Midnight in Madrid book review

Barnes & Noble offered Noel Hynd's Midnight in Madrid gratis for nook, so I "bought" the free ebook to read. Midnight in Madrid is the second book in the Russian Trilogy; however, I didn't feel I had missed out on much by not having read the first book. This book can stand alone, but like all series, it is probably much better when read in succession. I did feel a little left out of the loop when it came to the main character's back history with the Russian mobster though.

The book opens with Alexandra LaDuca basking on a beach, trying to recharge her batteries after an assignment gone wrong - way wrong - resulting in the death of her fiance. Her phone rings and she is enlisted to travel to Spain to help in the search of an artifact with special significance.

Over the course of her investigation, she is almost killed. She is saved by a mysterious Chinese man, who later turns out to be pivotal to the story line. She is drawn to him, attracted even, and is wary of her developing feelings for him.

What I liked about Midnight in Madrid

I liked the way the book flowed in that the chapters were very short. They jumped all over the place at times, which kind of gave it a movie feel. The short chapters made it easy to stop and place a book mark, but yet the short chapters that jumped all over also made it harder to put down when the plot picked up and began to move faster.

The plot was plausible and the ending left you wanting to read the third book in the trilogy. More about that in a minute...

Another thing I liked about the book was the Catholic overtones. Alex is busy with her investigation, yet she still finds the time to go to church. At times, it was a bit preachy (even for me - and I'm Catholic) but it wasn't an in-your-face kind of thing. She discusses her faith freely and without apology and even admits that she's still finding her way.

SPOILER






As I mentioned, Midnight in Madrid left me interested enough to check into the next book in the trilogy, Countdown in Cairo. I read the blurb on Amazon and now I'm not sure I want to read it, considering the character I just connected with in the last book is zipped into a body bag in the third novel. What a let down! Knowing that takes away any desire I have to read the first book or the third book. Why go emotionally invest myself in the first novel to get the back story, knowing that by the third book it is curtains for Alex?

Maybe I'm just not a huge fan of people killing off my favorite characters. I remember crying for days when Magnum, PI was killed. At any rate, knowing that Alex LaDuca gets killed off was a huge deal breaker for me.