—yet she’s so much more terrified by the thought of joining her handsome boss for an intimate dinner for two.
In her second Lexi Carmichael mystery, Moffett continues to build a lovable lead character: a plain-Jane computer geek-girl who finds herself in all kinds of harrowing (and humorous) situations. Lexi is clearly a difficult character to write. She’s obviously smart, but she can’t come off as too smart, or she’ll be out of the average reader’s league—so she has to walk that fine line between brainy and bumbling. Although Moffett sometimes errs on the side of making Lexi seem a little too awkward (not to mention somewhat frustratingly intimidated by the brainier male characters around her), it isn’t every day that you find a book about a female techie, and Lexi is a refreshing change of pace.
Lexi’s latest mystery will easily hold readers’ attention—but, as in No One Lives Twice, the best parts of the book have little to do with the case. Instead, the best parts involve the characters and their tangled relationships. Somehow, Lexi finds herself in a kind of love quadrilateral, simultaneously adored by slick government super-geek Slash, handsome (and loaded) boss Finn, and her lovably geeky friend, Elvis Zimmerman. Sure, it’s highly unlikely that a self-professed skinny geek would attract a bunch of rich, powerful ladies’ men (the quiet computer geek, well…that’s more believable), but it’s just plain fun to follow Lexi on her romantic misadventures. Throw in her stylish friend and unabashed man-eater, Basia—who’s convinced that the only way for Lexi to snag (and hold on to) Finn involves mentoring from a stripper—and you’ve got one entertaining computer geek caper.
With its refreshing main character, its intriguing mystery, and its plethora of romantic possibilities, No One to Trust shows that Moffett’s Lexi Carmichael series is only getting better. If you’re a fan of chick lit mysteries, be sure to download a copy of this fun-filled e-book to your favorite e-reading gadget—because you won’t want to miss out on this cyber-sleuth spy series.
