Chasing The White Lion by James R. Hannibal // Revell Reads Review

Young CIA officer Talia Inger has reconciled with the man who assassinated her father, but that doesn't mean she wants him hovering over her every move and unearthing the painful past she's trying to put behind her. Still, she'll need him--and the help of his star grifter, Valkyrie--if she hopes to infiltrate the Jungle, the first-ever crowdsourced crime syndicate, to rescue a group of kidnapped refugee children.

But as Talia and her elite team of thieves con their way into the heart of the Jungle, inching ever closer to syndicate boss the White Lion, she'll run right up against the ragged edge of her family's dark past. In this game of cat and mouse, it's win . . . or die. And in times like that, it's always good to have someone watching your back.

Former tactical deception officer and stealth pilot James Hannibal takes you deep undercover into the criminal underworld where everyone has an angle and no one escapes unscathed.

My Review

I recently watched Ocean's Eleven for the first time (filtered). It was a really good movie and one I enjoyed a lot, despite not quite following everything that happened. This book reminds me of that movie in many ways and I enjoyed this story much more than book one.

Book one in this series was interesting enough to me that I wanted to read book two, but I didn't love it and didn't follow it well at all. Too technical and too many twists, all while learning characters. This time, we already know the characters, so it's just a matter of seeing the work as a team. And that is a huge part of this story - teamwork.

Many members of this team are burdened and burned by the past. It's hard to trust people when you have been betrayed or never really had a team to lean on. Then there is learning to lean on and trust God when you've spent most of your life leaning on and trusting yourself. The developing relationships and faith made this a very character-driven book. And there is a small romance that I am perfectly happy with!

I have to mention that I LOVE Talia and Eddie's relationship and interactions. Absolutely hilarious. Eddie and Finn might be my favorite characters. Finn has some depth to him and we get to know him a little better in this book; peek behind the curtains, as it were. 

Another little thing that made the book special to me was the children aspect. I know refugee children from Burma (Myanmar) and so that part of the world holds more meaning to me than it used to. Having Compassion in the story was cool. My family has sponsored kids with Compassion for my whole life. 

Despite the confusing elements that happen with cons (sometimes details come out much later like the Ocean's series), I tracked this story a lot more easily. The traitor from book one is caught and I'm not sure but I think they were the White Lion. 

Still no cliff-hanger and I do feel like there is more story to be told, but I'm not quite sure what that might be. I enjoyed getting to see these former criminals in their element but taking a higher road to get the job done. Their skills and talents are now used for good, not evil. 

Many thanks to Revell for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own and a favorable review was not required.