Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Secret Agent Analyst

AUTHOR: Penelope Peters

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 248 Pages

RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2023

BLURB:

Anthony Dare, Secret Agent Extraordinaire, is going to save the world. Again.

Anthony Dare is suave and sophisticated, cool under pressure and hotter than most supervillains can handle. He never fails to walk away from a mission – even when his field partners fail to come home. However, Anthony’s next mission against the evil supervillain Cicero includes an unwelcome addition – one not even Anthony is sure he can handle. The last thing Anthony needs is a brand-new, untested, rather attractive field partner.

Too bad his boss has another plan entirely…

Elliot Bichler, Analyst and Supervillain Expert, is going to save the world. Maybe.

Elliot Bichler never planned to go into the field; he’s content to sit at his safe desk in his safe cubicle. But he’s spent his entire career watching Anthony save the day without saving the intel Elliot and his fellow analysts need. Being assigned as Anthony’s newest field partner might be dangerous – but Elliot isn’t going to waste the chance to finally point Anthony in the right direction – or maybe secure that intel himself.

Just as long as he doesn’t die in the process…

They’ll save the world. But first, they’ll need to save each other.

Secret Agent Analyst is a m/m novel that’s more romantic comedy than spy thriller. It includes double agents, supervillains with terrible taste in design, and a very hungry Kraken.

REVIEW:

Cicero was a serial ‘want to take over the world’ supervillain, who, apart from wanting to make the moon pink, also cost the world’s best secret agent, Anthony Dare, many working partners. Feeling jaded, Anthony returns to the office to lick his wounds, only to be told that the untrained, un-field-ready analyst Elliot is his new partner. Both men are surprised, and despite some physical attraction – for valid reasons, neither wants the other as a partner. Nevertheless, they must make the best of it, and soon learn that each brings qualities to the party.

Secret Agent Analysis is a romantic sleuthing comedy that has the outlook of 007 and the tongue-in-cheek quirkiness of Police Squad. And it was a story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The story is told in the third person from the viewpoints of Anthony and Elliot. I received the review copy pre-final-edit – therefore, I will not comment on anything technical. The scene setting was enough to form a mental picture, but the dialogue was the best addition. I found it impossible not to smile at the cliché, snark, sarcasm, and monologuing between the characters.

Anthony is the stereotypical suave, gadget-packed, sophisticated agent people fall at the feet of. And certain scenes are as expected as the ‘Starship Enterprise’ rising out of the clouds to specific music. Elliot is the analyst who has a point to make to the agent unwilling to take advantage of their information, and I loved his entrance into the story. Elliot has grit and is the one that comedy sketches would label ‘The intelligent one’. His interactions with Anthony are superb. As for the more expansive cast, they are as varied as they are clichéd. However, Cicero is the trickster and supervillain scene stealer with some action and dialogue gems.

Some plot twists aren’t exactly a surprise, but the journey to the conclusion is entertaining and packed with dramatic, over-the-top, and sweet gestures. I found this story – one to embrace the irony, abandon logic and go with the flow because all the blips that cross your mind while reading are all answered by the end. Secret Agent Analyst is a ride written by an author with a sense of humor that I like.

RATING:

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