BOOK REVIEW: SEVEN YEAR ITCH by S.D. Skye

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Her Family Was Vexed With a Generational Curse. Now for Lie Detecting FBI Spy Catcher J.J. McCall, the Truth is in The Seven Year Itch.

FBI Special Agent J.J. McCall is a born lie detector who recruits foreign spies to catch American traitors. She and co-case agent Tony Donato have lost two of their most critical Russian sources in the past two years, and they may lose another in just a few short days if they don’t catch him, The ICE PHANTOM, a rumored insider spy more insidious and elusive than Ames and Hanssen combined. They suspect he might be burrowed deep inside FBI counterintelligence—and his body count is going up.

Drawn into an unsanctioned mole hunt, they have a week to catch him, save a key source’s life—and their own. While J.J.’s lie detecting ability helps them narrow down the list of suspects, the lie she tells to herself may help the ICE PHANTOM defect to Moscow and get away with the murder of the man she loves.

Skye's debut FBI Series, filled with mystery, espionage, romance, and suspense, will keep you burning through the pages until J.J. catches the very last spy.

This debut novel by S.D. Skye holds promise for a new FBI series--there are plenty of sub-plots, many interesting characters, and she ends the book with the promise of more conflict in the future, both personal and professional.

For a thriller, the book was a little slow-moving for my taste. I realize the author is setting up a new series, but the personal side stories, while interesting, slowed down the main purpose of the story--finding the Ice Phantom.  In my opinion, the book would have been tighter and faster moving, as a thriller should be, if the author had not given us quite so much information about the characters--some character development is good, especially of the major players, but a lot of it could have been left out without damage to the plot itself. And, since this IS the debut novel of a new series, some of what we were told in this book might have been better used spread out through the series.

On the other hand, it's obvious that S.D. Skye knows what she's talking about and has a real passion for the world of counterintelligence. It has to be tough being a woman in a male-dominated field and she shows us that in the character of J.J. McCall.  Not only is she a woman, but she's a woman of color with a racist boss. And the racism doesn't stop there--she gets to face it on the other side when she visits her father, a former Black Panther who feels like she'll be better off if she just quits her job and finds her a nice black man to marry who will take care of her.

Add to that the added complication of J.J. and her partner, Tony (whose mother wants HIM to settle down with a nice Italian girl), being attracted to each other and the story has some lighthearted and interesting moments. A nice twist at the end has me wanting to read the next book in the series.




About the Author:

S.D. Skye is a former FBI Russian Counterintelligence Program Intelligence Analyst and supported several key cases during her 12-year tenure at the Bureau. She has personally witnessed the blowback the Intelligence Community suffered due to the most significant compromises in U.S. history, including the arrests of former CIA Case Officer Aldrich Ames and two of the Bureau's own--FBI Agents Earl Pitts and Robert Hanssen. She has spent 20 years supporting counterintelligence, intelligence, and military missions in the U.S. Intelligence Community.

An award-winning author of romantic comedies in her other life, Skye is a member of the Maryland Writer's Association, Romance Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers. She's addicted to writing and chocolate--not necessarily in that order--and currently lives in the Washington D.C. area with her son. Skye is hard at work on the next installment of the series.

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