Rarely do I ever find myself thinking – Hey! You know what sounds great? Reading a book that feels like any of those cheesy adventure/treasure hunt movies my brother used to make me watch – but honestly, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It was a fun, action packed story about a woman trying to help save her hometown while also trying to stop a madman and deal with her hot ex-husband. I loved the side characters in this, and there were several times that I found myself legitimately laughing throughout this book.

Though any book/movie about this kind of adventure is bound to be a little unbelievable, I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying it. I am not the type of person to get annoyed when my form of entertainment doesn’t strictly follow the rules of logic or science, and I don’t know nearly enough about guns and fighting to have known how inaccurate this book was in the first place, so I was just happy to enjoy the ride. The one thing I couldn’t look past was the money. Gabriela makes enough money to have a super nice apartment with expensive furniture, super nice clothes – like a $400 bra?? – but she can’t help her family out? Obviously, her grandmother had very lofty and expensive plans to help rebuild her hometown, but she couldn’t have taken some high-profile jobs to do something a little more realistic? She just had to go on a life-threatening journey that seemed to never end? I mean, it made for a good plot, but it seemed crazy to me.


Overall, I enjoyed this book the same way I enjoyed watching Nicholas Cage trying to steal the Declaration of Independence. It was a wild ride that made me laugh and kept me entertained, but it was predictable and at times unrealistic seeming. In the end, this is a great book for anyone who wants a fun adventure with some really fun characters and just a hint of a second chance romance!

Narration
This book was narrated by Lorelei King, and I think she did a fantastic job. She is one of the few narrators that went above and beyond with her voices for each character, and I think it added so much to my experience! I always love it when narrators at least attempt to do voices for different characters, but she is the kind of narrator who does such great voices that I have to double to check to make sure it is actually just one person.

This one was amazing. The story is full of action and you will love the main characters. Great narration on this one. The reader really brings the words off the pages.

Thank you NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich and Simon and Schuster Audio. All opinions are my own.

My kind of adventure. Lots of action, exotic settings, fun sexual tension. Love her writing, it’s one fast moving new series for this author. An author known for her popular mystery writer alive! (The New York Times).

A Recovery Agent who knew would be so action packed.

Narrator Lorelei King was made for this quick moving dialog and action!

Loved it! Waiting for the next book of Gabriela Rose and The Recovery Agent

A super new series! Action-packed, adventurous, witty, and fabulous characters.

A long-time massive fan of the bestselling author, Janet Evanovich, the queen of humor, women sleuths, and crime fiction, is back with a dynamic wild adventure roller coaster ride with the introduction of her new hit series, Gabriela Rose #1 —THE RECOVERY AGENT!

If you read Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight you were introduced to the new Gabriela Rose, which left fans anxiously awaiting this new series. It exceeds all expectations and then some. Wow, is this fun!

In addition, included in THE RECOVERY AGENT, you get a sneak preview of Going Rogue: Rise and Shine Twenty Nine Nov 1st. It is yummy - it looks like Connie, the office manager, is missing. I love the Plum series and have read all of them. You will love Gabriela too!

OK, let's talk about this WILD ADVENTURE! Gabriela Rose is nothing like Stephanie Plum. She is a highly skilled recovery agent. Don't feel disloyal. You can like both.

She is a sophisticated, intelligent, chic, accomplished recovery agent. She is not a bounty hunter like Stephanie for a bail bondsman. She is a highly skilled Insurance Fraud Investigator with an international reputation for excellence in the field. As an independent contractor, she has the luxury of accepting worldwide jobs not related to insurance depending on pay and fun. She chooses.

She is quite the globe-trotter, has a posh So Ho New York condo with designer furnishings and clothes, a beauty, and a gourmet cook. Single and happy. Plus, she can roll up her sleeves in the jungles of South America with her mad skills and a wonderful personality.

A possible descendant of the infamous Blackbeard, she is fascinated by the 17th and 18th-century pirates and the lost city. It is her 30th birthday, and now she has a chance to pursue this adventure when her mother calls about the cat 4-storm which blew over Scoon, SC, with severe damage —a little coastal town where Gabriela grew up.

Most of the residents were not insured as her parents, and the town needed dire assistance. The federal funding did not come through as anticipated. Her father's fishing charter is gone, where Gabriela worked as a mate on the boat through college until she moved to New York. The town has no income.

