Review: The Female Bond
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2011
The tongue-in-cheek cover tagline says, "If Bond had boobs."  In four words this gives the high-level view of Jaclyn Johnson.  She's got Bond's good looks, enough to model as a cover, hiding her true career.  She has the technology of Bond with a plethora of gadgets, a few she invented herself and some that (over) compensate for a rare eye condition that leaves her almost blind without an assist.  Topping it off is a car that anyone would envy plus the brains behind the beauty to get the job done.  In Jaclyn Johnson, Sweeney has a great new character I hope to see in many sequels.Without giving away too much of the plot I'll say that it is also fitting of a Bond tale with an amoral megalomaniac pulling the strings in an evil and far reaching plot.  The majority of the book takes place in the Greater Boston area.  When a book is happening in a real location those who have some familiarity with the area can often picture the location in their mind's eye and this adds to the story.  Although I've only visited once, I was still able to picture many of the landmarks of Boston as I was reading.  This and other specific location color about the city and its history helped "put me there."The last notable quality I found in "Model Agent" is something I wouldn't have expected in this genre, especially from a male author.  Not only does it have a strong female as the lead character, but also two of the main secondary characters, the President of the US and the director of the CIA, are strong women in powerful positions.  As a father and grandfather, this is something I like.  Positive female role models, even fictional, are something I like to know are out there for my daughter and granddaughters to see.**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog.**