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Showing posts with label Erika Mitchell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Erika Mitchell. Show all posts

Monday, July 17, 2017

Blog Tour: Take the Bai Road by Erika Mitchell

Author: Erika Mitchell
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Date of publication: June 2017

After the events of Bai Tide, CIA case officer Bai Hsu is safely tucked away at Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Bored and frustrated, he’s starting to doubt he’ll ever return to the field until he’s given a difficult new assignment: Track and investigate the mysterious Ghost Cartel, who may or may not already have hooks in our government.
With secrecy of the utmost importance, Bai accepts the mission even though he knows he’ll be out in the cold. With no official cover, no backup, and no resources, Bai has no choice but to infiltrate a shadowy organization few know anything about.
Tangled in a conspiracy that will pit him against warring cartels in Mexico, this is Bai’s most impossible mission to date. It will test him, make him question himself and the organization he works for, and ultimately rip away everything that’s ever mattered to him.

Take the Bai Road is the second book featuring CIA spy Bai Hsu.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the first book, Bai Tide. So I was really looking forward to reading another adventure with Bai.  While I didn't love this one as much, I still thought it was an intriguing spy adventure.

In this second book, Bai is sent to Mexico on an "off the books" case involving drug cartels and secret shipments from China.  What follows is a steady paced and action filled adventure going from Mexico to Washington state.  What I liked most was that I got to know a bit more about Bai this time around.  I really felt his struggle with killing and the guilt that follows.  That is such a change from most spy novels where death and killing is just part of the job.  It made him more human to me.  The one thing that I did feel was missing was Bai's humor.  That is one of the things I liked most about him in the first book.  This book had a much more serious tone to it.

I definitely recommend this book as well as the first.  Each of them hold up well as stand alone novels. If you are in the mood for a spy novel with a twist, this might be the series for you.



About Erika Mitchell


Erika Mitchell is the author of Blood Money, a standalone novel about one accountant’s efforts to take down a terrorism financier, and Bai Tide, the first book in her Bai Hsu series. Erika uses her lifelong passion for espionage to infuse her stories with the fun and intrigue of the James Bond movies she grew up watching, and sets those stories in ripped-from-the-headlines locations around the globe. When she’s not writing, she’s raising two tiny spies-in-training with her husband in Seattle, WA.

Find out more about Erika at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter. You can also read her blog at parsingnonsense.com.

Tour Stops

Tuesday, July 4th: Back Porchervations
Tuesday, July 4th: My Journey Back
Wednesday, July 5th: Mel’s Shelves
Friday, July 7th: Clues & Reviews
Friday, July 7th: Helen’s Book Blog
Thursday, July 13th: Man of La Book
Monday, July 17th: From the TBR Pile


Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Blog Tour: Bai Tide by Erika Mitchell

Author: Erika Mitchell
Publisher: Champagne Books
Date of publication: April 5, 2015

An espionage thriller for people who like explosions and sarcasm.

CIA case officer Bai Hsu is stationed in San Diego, where his job is to safeguard the valuable emotional collateral of some of the world’s most powerful people (read: their kids). Just when he thinks he’s landed the easiest assignment of all time, an operative starts targeting the school and it’s up to Bai to figure out who the operative is after, and why. This fast-paced story will take you from the picturesque beaches of San Diego to a deadly blizzard in Pyongyang and make Bai question everything he thought he knew about working in the field, and about himself.

I've never really been a big fan of spy novels, so I was pleasantly surprised by Bai Tide.  Bai Hsu is a CIA agent.  He finds himself on assignment at a girls' private boarding school for the rich and elite. After chasing after an intruder and almost getting himself blown up in the process, he realizes someone at the school is in grave danger.

When I think of spies, James Bond or Jason Bourne usually come to mind.  Bai isn't like either of those mentioned.  He seems to be pretty new to the spy scene.  He's smart and brave, but he also makes some rookie mistakes.  I liked him, he had a great sense of humor, which is rare in a spy. He also comes across as more human and believable. He's a character I could see myself reading more about.

The plot was pretty easy to follow and it's fast paced.  That is something I usually have issues with in spy novels.  They can get too convoluted and confusing with too many characters.  So, it was refreshing to have a story that reeled me in and wasn't confusing.  There were a couple of twists that made it that much more entertaining. It is the second in a series, but I had no trouble following the storyline. I definitely recommend this one.  It's a quick, fast paced and exciting read. 


Purchase Links

Praise for Bai Tide

Bai Tide is a classic spy tale with blisteringly original characters set against the up-tempo backdrop of North Korean-American relations. Erika Mitchell turns the Asian theater of operations into her personal literary playground for fashioning a no-holds-barred thriller that reads like a post-modern combination of Frederick Forsyth and John Le Carre with just enough Len Deighton sprinkled in for good measure. A thinking man’s, or woman’s, page turner that revs in the red from artful beginning to crafty climax.” –Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author of Strong Darkness

“High octane action combined with the slow burn of great, unforgettable characters. The kind of book that demands to be read in a single long burst. Almost impossible to put down. This one will be on your mind long after you’ve finished it.” –Ted Kosmatka, 2010 Asimov’s Readers’ Choice Award-winning author of Prophet of Bones.

“Recommended for those who enjoy a fast-paced thriller, and especially for anyone who read and enjoyed Blood Money. Mitchell does a wonderful job of balancing the humanity of the story with exactly the right pacing to keep the reader’s interest.” —Dwell in Possibility

About Erika Mitchell


Erika Mitchell is the author of Blood Money, a standalone novel about one accountant’s efforts to take down a terrorism financier, and Bai Tide, the first book in her Bai Hsu series. Erika uses her lifelong passion for espionage to infuse her stories with the fun and intrigue of the James Bond movies she grew up watching, and sets those stories in ripped-from-the-headlines locations around the globe. When she’s not writing, she’s raising two tiny spies-in-training with her husband in Seattle, WA.

Find out more about Erika at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter. You can also read her blog at parsingnonsense.com.


Tour Stops
Tuesday, January 24th: Man of La Book
Monday, May 1st: Spinatale Reviews
Tuesday, May 2nd: Helen’s Book Blog
Wednesday, May 3rd: Lit.Wit.Wine.Dine.
Friday, May 5th: Sara the Introvert
Monday, May 8th: Thoughts On This ‘n That
Tuesday, May 9th: Just Commonly
Thursday, May 11th: alyssarossblog
Monday, May 15th: Mel’s Shelves
Tuesday, May 16th: From the TBR Pile
Wednesday, May 17th: Clues & Reviews
Thursday, May 18th: Back Porchervations