Gold Train (Accidental Spy Russia Adventure, #2)

by Lada Ray

[kimbacaffeinate]

Gold Train by Lada Ray is a non-stop adult-fiction thriller set in Russia. Protagonist, Jade Snow, a journalist and amateur detective who appeared in Ray’s previous novel entitled Stepford U.S.A. is back in an new tale. Based on historical facts, Ray takes us to Russia, to discover what happen to the entire Gold reserve of the Russian Empire. It vanished without a trace during the Civil War in 1918. The tale offers, suspense, mystery, murder and a touch of paranormal.

We are introduced to Jade Snow, former journalist, wife and stay-at-home Mom to her thirteen month old daughter. They reside on the Upper East Side of New York. Her husband works for Time magazine and while they seem to have the good life, Jade admits she misses her career. Jade’s family is from Russia and she longs to visit, when a phone call offers her a chance to collaborate on a book surrounding the Gold Train, Jade jumps at the opportunity. Jade is in Russia less then forty-eight hours when the Russian journalist she is working with is murdered. The tale that unfolds is suspenseful, full of twists and takes us to Moscow, St Petersburg, the Menshikov Mansion, the infamous KGB headquarters and the grand houses. We travel on high-speed trains, attend balls and walk through the gorgeous Russian Metro. Not everyone is who they appear to be, and Jade will have to use her wits to solve it. The conspiracies, political intrigue and cast of characters had me racing to the dramatic ending.
While the ending is intense, it wraps up nicely, without a lot of unanswered questions and even hints at where Jade’s next adventure will be.

Jade is a bright likeable character. She is educated and good at connecting the dots. While she has no training as a detective, her inquisitive mind and investigative reporting skills find her entwined in the mystery. I loved Jade the detective, but struggled to like Jade the person. While on this adventure she strays and breaks her marriage vows. Call me old fashioned, but this doesn’t sit well with me; even though the romance was passionate and Jade felt he was her soul mate. I realize this won’t affect everyone, so do not let this deter you from a great adventure. For my more delicate readers, I must warn you that while most is implied, the romance does get pretty hot and heavy.

I want to thank Lada Ray for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.