
In Whistleblowers (Kate Adams Series: Book 2) by Holly Bell, we are drawn into the world of political intrigue and the intelligence organs of the U.S., Britain, and Russia, as Kate Adams, an independent contractor for American Intelligence abandons her comfortable University Professorship at an Alaskan University to throw herself back into the world of espionage and political assassinations. Kate, an expert in IT and coding, is still recovering from her last sojourn into the fray, when she was kidnapped and tortured. Suffering from flashbacks and nightmares, Kate has to put that all aside as she travels to the U.K. and Russia seeking a rogue programmer; The Executive, who is doing a “Julian Assange” and leaking vital intelligence secrets, as well as falsehoods, to the dark web, for all to see. Caught up in a maelstrom of politics and traitors, Kate must navigate this morass to solve the important issues: Who is leaking and how are they doing it?
This is the first Kate Bell book I have read and Whistleblowers (Kate Adams Series: Book 2) is an excellent and taut political thriller that presents us with a complicated and slightly damaged heroine who must battle her demons and memories to successfully complete her mission. Kate, as a character is wonderful and easy to identify and empathise with. She is an intelligent, savvy and attractive woman who, although damaged by her past experiences, is well capable of fulfilling her mission. The author is clearly well informed and well researched about current events, recent history and the intelligence mechanisms of the major players. I was impressed with the flow of the story and was able to read the entire book in one sitting. The author’s style is very readable and the action builds to several crescendos that present the reader with often surprising outcomes. If intrigue and political machinations are your forte, as a reader, Whistleblowers is definitely a book for you. This is a leading book in its genre and as a credit to the author, I am tempted to go back and read Kate Adams Book 1 in the series, just to find out more about this character’s motivations.