When she flies into the small town near Charleston, her Grandma Fanny has the answer. They need $15 Million to clean up the town and the wharf and she says the ghost, Annie says she knows where Gabriela can find it.

Her Great Auntie Margareet's house on St Vincent Island has a secret room and there was supposed to be a chest with maps and a diary/journals to lead her to the treasure. Her aunt moved from the Caribbean to S.C. and passed the tiny house to her when she died. Evidently, Gabriela was a descendant of Blackbeard and Annie.

Big Problem: She gave her ex-husband Rafer the house in the divorce settlement, who owns a dive shop. She has not seen him in seven years. He is laid back and she is intense. They divorced before their second anniversary.

She grew up with him from kindergarten. Sexy and hot (a mix of Joe Morelli and Ranger from the Plum series), but Rafer was a slob and lacked ambition, plus he drank too much and called her Gabs.

When she goes to the cottage, thinking she can find everything under one of the floorboards without him knowing, of course, Rafer walks in and wants part of the action since this legally is his house, and these are his journals.

She finds lost treasures and people. She deals with insurance fraud and high-end theft but has a little time between cases, so she decides to go for it. There is Sir Drake's journal and the Treasure of Lima. Particularly the Seal of Solomon. She can find the ring on her own, but Rafer wants to help since his family lives in Scoon as well.

Needless to say, she is not happy that he insists on going with her on this adventure. She does not need him holding her back. Her office is called G.R. McDuck in NY, her comic book hero, and her personal office assistant and sole employee—Marcella Lott who also gets caught up in the crossfires.

Let the FUN and GAMES begin!

At first, I thought Rafer would be dead weight, but surprisingly he has travel guide connections and lets Gabriela take the lead. They are hilarious together. He is all talk, sexy and charming wherever they go, and offers assistance. Gabriela does not want to go there again with him on the personal side even though it was fun. Plus he is tempting but they have a job to do. Their banter is too good!

Soon they are in South America and meet their guide Pepe among other characters. It is non-stop action, thrills, danger, and a wild adventure. Of course, there are others who want the ring and the treasure. Who will win the treasure?

The two of them find themselves from the Caribbean, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, New York City, and California wine country, chasing a ring said to have magical properties while pursuing a crazed cult leader who's on their trail.

No one can spin a wild tale like Janet Evanovich! Rip-roaring fun! A huge fan, she is my hero. This is going to be a fabulous series and cannot wait for the next adventure! I like her parents being from the South so we get a different take than from the Plum New Jersey, but we still have the parents, the granny, the office assistant, and the sexy ex. As always, great character development and non-stop action. Evanovich and Plum fans will devour as well as new fans. I love Gabs and Rafer.

I love Lorelei King, the narrator for the Plum series, and was delighted she was narrating THE RECOVERY AGENT. As always, an award-winning and highly entertaining performance. She is an auto pre-order with every book she narrates.

Fans of Indiana Jones and the new movie The Lost City will delight! Highly recommend. We all could us some laughs.

Thank you to Atria Books for a print and e-book ARC and Simon & Schuster Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC.

Blog Review Posted: @ www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Pub Date: Mar 22, 2022

Check out my fun #AuthorElevatorSeries Interview with Janet, Plum trivia, and FORTUNE AND GLORY (2019).

The Recovery Agent
by Janet Evanovich
Narrated by Lorelei King

Rating: 5 Stars

Move over Stephanie Plum, there's a new badass in town! Gabriella Rose is my new favorite heroine. Her ex, Rafer is a perfect sidekick. As a recovery agent, Gabriela goes and tracks down things that people want and can't find or have trouble getting their hands on. In their first (hopefully) adventure, they're trying to track down the Ring of Solomon and the treasure of Cortez. With a fabulous cast of unique characters including Annie, a ghost. this book was entertaining and had me hooked from page one until the very end. This felt like Janet Evanovich wrote Tomb Raider-the story has tons of suspense, humor, and intrigue. I could see this being turned into a movie or (hopefully) becoming a full-fledged series because, well, I need this in my life!

Ms. King did a fabulous job bringing the characters to life with her narration. I cannot say enough great things about this book and audiobook. I cannot wait to listen to more of Gabi's adventures.

Thank you #NetGalley #TheRecoveryAgent #SimonAndSchusterAudio and #janetEvanovich for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC!!