Reluctant Smuggler, by Jill Elizabeth Nelson (Multnomah, 2008)
Desiree Jacobs, art security expert and successful breaker of her competitors’ security systems, is back in the third and final novel in Jill Elizabeth Nelson’s “To Catch a Thief” series.
This time we join Desi in Mexico, where she’s negotiating for a contract with a world-famous Mexico City art museum. Instead, she finds art thieves, a dangerous gang, and personal attack. She’s still grieving her father’s death (book one: Reluctant Burglar) and struggling to find time for a relationship with handsome FBI agent Tony Lucano amidst their busy schedules.
Back in Boston, Tony’s high-profile case is about to intersect with Desi’s own. And I won’t tell you more—except that this is perhaps the fastest-paced novel of the three. I loved it. Desi and Tony are two of my favourite characters. Readers can count on plenty of action, fast quips, and a story that will make it hard to stop reading at bedtime.
Reluctant Smuggler is an older title now, and I don’t know why I waited so long for this final instalment. Maybe I didn’t want to finish the ride with these characters. But it’s a fun read.
I bought the epub version from Kobobooks and although I’m usually happy with the product quality, I’d recommend getting a paper copy of Reluctant Smuggler. The file conversion didn’t work well and there are plenty of mangled words.
Here’s a link to an excerpt from Reluctant Smuggler. If you’re new to the series, I’d strongly suggest starting at the beginning. (See my review of Reluctant Burglar here.)
Jill Elizabeth Nelson is an American author of Christian romantic suspense, and she’s published four novels with Steeple Hill since the “To Catch a Thief” books (her most recent is Legacy of Lies). I’ve enjoyed those too, but I hope someday she’ll move back into longer novels where she has more room to manoeuvre. You can learn more about Jill Elizabeth Nelson and her books at her website, or check out the Jill Elizabeth Nelson page on Facebook.