Title: Nicole Laurent
Author: Elizabeth Baroody aka Christy Demaine
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 9781450023733
Pages: 450
Genre: Fiction/Action & Adventure
Reviewed by: Carol Davala
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Whether in Greta Garbo’s portrayal of Mata Hari, James Bond’s stealth 007 female counterparts, or Jamie Lee Curtis as an unsuspecting wife who quickly learns the game of espionage in the 1994 comedy “True Lies,” audiences have long been fascinated by the clandestine world of female spies and undercover agents. That same interest holds true in the realm of literary fiction. Here author Elizabeth Baroody, aka Christy Demaine, draws readers into the life of the title character Nicole Laurent, a young Parisian who finds herself trailed and recruited into an elite and covert operative organization, where the best qualifications for the job include having a psychotic edge, no fear, and an irrational compulsion to complete a mission at all costs.
Baroody seamlessly moves the action of this story between Laurent’s life in France and the global escapades that bring her primarily to the US for assignments out of the central office. The old-world style and allure of her homeland, alongside Laurent’s close familial relationship with her mother Yvette and grandmother Mimi, are finely woven throughout this work. Neither they, nor Laurent’s older husband Rene, a custom jewelry designer, are aware of her extracurricular activities. As a courier for her husband’s business, Laurent’s international travels provide the ideal cover for the necessities of her “other” career. Danger, whether in full view or on the periphery, is an expected consequence revealed throughout the plot. Each new assignment becomes an adventure unto itself, whether in the rescue of a kidnapped child, the hunt for a co-ed’s stalker, or the uncovering of a deadly greed that’s forced the widow of a former Secretary of Defense into a nursing home.
Through Laurent’s unique line of work, the author cleverly places her central character on a diverging twofold path, as she attempts to locate the father she never knew. Circus posters discovered at the bottom of an old trunk left to her by her grandmother, lead Laurent on a personal quest to track down the aerial artist/thief who along with similar facial characteristics has genetically predisposed her to a talent for juggling.
To counter the serious casualties of Laurent’s job which include being chased, shot at, drugged, and shackled, Baroody creatively includes humorous components to impart a comic edge. Here, the gun-toting, knife-wielding, highly skilled agent wears Mickey Mouse nightshirts, seems directionally dyslexic, and often calls for guidance from the Holy Mother Mary when she’s in a jam. The need to slip laxatives into the dessert of a problematic nursing home worker, and the transport of a 300 lb. gypsy woman who has a sixth sense and a penchant for ho-hos, helps to exemplify the colorful array of characters that Baroody brings to the literary field.
It is clear early on in the story that Laurent and her husband are a couple at odds. With Rene as a demanding, controlling, and self-centered individual, with an elder mistress in the French countryside, divorce seems inevitable. Ultimately the door opens for other romantic opportunities as Laurent slowly develops an attraction to the new blue-eyed, enigmatic head of Operations, Major Kelvin Whitt. For the most part Laurent has formed friendly and solid working relationships with her fellow agents, including a dapper, Dutch-born dwarf she helped relocate stateside from the Paris office. With great attention to detail, well into their diverting mission, Baroody continues to confirm the characters’ Francophile sensibilities when they share a crepe breakfast in a North Carolina country eatery.
This is a book that exudes both domestic and international flair. It is a steadily paced narrative with fluid dialogue, varietal characters, and an imaginative interplay of personal and professional lives. Baroody has chosen an engaging and entertaining showcase to feature a smart and savvy female secret agent, well-suited to meet the challenges and thrills of the precarious undercover game.
