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“Immersive, involving, suspenseful, and intriguing, with a main character you’ll love.” —Lee Child, #1 internationally bestselling author of the Jack Reacher novels

“A gripping, twisty-turny, thrill ride of a read.” —Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her

“When a master of her craft offers to tell you a story, let her. The results are dazzling.” —Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of the Alex, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award–winning Wayward Children series.

The beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, the inspiration for HBO’s True Blood, and the Midnight Crossroad trilogy adapted for NBC’s Midnight, Texas, has written a taut new thriller—the first in the Gunnie Rose series—centered on a young gunslinging mercenary, Lizbeth Rose.

Set in a fractured United States, in the southwestern country now known as Texoma. A world where magic is acknowledged but mistrusted, especially by a young gunslinger named Lizbeth Rose. Battered by a run across the border to Mexico Lizbeth Rose takes a job offer from a pair of Russian wizards to be their local guide and gunnie. For the wizards, Gunnie Rose has already acquired a fearsome reputation and they’re at a desperate crossroad, even if they won’t admit it. They’re searching through the small border towns near Mexico, trying to locate a low-level magic practitioner, Oleg Karkarov. The wizards believe Oleg is a direct descendant of Grigori Rasputin, and that Oleg’s blood can save the young tsar’s life.

As the trio journey through an altered America, shattered into several countries by the assassination of Franklin Roosevelt and the Great Depression, they’re set on by enemies. It’s clear that a powerful force does not want them to succeed in their mission. Lizbeth Rose is a gunnie who has never failed a client, but her oath will test all of her skills and resolve to get them all out alive.

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Fly girl’s Review

So the cover of this one isn’t as striking as her subsequent books in the series, but I actually started with The Russian Cage. When I realized it was part of a series, I was able to get An Easy Death on audible so I actually listened and read at the same time which was really a great way to do this series. The parts of the Russian Cage that didn’t make sense would then be revealed in a section of An Easy Death. I actually thought it was fun to get the story that way and was super easy to follow both books at the same time.

The story starts out with Lizbeth Rose “Gunnie Rose” taking off on a usual escort mission and trying to tick her beau off a bit. She seems to feel he’s a little more controlling than she is up for, so she cuts her hair all off, her best asset in his eyes, to show who’s really in control. In those first few chapters you get a sense of her values and what she holds near and dear to her heart–family, honor, and your word. She goes to some extreme lengths for us to see that in her.

After a total disaster of a run, she is left with few options but to work for a team of Russian Wizards as their escort to find some folks needed to keep their ruler alive. As their journey continues, she shows them what loyalty is and becomes more involved with them than she planned. Turns out there might be some magic in her too. When she finally discovers a bit of herself that was missing with Eli one of her protectorates. She isn’t able to help herself from falling for him just a little bit. In the end all their secrets are revealed to one another and she returns home with a sad heart, a full bank account, a new sister, and a lot of bruises.

The characters Charlaine created in this story are full of life, tons of emotion, grit, strength, and secrets all things we love to read about. The way she writes the story it feels like you’re sitting in front of a movie screen. The details are so clear you can almost smell the sweat and see the blood run in the dirt. The other neat part of her world is how it is so similar to our current history with just a few quirks in it. The back bones of the societies are just as they would have been in the 30’s to 50’s–Just not the borders. There isn’t a cliffhanger in this book since it just puts closure on a chapter of Gunnie Rose’s life. I’m giving it a 5 of 5 propellers because this is a series I would love to read more adventures in.

5 of 5 Propellers

To continue the series:

A Longer Fall | The Russian Cage

Check out Fly Girl’s review of The Russian Cage

Connect with Charlaine Harris

Website | Facebook | Amazon | Goodreads

Charlaine Harris was born in the Mississippi Delta. Her father was a farmer and then a school principal, and her mother was a librarian. Charlaine was educated at public schools and attended Rhodes College in Memphis, TN.

Two thousand twenty-one will mark Charlaine’s fortieth year as a published writer. She has written two stand-alones, and her series include the Aurora Teagarden mysteries, the Lily Bard mysteries, the Sookie Stackhouse urban fantasies, the Harper Connelly urban fantasies, the Midnight, Texas novels, the Cemetery Girl graphic novels (with Christopher Golden), and the Gunnie Rose books, set in an alternate history America. Charlaine has also written many short stories, and together with Toni L.P. Kelner she edited seven themed anthologies (and had great fun).

The television series “True Blood” was based on Charlaine’s Sookie Stackhouse novels. Hallmark Movies and Mysteries is still showing a series of movies created about the Aurora Teagarden character, and for two seasons “Midnight, Texas” was on the air. Two of her other series are in production.

Charlaine belongs to several professional organizations and is an avid reader. She and her husband live on a cliff overlooking the Brazos River with their rescue dogs. Charlaine has the joy of being a grandmother, and she attends the Episcopalian church. -Courtesy of Charlaine Harris Website