Setting: Madrid, Spain
Time Period: Modern Day

If you read my review of the first book in the Russian’s Trilogy, then you may remember that I was not impressed with the first book. However, I felt the author picked up the pace in “Midnight In Madrid” and tied in the story well enough that I was glad I read the first book but not disappointed with the second one.

In this next installment of the series, Alex DaLuca is sent to Spain to find a missing artifact – The Pietà of Malta. Along the way, we meet up with characters from the first book and of course, meet new characters from the department in Madrid. I loved how the author carried a few characters from the first book over to this one. It was like meeting up with old friends! I also thought the plot moved along fairly fast and kept my attention. What I liked even more, was that there were bits and pieces of info from the first book that connected to this plot.  If there was a way to know everything from book one without having to trudge through it, I’d almost recommend starting the series with “Midnight In Madrid.” But alas, you’d miss the backstory of these lovely characters and how they connect to Alex and her mission.

Conclusion: “Midnight In Madrid” is where I really started to enjoy the Russian’s Trilogy. There was a good flow to the book, I enjoyed the characters and the plot thickened with every page. By the end of this novel, I just knew I had to finish the series! As many others have said, the bad guys were well developed and complex. As much as I wanted to write them off as horrible people, as another piece of their backstory fell into place an ounce of compassion couldn’t help arising within me, no matter how hard I tried to suppress it. (Good thing they’re fictional and not real people! lol!) To sum up, I really liked this book and the turn it took in developing Alex as an agent, person and a Christian. If you like suspenseful stuff with a lot of twists and turns – check it out!