Book Review: Anonymous Sources

Just finished an advanced reader’s copy of Anonymous Sources by Mary Louise Kelly. Overall, it’s an enjoyable read offering suspense, intrigue, and a fast paced plot. I like to think of it as a chick lit version of a Tom Clancy novel as it’s a bit softer and less gritty or coarse in its language and plot sequencing.

The protagonist, Alexandra James, is a American newspaper reporter living in Boston who covers the higher education beat. Her latest assignment takes her to Harvard to report on the mysterious death of a former student on campus and eventually it takes her far outside the bounds of her ordinary job and across the Atlantic ocean to England. Along the way she falls into danger, into the bed of a sexy graduate student, and into the middle of a terrorist plot involving Pakistan scientists, the CIA, the FBI, and the president’s staff in the White House.

Mary Louise Kelly’s prose is generally well written but Alexandra was presented as a bit too dense for my liking. I take forever to pick up on clues (I’m terrible at reading Sherlock Holmes!) and so when I can figure out the bad guys and what’s going on before the protagonist does it seems a bit artificial for me. Having said that, this minor defect does not diminish the novel overall and it’s still worth the read. I will definitely pick up Kelly’s next novel and I recommend Anonymous Sources as one of this summer’s best chick lit political thrillers.

The novel goes on sale June 16th, 2013. You can pick up your copy at a local bookstore or pre-order it on Amazon.com. Happy reading!

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