Quit: "The Freedom Broker" by K.J. Howe

Quit: The Freedom Broker by K.J. Howe, 2017, 9781681443102.

Howe's second novel featuring Thea Paris had a positive write-up by Crimespree Magazine. I tried this one out on the novel's premise of a kidnapping-and-ransom specialist working to free kidnap victims. Well, this one turned into a international-oil-business-rebellion-family-drama-victim-trauma-beautfiful-uber-rich-people-doing-derring-do-as-commandos novel. I gave the book a good try but quit halfway through.

Here is a plot summary of what I thought was a convoluted story. Thea Paris is the daughter of a mega rich oil man from Greece. As a child her older brother was kidnapped from their west African home and held for months. Now Thea works for her father's best friend's kidnap and ransom negotiating company. Her mentally trauamatized brother secretly works as an evil worldwide arms dealer and kidnapper. Thea's co-worker is a former Army Delta Force [Well, of course, he'd be that or a SEAL] who has a love/hate for Thea. Thea is hiding her diabetes. Thea's uber-rich father is kidnapped from his uber big yacht in the Mediterranean. The Chinese are competing for new African oil fields. The U.S. agent investigating kidnappings has a weird sex life and if being courted by Greek cop who just happens to also be uber-rich. There is a tall, scary African army general who was the brother's kidnapper 20 years ago and is now in the government. Someone is trying to murder Thea. Blah. Blah. So on. So forth.

Fuck all that noise.