Review of Baker’s Dozen by Amey Zeigler

Twenty-three year-old investigative journalist, Andy Miller is armed with her many disguises and creativity to take down the riff-raff of Saint Louis. When her stepbrother is murdered by the mob, Andy soon discovers she’s out of her depth.

Enter Hugh Donaldson/ Christiaan who has reasons of his own for discovering the murderer. He’ll use everything in his power to achieve that, including lying to Andy about his past. Dangerous as he is attractive, his martial arts skills and his quirky ways raise Andy’s suspicions.

Although Andy balks at his lies, Hugh’s charms, twenty-inch biceps, and electrifying blue eyes are difficult to resist. Striking out on their own, Hugh/ Christiaan and Andy try to outwit each other as they traverse North America tracking down people connected to the case.

As clues disappear and the body count climbs, Andy and Hugh must trust each other and use their combined skills to bring the murderer to justice.

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Baker’s Dozen is an action story. That’s its strong point. The mystery is a complex one and as a reader you really want to know, how does it all end?! The author introduces us to a wide range of characters, on both sides of the law, from the St. Louis mafia to Mexican drug cartels to covert international police organizations.

I am a character driven reader. I can forgive a weak plot (sometimes) if I feel really invested in the characters. On the other hand, I find it hard to become enveloped in a story if I can’t connect with the main protagonists. This is partly how I felt about this book. The main characters never completely hooked me.

Andy is only 23 (maybe she could have been a little older to be more believable) and is an investigative journalist who knows how to use cunning. Her disguises are clever and her tricks and entertaining. Hugh/ Christiaan is as secretive about his past as he is gorgeous. He’s also a highly trained military grade operative.

Christiaan claims to need to protect his true identity, hence all the made up names and stories. He says that despite the lies, the essence of who he truly is, is revealed to Andy. I think we spend so much time navigating his lies that, as a reader, his true personality is not easy to find. Andy’s character is also not as multidimensional as I would like it to be. There is a lot of focus on the protagonists’ martial arts abilities but there’s more telling than showing when it comes to their characterization. For this reason, their supposed falling in love isn’t particularly compelling. But this isn’t a romance story. Don’t let that cover confuse you! This is an action packed suspense.

On the plus side, the fight scenes are pretty cool. And there are a lot of them! Different fighting techniques are covered and Andy and Christaan certainly use them to their advantage.

The plot: Amey writes a very complex and twisty plot. There are many players. We know one of the main culprits from the beginning, but what we don’t know is how he’ll be brought down or what his real motivations are.

Pacing: Pacing is tight. Action and revelations keep pushing the story forward. There are no lulls.

The POV changes several times. We have sections from Andy’s perspectives, then from Christiaan’s and also from more than one ‘bad guy.’ I think the transitions between POVs is clean and there is no confusion for the reader.

Overall this an action packed book with a touch of romance.

I give this story 3.5/ 5 espresso shots.

 

Disclaimer:  Thank you to the author for providing an e-copy of Baker’s Dozen for review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

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