Code of Honor: A Fun and Flirty Romantic Suspense: Cipher Security Book 2

Aunt Alexandra bequeaths a studio apartment to Anna Collins. Anna discovers an envelope instructing her to steal the painting titled “Two Sisters”, hidden away in millionaire Markham Gray’s panic room. Thirty years ago, Aunt Alexandra and Anna's mother Sophia, painted this portrait of one another, and Gray refuses to return it to the rightful owner. Dariud Masoud is the genius behind the security for Markham Gray. He suspects Anna is the thief and is determined to retrieve the painting. Meanwhile, Anna’s twin sister, Collette, discovers another painting hidden behind the “Two Sisters”. The picture is none other than “Madame Auguste Manet.” But the same painting is hanging in Boston’s Gardner museum, known for the famous heist of thirty years prior. Joining forces, Darius and Anna soon realize there is more to these paintings and the thirty-year-old Gardner heist than meets the eye. It is going to take lots of ingenuity to solve this puzzle.

“Code of Honor” combines the reality of the story with the fantasy game of Dungeons and Dragons. There is plenty of intrigue in the plot for the die-hard mystery lover. At times, the only way to discern who is speaking is by looking at the name at the beginning of the chapter. Pacing is erratic and at times bogged down with extraneous detail. Bathroom humor is sprinkled throughout this novel, which is off-putting, rather than humorous. The twists and turns of the plot keep the reader engaged. The Anna/Darius relationship is complicated and convoluted keeping the reader involved.  A pleasing story to read while in quarantine.

Belinda Wilson