Editorial Review: The Secret Brokers by Alexandrea Weis

This fast-paced and well-written adventure starts in full swing and sweeps the reader along with the promise of action, secrets, and passion.

After breaking away from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dallas August is running his own operation and dealing in secrets – and nothing is off-limits. Still reeling from the events of the previous year - the job that broke him and the woman who broke him even more - August doesn’t need the trouble that stands in his office in the shape of New Orleans underworld figure Carl Bordonaro. His assignment is Gwen Marsh, the daughter of a man about to give evidence in an important trail, and so the cover of being her bodyguard should be a simple one to maintain, but FBI agents are watching her too. Struggling to protect the target while also extracting the information from her proves tough. Especially when the target is not the shrinking wallflower Dallas had expected to find hiding out on a farm full of rescue animals, but rather an assertive and terse woman who doesn’t want his protection. 

When you deal in the secrets trade, you get to know some pretty undesirable people. Unfortunately, for Dallas August’s heart, some pretty desirable ones too – though this particular woman may not be all she seems. Assigned to find out what Gwen Marsh knows about her former boss, Dallas is intrigued by her complexity and compassion, which seems to break through her deliberately tough and cold demeanor. As the pressure surrounding the trial increases, life becomes more dangerous and simply hiding out on the farm isn’t an option anymore.

The Secret Brokers is the first in a new series that takes place after the Nicci Beauvoir Series by Alexandrea Weis. Despite that fact, this story is so well executed, that is easy to follow, even for readers who have not completed the previous series. The characters created by Weis are brilliantly entertaining, they are real enough to be relatable, but are just that bit more dangerous and interesting than most people will ever really encounter and so achieve a fantastic sheen of unreality.

This action-packed thriller is filled to the brim with secrets, plot twists, and spies. It is remarkable how well Weis juggles the twists, ensuring that the plot is complex rather than confusing. Any fan of the Nicci Beauvoir Series will enjoy this new foray, as will fans of the genre at large.

The Secret Brokers is a genuine pleasure to read with great characters and a plot full of twists and, of course, secrets.