Stevie‘s review of Hard to Kill (Cape Charade Short Story, Book 1) by Christina Dodd
Contemporary Crime Thriller published by HQN Books 01 Aug 18

I really enjoyed the first Cape Charade book and was keen to see more of Kellen Adams, so I was very glad to receive this prequel short story to fill in a few gaps while I was waiting for the next novel. Set immediately after her discharge from the military, and before the start of her job at Cape Charade, this story follows Kellen’s recovery from her injuries and showcases some of the skills readers of the novel will have already observed her using. Although this is a prequel, it’s probably best read after the first book to fully understand who Kellen was before her military service, since none of that’s covered in this episode.

Having mostly recovered from injuries sustained when the vehicle she was travelling in hit a land mine, Captain Kellen Adams is waiting to receive her military discharge and is pondering her next move, when she is approached by General Slater, who has one last mission for her before he’ll pass over the discharge papers. The General has been given an encoded diary and treasure map, reputedly showing the location of a painting stolen by the Nazis during WWII, then hidden by the Monument Men (who we know all about from the first novel) to await onward transportation after they managed to recover it. None of the Monument Men who knew the encription survived to the end of the war, and the one surviving descendant doesn’t have the key; however, Slater is sure that Kellen will be able to crack it. He offers her free accommodation for as long as her task takes, along with a half-share of the reward money once the painting is found and verified as a genuine Old Master.

Kellen agrees to the job, although she is wary of both Slater and his aide-de-camp. She has her work at Cape Charade lined up for later in the year, but the reward money could come in useful. Besides, cracking the code will keep her occupied until her proper job is due to start. Needless to say, Kellen decodes the diary and map, but also finds information that indicates she’s been lied to about the origins of the papers; nevertheless, she agrees to accompany the General and his aide-de-camp to the caves the map is pointing her to. Then the excitement really begins.

Once the action got going, I found it hard to put the book down before I’d found out what was going to happen next – and the thrills kept coming thick and fast. Kellen does an excellent job of extracting herself and those on her side from increasingly tricky situations, and her forward thinking means that when the true villain of the piece is revealed, they are still in the dark as to the true nature of what the Monument Men had hidden in the caves. I also loved how Kellen decided to spend her share of the eventual reward.

I’m keener than ever now to read the next novel in the main series.

Grade: A

Summary:

When Captain Kellen Adams receives a job offer that sounds too good to be true, she finds herself balanced between fascination and fear. All she has to do is break a code and find a long-lost fortune…or die trying.

New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd kicks off her Cape Charade suspense series with Hard to Kill, a short story of treasure, treachery…and murder.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: