The Cardinal Rule

The Strongbox Chronicles #1

by Cate Dermody, C.E. Murphy

Somewhere in Italy, a powerful and secretive organization was creating an army of weaponized robots. The goal? To "persuade" the world that their vision of the future was the right one. And agent Alisha MacAleer had the job of infiltrating them while defending herself from a robot that had targeted her. Worse, the mission and Alisha's life soon hinged on three choices that only she could make: Alisha had to decide if her ex-lover turned mercenary was telling the truth this time. She had to learn if her boss's son was a double agent for or against the U.S.--and whether she'd been betrayed by the people she trusted most.

Yeah, just an average day in this spy's world....

Genres: Romance, Thriller, Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Suspense, Espionage

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

This is a pen name for author C.E. Murphy.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good vacation read. First in a series.

CIA Agent Alisha MacAleer's new assignment isn't going well. She's immediately "outed" and barely escapes with her life. Her ex-fiancee shows up and may or may not be one of the good guys. The double-agent Alisha is supposed to investigating is her handler's son and Alisha is not sure if her handler's loyalty is compromised, or which side his son is working for. The only thing Alisha is sure of is that she can't trust anyone.

[Jami · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just fun to read. I love her urban fantasy under CE Murphy, and glad this lived up to her other stuff. Reminded me of Covert Affairs, in a good way.

[Night Runner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Template!

3.25 Stars for me!

My rating range of this story... 2.5 - 3.75
If significant, why?
Biggest deduction? 1.0 Stars - There was so much going on that it tended to drag, especially through the middle of the story.

Main Character Ratings...
H (Brandon and/or Frank) = unknown
h (Alisha) = 7/10

Narrator Rating(s)
M () = n/a
F (Emma Love) = 8/10
If below 5/10, why?

Was cheating involved? No
Any major triggers to be aware of? No

Angst Level? Light to Moderate
Light, Moderate, Heavy or Please Stop
3 Stars for me!

Internal Monolog/Dialog? Heavy to Please Stop
Light, Moderate, Heavy or Please Stop

Scenes with heat... None

The back story... The h starts out being chased by the baddies and escapes by jumping off a cliff. She then gets her new assignment to engage with her handler's son. Her ex is also in the picture as he works for the highest bidder.

The Romance/Gist: None - action story in line with Alias.

The drama explosion... The battle scene after finding out more about the two Hs.
Did it feel Real, OK or contrived? Ok
Was it OTT? Sort of but not in a bad way
Separation involved? No
Was it resolved properly or rushed? To be continued.

Final Notes... This is a good story which is similar to Alias with the female agent with badass capabilities. There was so much going on that it slowed the story down for me. It may be a bit of world building but I will digest it over the next few days and determine if I am going to read the second book in the series. The ending author note stated that the story was republished - originally published in 2005.

HEA or HFN? n/a

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an action-packed storyline that keeps you wanting to follow

[Hali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alisha, Ali or Leesh to her friends, is a covert operative for the CIA whose loyalties are unimpeachable. Her latest mission is to bring in, or terminate, her handlers brilliant, but estranged, son. But as she gets involved in the mission her old flame comes into the picture bringing back memories and anger and Brandon Parker, the "mission" isn't what he seems either. Things go from bad to worse and Alisha doesn't know who to trust, and more importantly who not to. A rocking action book that kept me turning pages and wanting more.

[Yolanda Sfetsos · Rating 3 out of 5]

The heroine is a CIA agent who throughout the novel isn't sure who she can trust. I swear this novel read like an action movie -- it should be made as one. Everything moves along pretty quickly and Alisha MacAleer is one tough butt-kicking chick who also displays a lot of human weakness through the story. There's no real romance in this novel, but there are a lot of flirtatious moments I hope develop into more throughout the series.

I loved it. Can't wait to read the next one in the series!

[Lara Foote · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very fun action packed spy novel. It's lacking a lot of the depth of something like a Dan Brown novel, but unlike his books it has character developement - and a lot of it. Of course there are so many more things I'd like to know, but the writing is strong and enjoyable. If you enjoyed Alias, you'll love this.

[BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reminded me of Alias so much. I loved that TV show. I enjoyed this quick read just as much. The writing was tight and liked the main character. Alisha was pretty cool. The betrayals in this book were kind of a shock and painful.

[Rachel-RN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of action in this one. Not sure if/when I will read the others. I liked it, but not sure if I liked it enough to continue on....(I have too many books, so I'm picky)