Catch and Kill

A Shadow Operatives Thriller

By: J.D. Lasica

Narrated by: Tom Taverna.

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

What happened to the girls?
Overnight, hundreds of teenage girls disappear from the streets of America. 

Off the coast of Florida, a virtual reality theme park opens for the super-rich. 

Are the two connected? 

When two assailants accost 23-year-old Kaden Baker at an awards gala, she enters a maelstrom of high-tech international intrigue that pits her against a mysterious foe. 

It will take all her covert ops and hacking skills as she allies with a group of family members to battle an enemy out to unleash a mass attack on the US and the West by stealth. 

Can they bring the girls home and thwart the unthinkable?

Get it now! Catch and Kill is a roller-coaster thrill ride that appeals to both the head and the heart.

Perfect for fans of Michael Crichton, James Rollins, Matthew Mather, A.G. Riddle, and Tim Tigner.

“Heart-thumping.” (Thriller author Dan Petrosini)

©2019 Joseph Daniel Lasica (P)2019 Joseph Daniel Lasica

Well Written and Fast Paced Thriller

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

This book was right up my alley; action packed and tech focused. The author clearly spent time to research, which really benefited the story. I found myself eager to continue listening, and fully invested in the plot. After finishing the book, I wished that I’d read the first one before starting it. That being said, hopefully I’ll be able to do that in the near future; or at least before book three is available on Audible; which I will certainly look forward to.

I gave the narration four stars because while it was professionally done, I found myself wishing the female characters would have had more distinct voices. All in all, he’s a good narrator, maybe having a team on the next book would bring this to the next level.

Impressive Conspiracy

This story is an amazing conspiracy theory story. This one more unusual because it is based in the "higher calling" of the man behind the curtain. It reminded me a bit of the Phantom of the Opera, and you have to read it to find out why.
On top of the awesome thriller, the story also captivated me because one can really see the research the author have put in the story without being not even a tiny bit boring. I really loved it and I'm crossing my fingers this can be turned into a great movie for sundays afternoons.
Now, about the narration... it's ok as a reading, but it could be much more improved has a real narration in terms of expressiveness and separation all the characters by their voice.

Plenty of Action

I thought this book was good, but the narration wasn't that good. He didn't do a great job of capturing the different characters and it was slightly confusing when two people talked so close together without separation.

The story was good. The premise was interesting. The main protagonist was written well and it was easy to become attached to her. The antagonists were properly mad, though they seemed to set traps with easy escapes. I never really felt a real danger for the protagonist.

Overall, I would suggest this to a friend. The writing was good enough to make up for the narration and the pacing was quick enough to get me through the book in a couple days time.

The World of the Future?

This book actually reminds me of Tad Williams Otherland series. Not in the fact that at its base it's a thriller, but due to the virtual reality aspect of the plot. I'm not sure if the virtual reality part of the story makes things easier or not. It definitely took time to figure out what was going on and how the different plot lines fit together.

This is the second book in the series, so that might be why I am a little confused with things. It's not that the author doesn't explain things, they are explained, but the one thing I like about this book is that it doesn't regurgitate the first book so the reader can understand what is going on, just gives us enough information to be able to caught the drift. Still, there are one or two points that can be confusing when you don't know the background or the previous book.

Kaden Baker is caught up in a web of conspiracy involving missing girls and a island of high tech and ultimately greed. She must navigate through this island while dealing with personal upheaval and discoveries. Lots of action and intrigue and a bit of high tech involved.

I think it would be a wise move for people to read the first book before reading/listening to this. I think it would give the reader a better understanding of the world we find ourselves in. As I said, I like the fact that the author presumes his readers know what he's talking about without spending a quarter of the book re-introducing the world and characters. 

I enjoyed the narrator's voice in this audiobook. He did an excellent job.

Fast Paced Techno Thriller

An action packed techno thriller that was well researched and very well written. Contains believable characters, plenty is action, twists and turns, and has a complex plot. The audio version had a very professional narration. A very enjoyable thriller that I highly recommend.
I received a free audio copy and voluntarily wrote this honest review.

Excellent adrenaline rushed story!

This fast paced novel was about a fantasy island for rich people. It is staffed by some girls who have been kidnapped and the main character finds herself with a new found father, trying to find her new found sister. (who had been kidnapped) The details were awesome and the high tech used at the fantasy island was very cool, but also believable. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries or thrillers!
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Good story

I thought the story was good but at times a little too technical for what I wanted to know and sometimes a bit confusing. I love these types of stories but not this one. The general narration was good but the different voices was not, especially the female voices. Maybe I would have enjoyed the story more if I had read it and not listened to it. I enjoyed it more the last portion of the story.

A rollercoaster!

A multimillionaire builds an AI part on a private island, and funds the republic of Samana Cay, where rich people can make their deepest fantasies true. But the means and goals of this park are darker and more complex than what they seem. Alex, Valerie’s husband from book one, is sent to the island in order to write an article, but he also discovers there the darkest side of the island.

