"Never Miss" by Melissa Koslin

Never Miss (May 4, 2021) by Melissa Koslin.*

How does a former CIA sniper who grew up in a family of assassins gets around? With multiple aliases, obviously. She’s Sarah Jeane Rogers. Or Elizabeth Jeane Jones. Sometimes Mary Jeane Smith. In reality, it’s Kadance Jeane Tolle that saves Lyndon Vaile from a sniper bullet at a storage facility. Lyndon holds three doctoral degrees plus has a master’s in cybersecurity and has been intensively researching Ebolavirus. His incendiary research indicates that Ebola is man-made. Kadance isn’t afraid of the danger that will come with helping Lyndon, but worries more that he’ll be disgusted when he learns that, “Assassination is the family business.” Kadance and Lyndon, oftentimes with Kadance’s Maine Coon, Mac (named for “…Mac computers, mac and cheese, and Mack trucks. Smart, orange, and big.”), dodge shadowy figures and fight them when necessary, while trying to discover who the mastermind is in order to stop a bioattack from becoming waterborne. The clock is ticking in a race they don’t want to lose.

            It’s my understanding that this is Koslin’s debut solo novel, and I enjoyed it. Sure, reading of characters being beautiful and handsome gets a bit old, but I can overlook that. I appreciate how Lyndon’s character has a strong sense of his Christian self as well as his science-minded self. Whereas Kadance has so long believed that, “Religion is just a way to control the masses” and throws at Lyndon that science “refutes the existence of God,” Lyndon tells her, “To make an assumption that God does not exist and did not cause the big bang is unscientific.” (Honestly, I’d like to hear him have a debate with “The Big Bang Theory’s” Dr. Sheldon Cooper! I expect Lyndon would be humbly victorious, and Sheldon’s sore loser reaction would be hilariously epic.)

            Koslin’s debut is action-packed and suspenseful. It seems to my unprofessional mind that Koslin put in the research to create this rollercoaster thrill-ride-of-a-novel, and I would definitely read her next suspense novel. “Never Miss” is strong in detail and persevering in faith (Lyndon).

            Favorite paragraph: “Humans are not perfect. Bad people will use whatever they can to get what they want. Throughout history, people have tried to steal the power of Christianity. It’s a horrible sin, but it’s the sin of those people. If someone stole your car and rammed it into a crowd of people, is that the car’s fault? Is that your fault? No, it’s the driver’s fault.” -- Lyndon replying to Kadance saying, “Christians have done some horrible things in the name of their God.” (p. 198)

            P.S. Mac is my favorite. One of my late great-aunts once had a Maine Coon named Buddy, and he was the best guard cat. I am REALLY glad that he never stuck his claws in my leg, though!

 

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”