Beyond Sacrifice

Excellent spy novel with a twist—the protagonist is female. Lots of deception involved as no one really is who you think they must be.

I received this ARC through "NetGalley" for an honest review.

This story tells of Cocepcion Chapa who performed an act where she wound up making an agreement to become a hired assassin for the CIA. The information that she was provided at the time said that her parents were still alive and she would work with them. She was required that she was to be reported as killed, and she was given a makeover as part of her condition of employment. She was told that she was to make no contact with anyone from her old life. Her assignment location would be in Argentina and she would be provided with details for each of her targets.

Things were working well with Sofia, her new name, she was good at fulfilling her assignments. Things began to change when she was assigned a partner that would live with her and participate in killing as well. Unknown to the individual, but to Sofia, this was a person from her past. A romance between the two began and eventually led to the breakup of the team. After Sofia's last successful assignment and with her partner gone, Sofia became friendly with her next door neighbor, and this friendship ended by a unfortunate event. It also had Sofia moving to another location while still working for the CIA.

To discover what events occurred that affected Concepcion, who Charles was, and what was the end result of her last assignment, you must read this book.

This is a mashup between Alias and Leverage - where the bad guys are taken out by professional hitmen and women. Now it probably is closer to Alias than Leverage since no one in Leverage dies, but the concept is the same in my opinion.

Concepcion is former military with parents that were spies in their own right. An unfortunate incident has her under scrutiny and placed into an undercover job for the US Government, doing what can't be done by legitimate branches of the government, killing those that have been proven to be a threat to our security. Not only does she have to go undercover, but she is also subjected to cosmetic surgery to alter her appearance and a name change. I can't imagine what that might do to someone's psyche.

I found this to be a well-written journey for this woman and what she had to give up in her life. It showcases what these people do for the sake of their country. There is plenty of action, some romance, and also some sad moments that take Concepcion/Sofia and the reader by surprise. I saw the hardness in Sofia and doing what it takes to get the job done. But at times I saw a softer side when it came to her best friend Joelle, who assumes she is dead. There is also the neighbor that she becomes attached to learning to dance and enjoy good food.

This story takes no prisoners and there is a myriad of emotions that run through the story. We give it 4 paws up.

"Concepsion Chapa is an Army veteran and FBI Special Agent. She is also the orphaned daughter of two CIA agents. When she is told they may not be dead, she allows herself to be recruited as a CIA killer-for-hire. She fakes her death and undergoes surgery to change her looks. She travels the world doing the dirty work of the US government. But no one is really as they seem and she doesn't know who she can trust..."

I liked the premise of this book. A veteran goes rogue to find her parents. I anticipated an action thriller. But there's more "stream-of-consciousness" here than action. I really liked the action parts but the other was not enjoyable. The writing reminds you of W.E.B. Griffin so if you like his books you should like this one.

Lots of potential with this character.