leine basso thrillers
Review of ‘Cargo’
Former assassin Leine Basso travels to Bangkok in an attempt to rescue the daughter of a friend who has been taken by human trafficker Victor Wang. Leine is betrayed and falls into Wang’s clutches herself. Stuffed into a container on a ship bound for Africa, Leine encounters Derek, a poacher who has also run afoul of Wang, and is being taken to slavery or death himself. If Leine is to survive and rescue the kidnapped girl, she will have to form a partnership with a man who represents the very evils she is determined to fight.
Cargo is another Leine Basso thriller by author D.V. Berkom, and it has all the elements of past books in this series, with the added dimension of human and animal trafficking. You’ll be literally on the edge of your seat as Leine and Derek face not just Wang and the triad, but a murderous band of local guerillas who put no value on human life. If you’ve enjoyed Leine’s adventures in the past, you’ll absolutely love this one. Berkom shows her amazing skill as an adventure writer in this book. Don’t miss it! I only have one criticism. Leine is supposed to know how to speak Thai, but in an encounter in Bangkok, she says, sawadi kap, which is wrong, A gender-based language, women say, sawadi ka. Other than that one little cultural/linguistic slip, though, I have nothing but praise for this book.
I received a free copy of Cargo in exchange for my review. I forgive the one linguistic gaffe and give this book a resounding five stars!
Review of ‘The Body Market’
When the daughter of a high powered Beverly Hills couple goes missing after a party in Tijuana, the family hires former assassin Leine Basso to find her. When the girl’s boyfriend is find murdered and mutilated in his car, and a local cartel threatens Leine if she doesn’t back off the investigation, she realizes that she’s dealing with more than a simple carjacking gone awry.
In The Body Market, D.V. Berkom takes Leine and the reader into the dark, dangerous world of human trafficking. I’ve read several of the Leine Basso thrillers, but this one sets the standard for adventure thrillers, and is in my humble view, the best yet. Biting dialogue and gritty descriptions are hallmarks of Berkom’s fiction, and she writes action scenes that are as brilliant as freshly spilt blood.
Leine Basso is one tough cookie, capable of inflicting pain or withstanding it, but in The Body Market, the psychic pain she has to endure as she rescues a young girl from a fate worse than death is almost unbearable. This story deals with a subject that is not for the squeamish or faint of heart, in Berkom’s inimitable style. It’s a definite keeper. I was privileged to get an advanced review copy of the book.
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