Her Name Is Knight

Nena Knight, Book 1

By: Yasmin Angoe

Narrated by: Tamika Katon-Donegal

Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

A smash debut novel from rising star Yasmin Angoe, Her Name Is Knight features an elite assassin heroine on a mission to topple a human trafficking ring and avenge her family.

Stolen from her Ghanaian village as a child, Nena Knight has plenty of motives to kill. Now an elite assassin for a powerful business syndicate called the Tribe, she gets plenty of chances. 

But while on assignment in Miami, Nena ends up saving a life, not taking one. She emerges from the experience a changed woman, finally hopeful for a life beyond rage and revenge. Tasked with killing a man she’s come to respect, Nena struggles to reconcile her loyalty to the Tribe with her new purpose.

Meanwhile, she learns a new Tribe council member is the same man who razed her village, murdered her family, and sold her into captivity. Nena can’t resist the temptation of vengeance - and she doesn’t want to. Before she can reclaim her life, she must leverage everything she was and everything she is to take him down and end the cycle of bloodshed for good.

©2021 by Yasmin Angoe. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Narrator Tamika Katon-Donegal delivers Angoe's debut thriller with the intensity it deserves.... Katon-Donegal shines in the 'before' chapters, delivered in the first person with a poetic rhythm. Her voicing of the terror and violence of Nena's kidnapping and the destruction of her village is at once captivating and horrifying.... Katon-Donegal uses her skills with pace, tone, and accent to differentiate the many characters. The audiobook comes together to deliver a highly impactful listen.” —AudioFile Magazine

“This stunning debut...deftly balances action, interpersonal relationships, issues of trauma, and profound human questions in an unforgettable novel.” —Library Journal, starred review

“Angoe expertly builds tension by shifting between her lead’s past and present lives. Thriller fans will cheer Aninyeh every step of the way.” —Publishers Weekly

Ethical Assasin

This book took me on a journey from the Mountains outside of Accra, to Paris, London, and Florida. This book was filled with action, suspense, and I even at times found tears in my eyes from the anger I felt because of trafficking. I couldn't put it down. And the audio performance was incredible. I can't wait for the next book!

Great protagonist!

I love how strong the main character is, and how well her struggles are laid bare. My only complaint was with the narrator - she reads v.e.r.y distinctly, which means it's pretty slow. But she's very understandable, and her different voices are distinct.

different, in a good way!

way out of my usual genres buy I am super glad I listened to it. it's a good story, give a more realistic picture of the trauma of and after human trafficking. I like that my girl was an assassin after everything she went through. it seems fitting. the narration was good too. 👍

A huge story

This was a truly mammoth story…gruesome, gritty, gut wrenching. Well crafted & brilliantly narrated. The essence of tribal Africa intertwined with the modern West. A 5 🌟 story. Brilliant!!

An epic tale worthy of the highest praise

What a beautiful, scary, horrifying, and brilliant novel / audiobook! This book will transport you to the darkest places in the human spirit and also uplift you with reminders of the healing powers of love, family, and forgiveness. I became completely engrossed in this story and listened to it over just a few days. The violence depicted is truly disturbing, people should heed the warnings that are presented if there is any risk of being triggered. My only other criticism is that the narrator seemed to add a bit too much dramatic flair at times, making an already painful story even worse. Overall, this book stands head and shoulders above most audiobooks I've enjoyed over the last few years. I simply cannot wait for the next installment and pray that there will be many more in this series. Kudos to the author for a truly amazing story and characters that now live in my heart.

Scarily real and amazingly narrated.

I borrowed this title through the KU program, this title having the option of listening. I am so grateful that I took the time and leap to listen to a real shift in my usual adventurous reading. I appreciated the way the content warnings were so accurate and true to their description. Not only is this an epic journey it is written in a format that ties today to the past so well that it is engrossing and engaging at the same time. It is as of May 2022 the best book I have encountered this year. Yasmin Angoe shares a look at a woman and her 'family' as life presents itself in every imaginable and sometimes horrific way possible. The biggest gift in the audio book format was the over the top talent that Tamika Katon-Donegal shared in narrating the outstanding material presented her to bring to life. I am hoping that the second book set to come out later this year is also narrated by Tamika and is at least half as good as Her Name Is Knight shows itself to be. Thank you to both of you for sharing the depth of your talent.

The story had me in tears

I loved the story at times the narrator got to me by her slow reading but the story kept me going. I loved it!

Enjoyed every minute

This was such a good book! I have the second book in the series in hard copy but I was so impressed with the narrator that I may just get it in audio!

Excellent book

loved this book! Riveting from beginning to end. Can't wait to listen to the next in the series.

Listened on a whim and have no regrets

I'm usually a lover of romance novels but the cover of this book got my attention. The narrator does a great job with the book. I was able to follow along while feeling like I was watching a movie in my mind. When they hurt , I felt it . definitely would recommend but make sure you listen to the trigger warnings.

*Explosive*

‼️Trigger warnings - contains physical & sexual abuse and gruesome murders‼️

This is the story of Nena knight who on the outside is beautiful and can take care of herself. She is a assassin and very good at her job.

Life was not always this way. She is Ghanaian and as a child she was subjected to horrors as she was made to watch her whole family decimated in the most horrifying way as she was tied up and abused over and over again then she was sold from one frying pan into another abuser.

The book is told over two timelines as before - charting her time from a young girl and after charting her time away from her old life transitioning to the present.

Because of what she went through she has no time for love let alone anything else. She has lost faith in it preferring to get her head down, trying to figure out how she can avenge what happened to her family. One day the possibility of love presents itself to her but will it be smooth sailing?….

We see how she became a survivor and how she came upon the name Knight and what happens when the past collides with the present.