What a line to open a book with: 'I pull my pistol out of my striped Cath Kidston nappy bag.' I was intrigued, at the same time hoping this was not going to be a rather clichéd, cheesy attempt at portraying a kick-arse heroine. It only took another couple of paragraphs to realise that, on the contrary, it was going to turn out to be rather engaging.
Going back to work after maternity leave isn't unusual. Thousands, millions even, of women do it. But, Alexis Tyler is mum to rosy-cheeked, squiggy-cheeked, all-round scrummy little Gigi…in one life. In her other, secret, unbeknownst-to-husband-Will life, she's a highly trained secret agent, risking her life for queen and country, killing whoever needs to be eliminated in the interests of national security. And day one back on job means being thrown right back in at the deep end with a dangerous assignment. That's absolutely fine as long as she can get home to say nighty night to her most treasured possession.
Despite the element of domesticity this was a thriller and a half: fast-paced, gripping, compelling. At the heart of it, is Alexis: dedicated to her job, the best at what she does, fiercely protective of those she loves and vehemently dismissive of the words 'can't' and 'no'.
I really should knock off a star for the rather slack editing, but I really enjoyed the book. It was very evident that the author is a mother and infused the necessary credibility to the work-family tug-of-war Alexis faced. The ending is cheekily tantalising, which means I'll certainly be reading the next Alexis Tyler book.
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