The Innocent

A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel

By: Taylor Stevens

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

With The Innocent, Taylor Stevens, the best-selling author of The Informationist, returns with another blockbuster thriller featuring the fearless Vanessa Michael Munroe.

Eight years ago, a man walked five-year-old Hannah out the front doors of her school and spirited her over the Mexican border, taking her into the world of a cult known as The Chosen. For eight years, followers of The Prophet have hidden the child, moving her from country to country, shielding the man who stole her. Now, those who’ve searched the longest know where to find her. They are childhood survivors of The Chosen, 30-somethings born and raised inside the cult who’ve managed to make lives for themselves on the outside. They understand the mindset, the culture within that world, and turn to Vanessa Michael Munroe for help, knowing that the only possibility of stealing Hannah back and getting her safely out of Argentina is to trust someone who doesn’t trust them, and get Munroe on the inside.

Tautly written, brilliantly paced, and with the same evocation of the exotic combined with chilling violence that made The Informationist such a success, The Innocent confirms Taylor Stevens’ reputation as a thriller writer of the first rank.

©2011 Taylor Stevens (P)2011 Random House

Love Vanessa Michael Munroe!

Any additional comments?

After reading the Millenium series, I was looking for another strong female character like Lisbeth Salander, and found her in Vanessa Michael Munroe. The plot of this book was tightly woven, the characters were interesting and almost totally believable, and the view into a religious cult was fascinating. Can't wait for the third in the series.

Different!!!

This book is different but very enjoyable. It calls attention to the plight of people who let someone else control their lives. It was slower then the first but I believe that Taylor Stevens is a good story teller. Hillary Huber is an excellent reader. I am waiting for the next Vanessa Michael Munroe book.

Much Ado About Nothing

This book wasn???t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I really can't imagine who would enjoy this book. To say there was a lack of excitement or tension in this book is an understatement.

Would you ever listen to anything by Taylor Stevens again?

I highly doubt it. The Informationist was an OK read with at least some meaningful plot and complexity. This book however, had no villain and was very repetitious. The new central characters of this book are very poorly sketched out, so you don't really care about them one way or another.

Would you be willing to try another one of Hillary Huber???s performances?

Yes, she is clearly a talented voice actor. Unfortunately her melodramatic voice style had to be applied to overly melodramatic writing. This was hard for me to listen to at times since her performance would give gravitas to overly dramatic prose regarding routine, boring meetings among characters.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment..... I can't ever get that time back. I kept thinking there had to be something more to the book's plot, but there wasn't.

The Sequel That Isn't Equal

My understanding is that this is the second of a trilogy that Taylor Stevens is writing that features the character Munroe. I read The Informationist (book one) and thought it was entertaining enough to go another round. "I wanted to like this," sounds like an idiotic thing to say--of course you want to like anything you read--but alas, wanting didn't make it so, and I reluctantly have to say this was a bit of a stinker. Definitely several notches down from The Informationist. You can't say the author doesn't know her material (having escaped her own cult upbringing), but aside from her lucid observations of the cult mentality, the story stumbles, fettered by cliches and predictability, and falls flat. Had narrator Hillary Huber not made this such a smooth and painless listen--I probably would not have stuck it out.

What a shame!

The first Taylor Stevens promised a good series. This was a disappointment -- weak plot, uninteresting characters. Too bad.

One Hit Wonder...or what?

Hope not, but this book, second in what I read is to be a trilogy, doesn't bode well for the Michael Monroe series. The initial premise is okay, (involves cult life and those sections in the cult are fine) but it seems that's all there is--a decent premise and a lukewarm attempt at threading it into a story as thrilling as the Informationist had been. Anything outside of the central plot felt contrived and was ultimately boring. The main characters--all of whom I grew to like in the first one were just irritating in this one. I forced myself to listen to the very end out of respect for the first novel (The Informationist) that was so far superior.

Snore. Yawn. Is this mundane journey over yet?

Would you try another book from Taylor Stevens and/or Hillary Huber?

I enjoyed The Informationist even though it bordered on the surreal at times, and I was very eager to listen to the Innocent. I was disappointed by the lack of action. The conflict is so, so, so slow building that by the time it was resolved the stinkin' book is over. If this is the best Taylor Stevens has to offer do us all a favor: kill the character and end the series soon.

What could Taylor Stevens have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Anything at all. So freaking boring. Virtually nothing happens for the entire book. It's not that hard, I believe they call it conflict/plot. She barely even has to kick bad guy butt, and it's barely described when she FINALLY gets to kick some.

What about Hillary Huber’s performance did you like?

I thought she did a nice job voicing for each character, and using appropriate drama when necessary.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Innocent: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel, Book 2?

All of it. I wouldn't have published it assuming I had read The Informationist.

Tedious...Thank God it's over.

Would you try another book from Taylor Stevens and/or Hillary Huber?

no

What was most disappointing about Taylor Stevens’s story?

mundane descriptive details v. attention to story.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

it was fine, if overly dramatic, given the mundane material.

What character would you cut from The Innocent: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel, Book 2?

all of them.

Any additional comments?

I'm really glad it's finally over.