Chasing the White Lion by James R. Hannibal: My thoughts

Young CIA officer Talia Inger has reconciled with the man who assassinated her father, but that doesn’t mean she wants him hovering over her every move and unearthing the painful past she’s trying to put behind her. Still, she’ll need him–and the help of his star grifter, Valkyrie–if she hopes to infiltrate the Jungle, the first ever crowdsourced crime syndicate, to rescue a group of kidnapped refugee children.
But as Talia and her elite team of thieves con their way into the heart of the Jungle, inching ever closer to syndicate boss the White Lion, she’ll run right up against the ragged edge of her family’s dark past. In this game of cat and mouse, it’s win . . . or die. And in times like that, it’s always good to have someone watching your back.
Former tactical deception officer and stealth pilot James Hannibal takes you deep undercover into the criminal underworld where everyone has an angle and no one escapes unscathed.

My thoughts:

Dear reader,
Upon reading this book, there are a few things I have come to realize. 1.) I love, love, love a con/heist story. I don’t know what that says about me as a person, but they’re seriously a favorite. 2.) I love, love, love Hannibal’s writing and books and I think everyone needs to read them. The reason for this opinion? First off, his characters. From the beginning of the story, I fell in love with ALL the characters (Finn in particular) and at the end of the book, I really didn’t want to leave them. Second, the story itself. Like I said, I am not a complete sucker for heist/con stories and I have Hannibal to thank for that. The whole story and premise of this book was so engaging, there wasn’t a moment of boredom for me as a reader and it was just a really fun ride. And thirdly, the lessons. At the beginning of this book, I was very annoyed with Talia, the protagonist. I thought she was acting to entitled and I just didn’t like her. But then as the story progressed, she slowly changed. I loved seeing her struggle and the lessons she learned and how she gradually changed throughout the whole book. That, I think, was my favorite part.
So if you, dear reader, are a fan of suspense or heist/con stories, or if you’re just looking to pick a fast-paced, fun read, please consider this one!
*Please note, too, that this book is the second in a series. If considering this book, you may not understand it very well without reading the first, The Gryphon Heist, first.*
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher, but was in no way required to leave a positive review. All opinions in this review are my own.**

Love,
Kathryn