In theory, this book can be read as a standalone, but there are numerous references to the events in the previous one, as some of the characters, so I would say that reading the books in the correct order is recommended. I am glad that I listened to the first book before listening to this one to be able to do it justice. As with book one, there is plenty of technology and biohacking, as it often happens in Lasica’s books.

The pace of the story is quick and there are several twists and turns, which made of this book a rollercoaster. I found the main bad guy a perverse and complex enemy, and I was glad that we got part of his back story to justify his actions. I was less invested in the characters than in the first book though. In the first book, I found the characters more developed than average for this kind of stories, but I think in this one there were too many important new characters, and somehow the felt less developed. Kaden’s boyfriend and family are some examples. I expected to feel more attached to them but I found I did not care much about what happened to them. I had also troubles to understand some of Kaden’s actions, and while I was able to relate to her in the previous book, I found it more difficult this time.

It was quite an entertaining story, even though it felt a bit long-winded towards the end, probably because I couldn’t fully relate to the characters. I think the multiple POV’s was a factor for this.

This book was narrated by Tom Taverna. It always strikes me as strange when narrators change in the middle of a series, but it is also true that the previous narrator had some issues. I found Taverna slightly better, but I think part of the issue with this book is the narration. It was mostly correct, with a good audio production, but all characters sounded quite similar, and some of the accents sounded forced. There are more points of view than in the first book, so the decision to have a male narrator feels justified.

Overall, I enjoyed this audiobook, and I would recommend to anyone into technothrillers.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Intriguing and complex plot!

Kaden and Red Team Zero are on the trail of the missing girls. Off the east coast of Florida, a Fantasy-Island-like resort for the filthy-rich opens on an island purchased for the same. Those guilty of snatching the missing girls have made a dire mistake when they snatched Kaden. Fantasy Live was billed as a judgment-free, guilt-free, no shame zone. They considered themselves an escape, a release valve from social and cultural tensions back home, free to express yourself. In reality, their contract stated there would be no bestiality, no pedophilia, no torture, no S & M, and no physical violence of any kind. Failure to abide by these rules would result in immediate expulsion from the island with lifetime banishment. The sales pitch and the rules do not mesh. There is more going on in Fantasy Live than the ad says. The people responsible for Fantasy Live have a much bigger diabolical plan than fulfilling the fantasies of its rich patrons. Seven of the richest oligarchs in the world comprise the cabal known as The Seven Spheres. They consider themselves the new superpower of the future. The crux of their plan is Project Ezekiel; personalized germ warfare. A molecular-modified microbe present in all humans will be infused in all the major water supplies infecting the world’s population. Targeted genetic markers within the infected will be triggered by a sleeper pathogen. Specific ethnicity, ancestry or genetic trait can be targeted creating a constant mistrust and fear throughout the world. When the world crumbles, the Seven Spheres will be there to pick up the pieces. There is also mention of replacing the U.S. dollar with cryptocurrency. “Catch and Kill” did not specify that it was the second volume in a series. Much or all of the background for this book is in volume one, “Biohack”. If you want the full story, go back and read “Biohack” first. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A Griping Failed World Takeover

KD Lasica writes a fascinating novel. It is gripping, edge of seat with many twists and turns. You won't want to stop until the end of the book. I did Audible and the narration was gripping, it kept pushing you to the end. The characters are believable and interesting in this Techno Thriller. It has a lot of action and political intrigue. If you haven't read Biohack book #1, it is OK as there is enough context in this book to keep your interest to be a stand alone. Kaden Baker has a lot of survival skills. She just finds out she has a father. There is a bithched kidnapping. You have young girls disappearing. There is an out of control mentally challenged Billionaire who is using technology to gain world domination. This is a must read. I highly recommend this book.

Frighteningly Plausible.

The thing that struck me right from the start of this entertaining action thriller is the plausibility of the technology involved. The wondrous gadgets the villains deploy are easy to imagine being available in the very near future. That all adds to the tension of the story and what a story it is. We have kidnapped girls, larger than life super rich super villains, secret organisations and heroes that are more than just brawn. This is a story with an awful lot going on, which would take far too long to recount here, and it’s all very entertaining. There’s plenty of action to go with the ambitious story about a world changing conspiracy. It’s very well written and the story moves along nicely before switching gears when the action hits. I really enjoyed it and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone that enjoys books about secret agents, shady organisations and conspiracies.
The narration by Tom Taverna is also very good, although the way he does some of the female characters gave me the impression that they were constantly surprised. That said, he does a great job bringing all the characters to life. The one thing to note though is the length of the audio-book at over eleven hours. Obviously that is value for money but also quite a commitment to make to an audio-book. I enjoyed it a lot and wouldn’t hesitate to listen to another book by JD Lasica read by Tom Taverna.