ISBN: 1477824472
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
Publication Date: 9/16/2014
Format: Audio
My Rating: 4 Stars
"I'm being followed," she said. "I think he wants to kill me."
When a panicked young woman slips her hand into his in 1960s Chinatown, just before a knife-wielding stalker attacks, private eye Alex Novalis finds his cherished hard-boiled persona threatened by a romantic streak that has a habit of getting him into trouble. Sandy Smollett is triple trouble: a stripper who comes on like the girl next door and has a way of bending the truth to suit any occasion. Novalis finds her irresistible.
It doesn't help that her mobster boss, a sleazy politico, and an attorney brandishing an envelope stuffed with cash all warn Novalis that Sandy is strictly off limits. Things don't get easier when Novalis finds a dead man in her apartment, or when they both are kidnapped by homicidal thugs. Who is Sandy Smollett? For once she tells the truth when she tells Novalis, "I'm the Girl from Nowhere."
Christopher Finch's sophisticated sequel to Good Girl, Bad Girl unfolds against the background of a volatile era of social upheaval.
My Review
The Girl From Nowhere, (An Alex Novalis Novel) written by Christopher Finch and narrated by Peter Berkrot (swoon) is a novel of intrigue, with some juicy secrets unveiled slowly and meticulously, with careful precision for a mysterious game of cat and mouse with elements of danger.
There is a stalker lose, on the streets of New York, in Chinatown, in the late 1960s, and right before he strikes, a panicked young woman grabs a man’s hand and kisses him, a stranger to help rescue her from her plight. This man is PI, Alex Novalis, a secretive and mysterious man—specializing in art fraud.
Alex thinks it is strange as this woman is so scared and helpless and has nowhere to go, and she wants to go home with him and wants him to keep her safe and protect her. She says someone is after her, following her and suspects he wants to kill her, as she is afraid for her life.
Beautiful and sexy, who is he to deny her the pleasure (of course he is sleeping on the sofa). For now, however, the next morning, she gets dressed and winds up hanging around. He knows there is a story here and he wants to investigate further to find the reason someone is after her. However in the meantime, he will enjoy her company.She appears sweet and innocent, yet provocative and Alex is drawn to her. He decides to keep his distance as he does not want to get involved with her until he finds out her story, as everything is mysterious.
The mysterious woman says her name is Sandy Smollett and she is trouble for Alex—a stripper, a model, and what will he find out next? She appears sweet, naive, and innocent. Maybe she is working her way through school or something.
She is very secretive, and not very forthcoming about her life. However, she boldly begins to interject herself into every aspect of his life. Dinner, movies, play, TV on the sofa, etc. What is her story? Alex is mesmerized, captivated, and baffled by this girl from nowhere and now she is coming on to him in a seductive manner.
Then he is warned by so many people to stay away from her; however, is pulled in even more. The novel is written in a time of excitement, with the vibrancy of New York, its people, places, the era, and history, which adds to the fascination. The art world, the clubs, bars, sex, the rich, famous, the good, bad and the ugly of the city.
Cannot say anymore, but rest assured, you will be shocked to learn the connection and the surprise is revealed towards the second half of the book, so keep listening or reading. A very different twist, the novel is quite engaging keeping you pulled into this intriguing and mysterious world with gangsters, art history, and other elements of the dark side.
The audiobook was captivating with Peter Berkrot, with his dynamic and mysterious voice, perfect for this chilling novel, and the main reason I chose it. A nice read to keep you awake with a jolt in between reading ARCs, while jogging, working, and traveling.
If you like surprises and books with different twists, suspense, erotic and the not so norm, or ordinary; The Girl From No Where is for you! This was my first book by Finch and look forward to reading more.
